Tenrikyo Ofudesaki - About Prose Translations
It is often the case that a serious appreciation of poetry requires the aid of a poetry teacher. Some poems are famously difficult to understand and require some advanced education to get a grasp of them. Fortunately that is not the case with the "Tip of the Writing Brush" as the Poems were written with the intention that they be easily accessible without any specialized knowledge or education.
As one of those non-specialists I have been "playing" with prose translations of the "Tip of the Writing Brush" for forty plus years and would like to share what I have learned with anyone who might be interested in discovering the original cause of literally any and everything and in so doing reconnect with the satisfaction and joy that comes along with the knowledge and understanding of the original truth of one's self.
Over the years I have enjoyed much help from a number of very patient poetry teachers. I of course needed and still need help with the prose translation of the poems as I am unable to read the original Japanese "Waka" style poems and in every case have to rely and impose upon the expertise of others. Fortunately that help has been generously given; I should say though that the interpretation that I offer here is my own and I am solely responsible for it. I hope that this small effort will be of use to English language readers who might be interested in acquiring the knowledge and understanding that is hastened in these little gems of poems even as they appear in prose translation.
One of the brilliant features of the Tenrikyo "Ofudesaki" poems is that the guides and instructions for appreciating and understanding the poems are conveniently built into the poems. Indeed it is my hope that just pointing them out to the reader will be enough to hasten an immediate grasp of the intended meaning and intention shown in the poems. It is of course good news that there is no need to engage in the performance of any austerities or in the acquisition of sophisticated knowledge and learning. Everything that is needed is already present at the core of each and every human mind. To reap the benefits of the poems one need only follow the instructions without modification just as they are given.
In this regard Miki Nakayama was herself the model as she tested the method on herself and noted that the only true art required was an attitude of true sincerity in its application.
With that in mind let's continue to step through to a more detailed view of the many guides for quickly revealing and understanding the true origin of our self centered imaginings that are provided for us in the poems.
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