山居
晚鐘嗚月上燈籠
雲衲坐堂靜觀空
幸得三田今下種
快哉熟脱一心中
Mountain Dwelling
As the moon wails with the evening bell and the lantern’s light,
Cloud-clad monks watch emptiness—sitting still in the temple.
Blessed to have the three fields to sow seeds across tonight,
Ah, the joy! Ripe freedom—a single heart in the middle.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 晚 鐘 嗚 月 上 燈 籠 evening bell rings moon rises lamp cage wǎn zhōng míng yuè shàng dēng lóng ばん しょう めい つき じょう とう ろう ban shou mei tsuki jou tou rou 雲 衲 坐 堂 靜 觀 空 cloud robe sits hall quietly observes emptiness yún nà zuò táng jìng guān kōng うん のう ざ どう じょう かん くう un nou za dou jou kan kuu 幸 得 三 田 今 下 種 luckily obtain three fields now down sow xìng dé sān tián jīn xià zhǒng こう とく さん でん こん か しゅ kou toku san den kon ka shu 快 哉 熟 脱 一 心 中 joyful indeed ripe shed one heart within kuài zāi shú tuō yī xīn zhōng かい さい じゅく だつ いち しん ちゅう kai sai juku datsu ichi shin chuu Another one packed with nuances!
鐘嗚/嗚月: There’s a significant wordplay here. 鐘嗚 means the ring of bell, while 嗚月 means “the moon hums”, a synesthetic image where the moon seems to emit sound, blending sight and hearing.
Heine reads 月上燈籠 as “the light of lanterns eclipses the glow of the moon.” while technically I understand that grammar could be read as "Moon above lanterns [are] lit. But maybe, I think it might be the moon’s above the lanterns - the sound of the bells and the light of the lanterns are unified in the humming of the moon.
嗚 also having a sorrowful connotation, I went with the “wail”.
三田: Three fields honestly, this could be anything; Dōgen often has an emphasis on three times; there’s the three fields of energy in Taoism; there’s the threefold training of Sīla / Pañña / Samadhi; as well as the three karmic fields of Body, Speech & Mind; as well as the three pieces of robes worn by the monks… I’d wager that Zenji probably means all of them and none of them and so, it’s whatever three fields you want it to be.
一心中: “Single-minded within”, but 中 also means “middle” as in “the middle way”, so I went with that.