the blazing sky borne on my head I go begging
enten o itadaite koi aruku
1925–1932 · Years of mendicant wandering
Sōmokutō · The Begging Bowl (Hachi no ko)
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Bearing the blazing midsummer sky upon his head, he walks his begging rounds. Even the scorching sun he receives as something granted from heaven. The harshness of the mendicant's life, and the quiet resolve of one who has taken it on whole, are gathered into that single word itadaku, 'to receive as a gift.'