Thundering Silence

This poem was written by Senri Ueno, executed as a war criminal in World War II for the crime of killing an American pilot. He recorded the true story of the events in his diary, which was discovered after his death.

The American pilot had injured himself while parachuting from his plane. Ueno started operating on him, disobeying an order by a senior officer to kill him. During the operation, their location was bombarded and Ueno had to leave. When he returned, he found the pilot had been stabbed to death. Nobody knew who did it. So Ueno took the blame and was executed.

This poem was written one week before his death.

Thanks to lamenting over the pain in the world,
I am able to become laughter when my life is happy.
Due to being struck and trampled upon and biting
my lips to control my temper, I finally realize how
precious it is to be born. Even if I am intentionally
tired of an ugly world, look! What a blue sky!

Even if one laughs scornfully at my penniless life,
there is something much more beautiful,
true and worthy that everyone knows.
I don't care so much about anything else,
except love and sincerity, the sun,
and a little amount of rain from time to time.
If I have a healthy body and a little piece of bread,
I want to walk with a smile in great spirits.

I will do my best to work without complaining
about anything at all.
I always consider things by putting myself in another's
place without flinching, no matter how hard and
heartrending it is to live.
If there is someone unfortunate, I will help
him out with anything.
If I can forget myself to help out,
that will surely delight me.

In the morning the sun rises. I greet it.
I will do my best to live today.
In the evening, the sun sets.
Staring at the evening glow, I want to sit still.

With a little dream in my heart, I sleep
as quietly as a little bird.
If I have my own time, I want to spend it
reading an old collection of poems, meditating
on them alone, quietly.

Let's find happiness by ourselves.
Within silver tears like pearls and laughter like the sun,
let's keep walking ahead each day.
Certainly some day, as I look back over my past,
I will quietly see my life with a smile.

[Translated by Dainin Katagiri Roshi]

Comments

[Chodpa]

Extraordinarily resonant and poignant.

Many thanks for sharing this beautiful story, and poem.

[Adam]

This is indeed a very beautiful poem. If you are interested in the teachings of Dainin Katagiri, I recommend "returning to silence" by Dainin Katagiri. That is where I first read this poem and that book has helped me to work towards a balance in my life.

[mahala]

Thank you, Adam. Yes, the poem is very beautiful. It is a favorite of mine along with other bodhichitta poems and prayers. And yes, Returning to Silence is where I found this.