The Japanese folktale of the selfish scholar - Iseult Gillespie

Translator: Rastbêjê Çalî Reviewer: Daban Q. Jaff

In ancient Kyoto, a devout Shinto scholar lived a simple life,

Li kyotoya kevnar, zanaye ê sofî yê ayînê şîntoyê jiyanek a sade di jiya,

but he was often distracted from his prayers by the bustling city.

lê wî gelek caran xwe dikişand ji duayên xwe ji hêla bajarê qerebalix ve.

He felt that his neighbors were polluting his soul,

Wî hest pêkir ku cîranên wî riha wî qirêj dikin,

and he sought to perform some kind of personal harae—

û wî dixwest ku hin corên hara yên kesane pêk bîne

a purification ritual that would cleanse his body and his mind.

rêûresma pakijkirnê ku dê laş û hişê wî pakij bike.

He decided to travel to the revered Hie Shrine.

Wî biryar da ku biçe peristgeha hay ya pîroz.

The trip was an arduous climb that took all day.

Hilketina rêwîtiyê dijwar bû ku tevahiya rojê dirêj kir.

But he was glad for the solitude it afforded him,

Lê ew ji tenêtiya ku wî bidest xist şa bû,

and the peace he felt upon returning home was profound.

û aramiya ku wî di vegera malê de his kir kûr bû.

The scholar was determined to maintain this clarity for as long as possible,

Zanyarî biryar da ku vê zelalîyê bi parêze heya ku gengaz be,

and resolved to make this pilgrimage another 99 times.

û biryar girt ku vê hecê 99 carên din jî bike.

He would walk the path alone, ignoring any distractions in his quest for balance,

Ew ê di rêyê da bi tinê bimeşe, guh neda çi mijûlbûnan di lêgerîyana hevsengiyê da,

and never straying from his purpose.

û çi caran ji armanca xwe dûr nakeve.

The man was true to his word, and as days stretched into weeks,

Mêrik di gotinên xwe de rast bû, û roj bi heftiyan dirêj dibûn,

he walked through driving rain and searing sun.

ew di nav barîna zêde û tava rojê da meşiya.

Over time, his devotion revealed the invisible world of spirits

Bi derbasbûna demî, dilsozî ya wî cîhana rihanî ya nedîtbar diyar kir

which exists alongside our own.

ku li rexê me heye.

He began to sense the kami, which animated the rocks underfoot,

Wî dest bi hestkirina kamî kir, ku keviran di bin lingan de dijand,

the breeze that cooled him, and the animals grazing in the fields.

bayê ku wî sar kir, û ajelên ku li zeviyan diçêriyan.

Still he spoke to no one, spirit or human.

dîsa jî ew bi kesê re nepeyivî, rih an mirov.

He was determined to avoid contact with those who had strayed

Ew bi biryar bû ku dûr bikeve ji têkiliya bi yên ku ji rê derketine

from the path and become polluted with kegare.

ji rê û bi kegare ê qirêj bûne.

This taboo of defilement hung over the sick and deceased,

Ev tabûya qirêjbûnê li ser nexweş û miriyan daleqandî,

as well as those who defiled the land or committed violent crimes.

û her wiha yên ku ax pîs kirin an tawanên tund kirin.

Of all of the threats to the scholar’s quest for spiritual purity,

Ji hemî gefên lêgeryana zanyaran ya paqijiya giyanî,

kegare was by far the greatest.

kegare mezintirîn bû.

After paying his respects for the 80th time,

Piştî rêzgirtina xwe ji bo cara 80-yan,

he set out for home once more.

wî carek a din berê xwe dav malê.

But as darkness fell, he heard strained sobs in the night air.

Lê her ku tarî ket, wî girînek tengijî bihîst di hewayê şevê da.

The scholar tried to push forward and ignore the moans.

Zanyarî hewl da ku pêşve biçe û nalînan paşguh bike.

But the desperate cries overwhelmed him.

Lê girîyên bêhîvî ew dagir kirin.

Grimacing, he left his path to follow the sound to its source.

rûbada, wî rêça xwe hişt ku li dû dengî biçe ser çavkaniya wê.

He soon came to a cramped cottage, with a woman crumpled outside.

Ew zû hat koxa teng, bi jineka qurmiçî re li derve.

Filled with pity, the scholar implored the woman to share her sorrow.

Bi dilovaniyê dagirtî, zanyarî ji jinê lava kir ku êşa xwe parve bike.

She explained that her mother had just died—

Wê diyar kir ku dayika wê nû miriye

but no one would help her with the burial.

lê tu kes di binaxkirin ê de alîkariya wê nake.

At that news, his heart sank.

Di wê nûçeyê de, dilê wî çikîya.

Touching the body would defile his spirit,

Destlêdan a laşî dê ruha wî pîs bike,

draining his life force and leaving him forsaken by the kami.

dadûşîna hêza wî ya jiyanê û wî dest ji kami berda.

But as he listened to her cries, his sympathy soared.

Lê gava wî guh dida qêrînên wê, dilsoziya wî zêde dibû.

And so, they buried the old woman together,

û wiha, wan jina pîr bi hev re veşartin,

to ensure her safe passage into the spirit world.

da ku derbasbûna wê ya biewle di cîhana giyanî de misoger bike.

The burial was complete, but the taboo of death weighed heavily on the scholar.

Binaxkirin temam bû, lê tabûya mirinê giran li zanyarî giran kir.

How could he have been so foolish,

Çawa dibe ku ew wiha bêhiş be,

to shirk his most important rule and corrupt his divine journey?

da xwe ji rêbaza xweya herî girîng dûr bixe û rêwîtiya xwe ya xwedayî xirab bike?

After a tormented night,

Piştî şeveka bi êş,

he resolved to go back to the shrine to cleanse himself.

wî biryar da ku vegere peristgehê da ku xwe pakij bike.

To his surprise, the usually quiet temple was filled with people,

ji bo sersambûna wî, peristgeha bi gelemperî bêdeng bi mirovan tijî bû,

all gathering around a medium who communicated directly with the kami.

hemî kom dibin li dora navendek ku rasterast têkilî danî bi kami re.

The man hid himself, not daring approach in case anyone glimpse his polluted soul.

Mêrî xwe vedişart, nediwêriya xwe nêzîk bike da kes giyanê wî yê qirêj nebîne.

But the medium had other ways of seeing, and called him forward from the crowd.

lê navgîn awayên din ên dîtinê hebûn, û ew di nav girseyê de bi pêş ve dibir.

Ready to be forsaken, the scholar approached the holy woman.

Amade bû ku bihête hêlan, zanyar nêzîkî jina pîroz bû.

But the medium merely smiled.

Lê navîn bi tenê keniya.

She took his impure hand in hers,

Wê destê wî yê çepel girt,

and whispered a blessing only he could hear—

û bi pistepist bereketa ku tenê wî dibihîstî kir

thanking him for his kindness.

ji bo qenciya wî spasiya wî dikin.

In that moment, the scholar discovered a great spiritual secret:

Di wê gavê de, zanyarî razek a giyanî ya mezin vedît:

contamination and corruption are two very different things.

qirêjbûn û gendelî du tiştên pir cûda ne.

Filled with insight, the scholar set himself back on his journey.

zana bi têgihiştinê tijî bû, zanyarî xwe da rêwîtiya xwe.

But this time, he stopped to help those he met.

Lê vê carê, ew sekinî da ku alîkariya kesên ku wî dîtî bike.

He began to see the beauty of the spirit world everywhere he went,

Wî dest pê kir bi dîtina bedewiya cîhana giyanan li her devera ku çûbûyê,

even in the city he'd previously shunned.

li bajêr jî wî berê xwe da paş.

Others cautioned that he risked kegare—

Hinekên din hişyar kirin ku wî kegare xeter kir

but he never told them why he so freely mingled

lê wî tu carî ji wan re negot çima wisa azad tevlihev bû

with the sick and disadvantaged.

bi nexweş û bêkesan re.

For he knew that people could only truly understand harae

Çunkû wî dizanibû ku mirov tenê dikare bi rastî ji reûresma pakijkirin ê fêm bike

through a journey of their own.

di rêwîtiya xwe de.