Rain won't stop me.
Wind won't stop me.
Neither will driving snow.
Sweltering summer heat
will only raise my determination.
With a body built for endurance,
a heart free of greed,
I'll never lose my temper.
trying always to keep
a quiet smile on my face.
My daily diet must be simple:
several heaped bowls of brown rice,
some vegetables and miso.
Profit must never be the issue.
I'll listen to others,
observe carefully,
and refuse to forget.

I'll make my home in a hut
with a thatched roof,
near a meadow surrounded by pine trees.
If a child were to fall ill in the east,
I'd run there to help with the nursing.
If a mother were to overwork herself in the west,
I'd be there to carry the heavy bundels of rice.
If a man were on the verge of death in the south,
I'd rush to soothe his fears.
If bitter lawsuits and fighting
were to break out in the north,
I'd urge all parties to come together
and talk things over.
In days of drought, I'd weep, just weep.
In unseasonable cold spells,
I'd walk the fields and worry over the stunted crops.

People may call me a fool.
I doubt if anyone will applaud me.
Then again, perhaps none will detest me either.
All this is my goal - the person I want to become