Abstract
In Sasamegoto, Shinkei unequivocably identifies poetic practice with Zen meditation, and the poem with the dharani, or True Word. According to Shinkei, “the Way of poetry is the True Word of our country, which when employed as an instrument of vain sophistry, means that your reading of the sutras and commentaries, as well as your practice of Zen meditation, are all equally blind delusions.” In Buddhist practice, the True Word, also called mantra, refers to incantations meant to concentrate the mind in order to make it more supple and acute. During contemplation, or mental application (kufū), the mind expands so that it may encompass and transcend the limited meaning of the maeku's words. In this process, the maeku is reconstituted into the tsukeku.
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