Verse - Ge

A poem in Buddhist scriptures. An abbreviated form of the Sanskrit word gāthā. It is correctly transliterated as 輽ﾀ(kada), and in Chinese it can also be translated as 頌(ju) or 语(san). Indians have been a people who love poetry since ancient times, and even in Buddhist scriptures, there are many poems that express thoughts and emotions through verses. In Chinese, this is translated as a verse consisting of four lines, such as three, four, or five lines. For example, the Gatha to the Seven Common Precepts of Buddhas (Shichibutsu Tsukaige) states, "Do no evil, practice all good, and purify your mind; this is the teaching of all Buddhism," the Gatha to Impermanence (Shogyo Mujo) states, "All things are impermanent; this is the law of birth and death. Once birth and death are extinct, one will reach nirvana and become bliss," and the Gatha to the Dharmakaya (Hoshinge) states, "All phenomena depend on dependent birth; the Tathagata teaches that this is the cause; this is the law that depends on dependent extinction; this is the teaching of great monks." are all famous for concisely expressing the fundamental ideas of Buddhism.

[Takahashi Tsuyoshi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

仏典における詩のこと。サンスクリット語ガーターgāthāの音写の省略形。正しくは伽陀(かだ)と音写し、漢語では頌(じゅ)あるいは讃(さん)とも翻訳される。古来インド人は詩を好む民族であるが、仏典においても、詩句でもって思想・感情を表現したものがすこぶる多い。これが漢語では、三言四言あるいは五言などの4句よりなる詩句で訳出される。たとえば、七仏通戒偈(しちぶつつうかいげ)「諸悪莫作(しょあくまくさ)　諸善(しょぜん)（衆善）奉行(ぶぎょう)　自浄其意(じじょうごい)　是諸仏教(ぜしょぶっきょう)」とか、無常偈「諸行無常(しょぎょうむじょう)　是生滅法(ぜしょうめつほう)　生滅滅已(しょうめつめつい)　寂滅為楽(じゃくめついらく)」とか、法身偈(ほっしんげ)「諸法従縁生(しょほうじゅうえんしょう)　如来説是因(にょらいせつぜいん)　是法従縁滅(ぜほうじゅうえんめつ)　是大沙門説(ぜだいしゃもんせつ)」などは、仏教の根本思想を簡潔に表現したものとして有名である。

［高橋　壯］

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