I’ll be in Japan, all things being equal, this time next week with my even more adventerous mother. On about 22 September I’m hoping to start a very long walk on Shikoku island, going from temple to temple, taking anything between 40 and 60 days to go about 1100 km. My mother will be back in London by then.
One of the duties I have to fulfil is the giving of slips of paper, with my name, home and date on them at each temple, and to people who are kind to me on the route. They are about 2 inches by 5 and come pre-printed with Japanese writing and a space for my name and the date and home town, I’ll probably just write Cymru.
But the back is blank. What could I write, in half that space, yn Gymraeg?
I think this is what I will write on the other half, in Saesneg.
Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. The Bible, Jude 1:2
Yours is a blessing that should suit people of all religions and even commited atheists like me.
The following is the translation I found in my mother’s Beibl:
“Trugaredd i chwi, a thangnefedd, a chariad, a lïosoger” (note the umlaut over the i in lïosoger).
This is, of course, Biblical Welsh and others may be able to offer a current translation.
Google translate tells me that the following is a translation of your English text into Japanese but I’d have that double or triple checked.
あなたに慈悲と平和と愛、豊かに
Oh, Margaret, firstly, I greatly admire your Mam. I now realise the penalty earned by all my years of smoking! Secondly, I love your choice of prayer. Unfortunately, the only Source Book I have is the bilingual Methodist Service Book and I am not sure the quote from Jude is in there! OK, we know that mercy is trugaredd, peace is heddwch and love is caru or cariad. Would “Trugaredd, heddwch a chariad i chi” be a reasonable sentence?
The modern beibl.net version of the verse is: Dw i’n gweddïo y bydd Duw yn tywallt ei drugaredd, ei heddwch dwfn a’i gariad di-ben-draw arnoch chi.
Perhaps this shorter form might suit your purpose? It’s my attempt at a direct translation of the words you have chosen:
‘Drugaredd, heddwch a chariad yn eiddo i chi yn helaeth.’
The book of Jude in Welsh bibles is Jwdas. I wish they’d left it as Jwd,
Beible.net gives a more modern translation of that verse from Jude as:
“Dw i’n gweddïo y bydd Duw yn tywallt ei drugaredd, ei heddwch dwfn a’i gariad di-ben-draw arnoch chi!”
I don’t know whether that helps as you may want to avoid the praying to God bit and have a more general blessing that suits more occasions, but you may be able to rephrase it slightly so it’s more like the English blessing you intend to use.
I’m after 2 different blessings. The English one, as above. A Welsh one as well. It doesn’t need to be Biblical. It’s why they both need to be brief, because they need to go in quite a small place. The slips of paper are sold in packs of 200. There are 88 temples, each get 2 nameslips, and who knows how many kind people I will meet on the way? Another reason for the blessings to be brief as I’ll have to write them out 200, times 2, times.
I cant’ think of any actual traditional Welsh blessings and google has failed me for once, but here’s a proverb that might work.
“Gan bwyll y mae mynd ymhell” (Going steadily, going far) – which though you will be walking, applies to life in general and not just walking.
It’s not a blessing as such, though you could say it’s wise advice and is not unlike what a Buddhist monk told my husband when they met on a mountain in South Korea. He said: “Go slowly and the heart grows stronger.”
Anyway, I’m interested to see what others may find.
Mewn pob daioni y mae gwobr. In every kindness is a reward.
A saying more than a blessing again, but an appropriate one seeing as you are handing them to those who are being kind!
What a wonderful journey!
@margaretnock It sounds like a fascinating trip! Blessings to you as you walk, sharing your blessings with others. I hope you meet many kind people on your way.
I think you might have what you are looking for Margaret but if it’s of interest I have a list of a few bible verses or parts of which can be used as blessings – I was thinking you could maybe look up the biblical welsh translations?
Phillippians 4:7 And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall preserve your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (GNV)
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not afraid, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, and help thee, and will sustain thee with the right hand of my justice. (GNV)
Numbers 6:24-26: The Lord bless thee, and keep thee, The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be merciful unto thee,The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (GNV)
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish chiefly that thou prosperedst and faredst well as thy soul prospereth. (GNV)
Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy, and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the holy Ghost. (GNV)
Ps 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, and in whose heart are thy ways. (GNV)
Col 1:11 Strengthened with all might through his glorious power, unto all patience, and longsuffering with joyfulness (GNV)
