“I bow with a thankful heart and become aware of the brightness of a running brook’s sound.”
This is #72 out of a series of 108 daily Buddhist affirmations that I am attempting to translate with my hands tied behind my back (well not really that, but I’m deliberately not seeking out translations on the internet, using only dictionary and grammar).
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70. 새 소리의 맑음을 알게되어 감사한 마음으로 절합니다.
“I bow with a thankful heart and become aware of the serenity of birdsong.”
71. 바람 소리의 평화로움을 알게되어 감사한 마음으로 절합니다.
“I bow with a thankful heart and become aware of the peacefulness of the wind.”
72. 시냇물 소리의 시원함을 알게되어 감사한 마음으로 절합니다.
I would read this seventy-second affirmation as: “I bow with a thankful heart and become aware of the brightness of a running brook’s sound.”
시원함 should really be something like “refreshingness,” and the source verb is oftentimes translated as “to be cool,” but I didn’t like either of these. I chose “brightness.” “Cool” seems especially inapt – since hot soup can be 시원하다, too. It’s all in the effect it has on you. The word 시원하다 has a lot of meanings, and is very common, but translating it is difficult. It could also be “to be restful” or “to be relieved” or “to be unburdened.” It can apply to anything: a cool drink, hot soup, a breeze, a view, a forest path, a babbling brook, a loud political speech, a torturous confession.
