The Wine of Life

Cast off all that emotion and sentiment,
Grasp your own two arms with steady hands,
Draw blood from your stone-hard body,
When you reach the shore, change direction, break stones and build roads;
Even if you see the moon, don't stop—this is no time for love!

Even if victory doesn't come,
Let it be so you won't die drowning in regret!

Hard times come to everyone, they'll come to you too.
Still, keep patience then;
I know it will burn terribly, you'll want to cry so much—
Go ahead and weep while you burn!
Even flower pollen burns;
It burns, and that's why such beautiful fire blazes
When the flower blooms!

Keep burning—not everyone gets the chance to burn!
Only one who knows how to burn becomes pure!

Look at their foreheads today,
Look at their arms too—
See how many scars of wounds remain there?
And look into their eyes.
There, tears have dried and hardened,
The weeping has hidden away—notice this!

If you must strike with the knife,
Strike your own chest!
Who has ever gained self-establishment
Without sowing seeds of self-sacrifice?
Know this: a knife's blow to the heart
Is worth far more than love's happiness!

Don't give up;
One who gives up never gets.
Don't bow down; even one without legs still walks!
If you must die, die just once, not every day!

Even if death comes before you, step on stage with chest held high!
If you want to live, be ready to die!
The taste of freedom comes only by grasping discipline's hand—
Bind yourself, the time to run is still far away!

Keep courage—everyone can lose that!
If blows come, if you stumble and blood flows,
Know then, this is exactly what the right path means!

One whose intentions are good will surely take fate's kicks!
If you can't bear even that much blow to your face,
With what face do you want to live with chest held high?
Who has ever gotten what's worth having on an easy path?

Apply balm to wounds so they heal and you can move forward!
If you want to spread light in your own home, be ready—
Become burnt coal, become wounded by cuts!
Before wearing the victor's crown, keep a soldier's heart ready!

Being born isn't everything—account for all the time before death!
No happiness, no religion, no philosophy either;
Not science, knowledge, meditation, or wealth;
Life's first and last word is life itself!
One who drinks life's wine—their life-song plays on its own!