tatiwi no kewawi tawegatageni okonau ito aware ni asa no kiri ni koto naranu yo o nani o musaboru mi no inori ni ka to kikitamau
stand-sit GEN bearing withstand-hard-appearing undertake very pitiful COP morning GEN mist DAT otherwise be-NEG world ACC what ACC gobble.up body GEN prayer COP FOC COMP listen-RESP
Standing up and sitting down in a manner that appeared unbearable, (the old man) carried out the rites in a way that was so truly pitiful, [he] listened (to the old man), thinking, “Given that this world is no different than morning mist, these are the prayers of an earthly body hoarding up what, (I wonder)?” …’ (Genji monogatari, ‘Yūgao’, Shinpen Zenshū, vol. 20, p. 158)