Fu E-kou, or General Contribution of Virtue

Fu means general, and E-kou means contribution to. And even though the object of the contribution isn't clear in the words, it suggests Virtue, which is produced by Buddhist efforts. Therefore Fu E-kou means General Contribution of Virtue. For example, when we finish a Buddhist lecture, we recite the words of Fu E-kou loadly with joining hands by the lecturer and the audience together. And I think that such a habit seems to be very nice for promoting Buddhism, I would like to maitain such a habit in Dogen Sangha too.

Fu E-kou

negawakuwa kono Kudoku o motte amaneku issai ni oyoboshi

warera to shujoo to mina tomoni butsudoo o joozen koto o

jiihoo sanshi ishiifu shison busa mokosa mokohoja horomii

(meaning)

negawakuwa means hopefully, kono means this, and Kudoku means Virtue.

amaneku means universally, issai means everything, ni indicates the direction of contribution, and oyoboshi means to contribute.

Therefore the total meaning of the line is
"Hopefully, we want to contribute this Virtue to every beings,
And we and all beings, altogether, will accomplish Gautama Buddha's true teachings.
All Buddhas in the ten directions, past, present, and future,
Miscellaneous venerable Bodhisattva, Mahasattva,
Mahaprajnaparamita.

I think that the Poem of Five Reflections, the Poem of putting Kashaya on the head, the Poem of opening Sutras, and the General Contribution of Venevolence, are not so long, but they are very important, and so we would like to maintain them in Dogen Sangha to recite in our daily life.