The usage of article: "stone, a stone, the stone, stones speak(s) in silence"?

I read Japanese. Live in Japan. 1978 - Pres. Nicely translated.

The Japanese line 4: Poem states "hyaku nen" = 100 Years a stone won't change, but I've seen before translators to provide the original text the impact to an English mind, make it a 1000. Still, leaving it at 100 tells me, the author noticed for the longest human life time (100 years), the stone under these circumstances in the poem, does not change or wear away.

In that imagery, a Western mind will visualize "a stone," if the person stops to ponder, as if each one, or one off by itself sits patiently. Sit there alone for a 1000 years. With this, speaks in silence. Simply saying stone: As some posters already showed their mind, the visualization then is stone universally to them. Stone everywhere as all stone has this attribute.

...which might take way from impact, as I believe the author meant a stone. As if a person should just look at one, or the author is just pondering on one. Then each and every one of them, all speak like this. Up to you as you see fit or believe the author's mind to be.

Even though some Asian languages don’t have articles like the English a/an/the, they may have determiners.

For example, you might have “one piece of stone” or “this stone”. These provide some clues to how generic or specific the reference is.

Generic references relate to arbitrary pieces of stone, or (arguably, slightly less generic) one non-specific piece of stone.

• Stones are hard.
• A stone cracks if hit hard enough.

The next step involves specific stones:

• The stone in the park has been worn smooth.
• Your stones have been delivered.

At the most specific, you are referring to Plato’s ‘Form’ rather than ‘Instance’ - that is, the ‘idea’ of a stone, rather than any actual stone. This can be conveyed using ‘the’ or (arguably, even more ‘specific’) no article. Note the use of the base case. It’s not really singular, but also definitely not plural.

• The stone is a common metaphor.
• Stone is hard.

These 3 categories are something of a continuum rather than crisp categories.

The scriptural example you cite likely referenced particular stones nearby, so they fall somewhere at the very specific end of the second category.

The “collective” stone of your poem sounds like a reference to the stone ‘Form’ (the term isn’t in common use these days, hence the inverted commas), so it should be left it in the base case with no article, as you have it. Putting it in the plural or using an article changes the meaning from the metaphysical stone to some particular rock or pile of stones.