Su Dongpo (1037-1101), a famous Chinese poet, wrote the following poem to describe a state he had experienced in meditation:
I bow to the god among gods;
His hair-light illuminates the world.
Unmoved when the Eight Winds blow,
Upright I sit in a purple-golden lotus.
“He sent the poem to the Great Master Foyin (1011-1086), and the Master’s reply was two words: ‘Fart, fart.’ As soon as Su Dongpo saw the Great Master Foyin’s criticism, he couldn’t get it out of his mind, and he rushed across the Yangtze—he lived on the south side of the river and Great Master Foyin lived on the north side—to find the Master and scold him. He wanted to tell the Master that he had written an enlightened poem, and so how could the Master possibly have replied, ‘Fart, fart?’
“In fact, when Great Master Foyin criticized him, not only did Su Dongpo fart, he blazed forth and wanted to scorch Foyin to death. And so he rushed across the river and burst unannounced into the Master’s quarters and shouted, ‘How could you possibly scold someone and slander him that way by writing “fart, fart”?’
“Foyin replied, ‘Who was I slandering? You said that you were unmoved by the Eight Winds, but just by letting out two small farts I’ve blown you all the way across the Yangtze. And you still say that the Eight Winds don’t move you? You don’t have to talk about eight winds; just my two farts bounced you all the way up here.’
“Then Su Dongpo thought, ‘That’s right. I said that I’m unmoved by the Eight Winds, but two words have been enough to make me burn with anger.’ Realizing that he still didn’t have what it takes, he bowed to the Master and repented.…
“1) Praise. For example: ‘Upāsaka, you are really a good person; you really understand the Buddhadharma, and your wisdom really shines. Furthermore, your genius is unlimited and your eloquence is unobstructed.
“2) Ridicule. For instance: ‘It’s the scientific age now, and you are studying Buddhism. Why do you study that old, superstitious rubbish?’ Really ridiculous ridicule and yet you think, ‘They’re right. How can I study Buddhism now in the scientific age? Cause and effect, no me and no you—how can such metaphysical theories be worth anything in the age of science? I am I, and people are people.’ You become confused and are moved by the blowing of the wind.
“3) Suffering. The wind of suffering makes you suffer. To be unmoved while ceaselessly performing ascetic practices is an example of being unmoved by the wind of suffering.
“4) Happiness. To eat well, to wear good clothes, to have a good place to live, and to be especially happy all day long, thinking, ‘This certainly is good,’ is to be moved by this wind.
“5) Benefit. You think, ‘All I did is go to a lot of trouble cultivating. I don’t even have any polluted thoughts. Consequently, people come to me and make an offering of a million dollars to build a temple, and they are very, very happy.’ That is to be moved by the wind of benefit.
“6) Destruction. Perhaps the wind of benefit blew yesterday, but tomorrow people may come and ruin everything. They’ll tell people, ‘That monk is no good. Don’t believe in him; he will do anything. Believe in me instead.’
“7) Gain.
“8) Loss.” (HS 18-20)
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