This week, I’d like to introduce you to Su Dongpo (蘇東坡) - also known by his courtesy name Zizhan and his art name Dongpo - a renowned Chinese poet, painter, calligrapher, and scholar-official of the Song dynasty. During one period of his life, he was posted to an official position in Guazhou, in southern China, near the Jinshan (Golden Mountain) Temple, where the Chan Master Foyin lived and practiced.
One day, feeling a sense of confidence in the depth of his spiritual practice, Su Dongpo composed a poem and asked his attendant to deliver it to Chan Master Foyin:
Bowing with my highest respect
To the deva of devas
Whose fine light illuminates the whole universe,
The eight winds cannot move me,
For I am sitting upright on the golden purple lotus blossom.稽首天中天，毫光照大千；八風吹不動，端坐紫金蓮
After Chan Master Foyin received the poem, he took up his brush and added a single word as his response. When the attendant returned, Su Dongpo, anticipating praise from the Master, eagerly unfolded the page to read the comment. To his surprise, there was nothing written except one word: “Fart!” (“Pi” in Chinese, a term that can mean both “utter nonsense” and the fart-fart). At the sight of such a blunt insult, Su Dongpo was instantly consumed by anger. Without hesitation, he boarded a boat and crossed the river, determined to confront Chan Master Foyin in person.
Before the boat had even reached the shore, Chan Master Foyin was already there, waiting for Su Dongpo. The moment he stepped ashore and saw the Master, Su Dongpo spoke up: “Chan Master, we are close Dharma friends. It is perfectly fine if you choose not to praise my practice or my poem - but how could you insult me like this?”
With an air of complete innocence, as though nothing unusual had occurred, Foyin replied, “In what way have I insulted you?” Without another word, Su Dongpo held up the page, pointing to the single word: “Fart.”
The Chan Master burst into hearty laughter. “Oh? Didn’t you say that the eight winds cannot move you? Then how is it that a mere little ‘fart’ has blown you all the way across the river?”
In that instant, Su Dongpo’s anger dissolved as he grasped the deeper meaning behind his friend’s response. If he were truly grounded in spiritual cultivation - unmoved by gain and loss, praise and blame - how could he have been stirred so easily? With just one word and a few effortless strokes, Foyin revealed that Su Dongpo was not yet as steady as he believed himself to be. Chastened, yet enlightened, Su Dongpo quietly took his leave.
If you know me in real life, you’ll know my sense of humour hasn’t evolved much beyond that of a five-year-old - and farts never fail to make me laugh from the belly.
I remember my grandfather, Tadeusz. During big family gatherings—birthdays, holidays - the TV was always humming in the background. He would sometimes point at the screen, pick out an actor he thought was particularly good-looking, and say:
“See how beautiful they are… They still have to poop though.”
At the time, it just felt like one of those slightly inappropriate (yet hilarious)“grandpa comments.” But looking back, I think there was something deeper in what he was saying.
We tend to glamorise others based on how they present themselves. We also hold ourselves with a certain seriousness - especially when it comes to things like spiritual practice. But all of these ideas, views, and perceptions dissolve in the face of a very simple truth:
We all have to poop. ;-)
A few question for you to ponder on this week is:
Have you ever felt confident in your abilities or understanding, only to realise later that you were mistaken? What helped you see this?
In what ways are you “moved” by praise, criticism, gain, or loss in your daily life?
Why might humour or shock be an effective teaching method in some situations?
What is one small way you can practise being less “moved by the winds” this week?
. He-Gassen (屁合戦) literally translates into “Fart Battle” 
My wish for all of us this week is that we don’t take ourselves too seriously 💨💨💨
~ with care, Kasia
