Meditation fart classic:
Su Dongpo, a serious student of Zen Master Foyin, lived across the river from his teacher. Feeling accomplished and confiedent, one day Su Dongpo sent the zen master a poem of his mastery:
I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,
Rays from the head illuminating the universe,
The eight winds cannot move me,
Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.
The “eight winds" are buffetting influences on the untrained human mind: praise, ridicule, honors, disgrace, victory, loss, pleasures and misery. Zen master saw his hubris and wrote back“fart” on the paper where Su Dongpo had written his poem and then sent the paper back to Su Dongpo.
Sun Donpo was enraged that his poem and claim to attainment were ridiculed. He began rowing to the zen master's house to argue with him over this insult. Fo Yin saw Sun rowing and put a note on his door:
The eight winds cannot move you,
One fart blows you across the river.
