苏轼 与 佛印
Su Shi and Fo Yin
Shi was One of the Eight (literary) Masters of the Tang and Song (dynasties)
Fo Yin was Shi’s friend, a monk living at the Heavenly River Temple
Shi, the famed poet and thinker, was demoted to the remote Eastern Hill. He still wanted to make the best of his life, so he did his government job as instructed, and spent his down time writing poems and political argumentations. He also went and made some friends.
One of his friends was Fo Yin - a monk at the local temple, the Heavenly River Temple.
Shi enjoyed learning about Buddhism from his Buddhist monk friend. One time he mustered his understanding of Buddhism and wrote a poem for Fo Yin, hoping that his friend would be impressed!
稽首天中天
豪光照大千
I bow with respect to the heaven within heavens,
its brilliance enlightens all beings;
八风吹不动
端坐紫金莲
The Eights Winds do not move me,
I sit upright on this purple golden lotus.
The Eights Winds refer to
praise, mockery, defamation, admiration, gains, losses, injuries, and comfort.
Fo Yin wrote back to Shi right away with a reply, which read
“farts.”
Shi was nearly enraged. But he was confused more than anything. I read the sutras and discerned the true meanings from misunderstandings. What am I missing? Haven’t I accrued good cosmic credit? He hired a boat and sailed across the river to reach the temple where his supposed “friend” resided.
“WhAt iS tHe mEaNiNg oF tHiS? Fo Yin!”
Fo Yin replies, “I thought you said you were undisturbed by the Eight Winds, how come one of my farts blew you all the way across the river?”
Shi lowered his head in humility and began contemplating ever harder.
Disclaimer:
This story is commonly attributed to a compilation of Su Shi’s wriging called 东坡志林 Various Records of Dong Po (Eastern Hill). However, I could not find actual text of this story in said book at all. be agnostic about the origin of the story; I recommend attributing actual authorship to ordinary people who transmitted and discussed this story with their families and friends.