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The Story of Su Dongpo’s Farts

Painting by Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322). Portrait of Su Shi (Su DongPo (1037-1101) crossing the river to meet Chan Master Foyin, the frontispiece in the Album of Both Odes on the Red Cliff. 1301. Ink on paper. National Palace Museum, Taipei.
Portrait of Su Shi (Su DongPo (1037-1101) crossing the river to meet Chan Master Foyin.

In 2000, when H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III first came to America, He gave a notable discourse entitled “It Will Be Fruitless If One Does Not Listen to Discourses in Accordance with the Dharma Expounded in This Discourse.” In it he outlined many ways to cultivate in Buddhism and how to listen to His discourses. He outlined his “Seven Dharma System” for study that we have used in developing the Learning from Buddha College and Seminary. The system is described elsewhere, but the discourse also included a well known story about Su Dongpo. I also heard Dorje Pamu tell the same story on another occasion.

Su Dongpo or Su Shi was a famous eleven century (Song Dynasty) poet, scholar, and statesman, who had also studied Buddhism. He was assigned to an official post at Guazhuo in southern China. Across the river, on its southern shore, was Jinshan (Golden Mountain) Temple where Chan Master Foyin presided. One day, Su Dongpo, feeling quite advanced in his practice, wrote a poem and asked his attendant to send it to Chan Master Foyin for verification. The poem went as follows:

The Poem

Photo of Jinshan (Golden Mountain) Temple. Guazhuo, China.
Jinshan (Golden Mountain) Temple. Guazhuo, China.

“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.” (or the Buddha Master said ”a foundation made of brass”)

After receiving the poem from the attendant and reading it, Chan Master Foyin picked up the brush and wrote down one word as his comment. When the attendant came back with the poem, Su Dongpo, expecting words of praise from the Chan Master, quickly opened it to read the comment. However, on that page, nothing was written except the word “Fart!” (“Pi” in Chinese, which means “utter nonsense” as well as what we normally associate with the word in the West) Upon seeing such an insult, Su Dongpo was ablaze with the fire of anger. Immediately, he boarded a boat and crossed the river to argue with Chan Master Foyin.

The Chan Master’s Response

Posthumous Yuan dynasty portrait of Su Shi (Su DongPo 1037-1101) by Zhao Mengfu.

Before the boat even pulled onto the shore, Chan Master Foyin was already standing there waiting for Su Dongpo. Upon seeing Foyin, Su Dongpo said, “Chan Master, we are such intimate Dharma friends! It is fine that you do not compliment my practice or my poem. But how can you insult me like this?”

Innocently, as if nothing had happened, the Chan Master asked, “How have I insulted you?” Without saying another word, Su Dongpo simply showed the word “Fart” to Chan Master Foyin.

Laughing wholeheartedly, the Chan Master said, “Oh! Didn’t you say that the eight winds cannot move you? How come you are sent across the river with just a little fart?!

Su Dongpo’s anger suddenly drained away as he understood his friend’s meaning. If he really was a man of spiritual refinement, completely unaffected by the eight winds, then how could he be so easily provoked? With a few strokes of the pen and minimal effort, Foyin showed that Su Dongpo was in fact not as spiritually advanced as he claimed to be. Ashamed but wiser, Su Dongpo departed quietly.

Chinese use the word “fart” to say you are speaking nonsense.

NOTE: This story is included a discourse by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III entitled “It Will Be Fruitless If One Does Not Listen to Discourses in Accordance with the Dharma Expounded in This Discourse” that is part of LFBCS Course D01-Buddhism for Beginners, Listening to the Supreme & Magnificent Dharma.

CLICK for article on “It Will Be Fruitless If One Does Not Listen to Discourses in Accordance with the Dharma Expounded in This Discourse.”

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Thus Have I Seen (and Heard) on zhaxizhuoma.org is a blog offered by Zhaxi Zhuoma for English-speaking followers and those interested in the teachings and activities of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Read more about this blog

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Most of the quotes from H.H Dorje Chang Buddha III posted on this blog are from unapproved translations and may contain errors. Likewise the contents of this blog have not been reviewed or approved by the Buddha and should be considered as reference material and not Buddha-dharma.

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