[maysubers]

the buddhists say there are
8 winds:

gain & loss
praise & ridicule
credit & blame
suffering & joy

if you aren't aware of them,
they will blow you away
like dry leaves in
the autumn breeze.

for example,
when someone praises you,
and that taste is sweet,
like candy in your mouth
you are being blown away
by the wind of praise.

one day in ancient china,
a young man thought he had
become enlightened.
he wrote a poem to his master
about how he was not blown by the
8 winds.
then he sent it to his master
who lived 300 miles
up the yangtze river.

when his master read the poem,
he wrote, "fart, fart"
on the bottom
and sent it back.

the more the young man
read those words,
the more upset he got.

at last he decided to
visit his master.
in those days, a
300 mile trip up the
yangtze river was a
very difficult journey.

as soon as he arrived,
he went straight to his master's
temple.
"why did you write this?"
he asked, bowing.
"doesn't this poem show
that i am no longer
blown about by the 8 winds?"

"you say that you are no longer
blown by the 8 winds,"
replied his master,
"but two little farts
blew you all the way
up here."