sortiwa
BY SOFO ARCHON
This is the transcript of a spontaneous talk.
Once upon a time, a samurai went to a famous Zen master and asked, “Are heaven and hell real?”
To which the Zen master responded, “Who are you?”
And the Zen samurai said, “I’m a soldier, I’m a warrior.”
“A soldier, a warrior?” the Zen master said, “Look at your face, you look like a beggar, not like a warrior. Get lost, you don’t deserve any of my time”
The samurai immediately became infuriated, so much so that he drew his sword, ready to take off the head of the Zen master.
At that moment, the Zen master said, “Here open the gates of hell.”
Realizing the profound wisdom of the Zen master, the samurai calmed down; a sense of tranquility and serenity and peacefulness overtook him. And he bowed to the Zen master.
Then, the Zen master said, “Here open the gates of heaven.”
***
Heaven and hell are not places that we visit in the afterlife, but states of consciousness that we can experience in the here and now.
When we are infuriated, hateful, aggressive, violent, then we experience a state of hell. But when we are serene, tranquil, peaceful, or when we are kind and compassionate, then we experience a state of heaven.
Source link
