"Heaven" and "Hell"
The title of this message was chosen in relation to one of my favorite little stories from Zen canon (here’s a collection of them). These stories are helpful in cutting through conceptual blocks. I think we often know what’s best for us conceptually, intellectually, but it’s something different to act in accordance with this knowledge. I once heard that wisdom is the ability to take one’s own advice. To my mind, these stories are not to be scrutinized for correct understanding, but rather felt for their basic meaning; like a joke… you just “get” it, and something inside you shifts, adjusts, releases (e.g., a genuine laugh). So, to receive this story, don’t worry about the intellectual meaning; just see if you “get” it and then take it in your own unique way. And then you might utilize it as a little heuristic device to help you remember to keep taking your own advice in daily living.
Here’s my own retelling of the story:
A samurai warrior visited a Zen master
in order to learn
and receive the master’s wisdom.
Upon meeting the master, the warrior asked,
”Is there really a heaven and hell?”
The master responded, “Who are you?”
”I am a samurai,” said the warrior.
The master appeared incredulous,
even offended,
”A samurai?
Who could you protect?
Who could you defeat?”
The master continued to belittle the warrior,
gradually enraging him to the point of
angrily gripping his sheathed sword.
The master continued,
“What will you do with that?
Your sword is surely too dull
to cut off my head.”
The soldier, unable to take any more of the unexpected criticism,
drew his sword
and moved to attack the master.
As the soldier approached,
the master said calmly,
”Here open the gates of hell.”
The warrior halted his movement,
clearly received the implicit message,
humbly sheathed his sword,
and kneeled before the master.
”Here open the gates of heaven,”
said the master.
In this story I’ve substituted the term “heaven” for the word “paradise” (the word selected in the translations I’ve come across). Would it have been different for you if the term was “paradise”? I was recently discussing the notion of “heaven” as something that is available only now in This Moment (and now… in This Moment… This… This… This). I’d be interested to know what you think, as well as how you received this story, and I’ll continue on the subject next week with further exploration into this notion of “heaven” as something available Now.