When you are aware, you are in heaven. Become alert, wake up, become aware! And this will happen to you.
Zen Master Hakuin is one of the few blooming. One day a warrior, a samurai, a great soldier, came to him and asked:
- Is there hell? Is there heaven? If there is heaven and hell, then where is the gate? Where can I login?
This man was a simple warrior. Warriors are always simple, unsophisticated. He knew only two things: life and death. He didn't have any philosophy, he just wanted to know where the gate was so he could escape hell and go to heaven. And Hakuin answered in such a way that the warrior could understand.
- Who are you? - asked Hakuin.
“I am a samurai,” answered the warrior.
It is a very honorable thing to be a samurai in Japan. This means being a complete warrior who never hesitates for a second to let you live. He said, “I am a samurai, a leader of the samurai. The Emperor himself pays tribute to me." Hakuin laughed and replied:
- Are you a samurai? You look like some kind of poor ragamuffin!
Samurai pride was hurt. He forgot why he came. He instantly pulled out his sword and was about to kill Hakuin. Hakuin laughed and said:
- This is the Gates of Hell. With a sword, in anger, with your ego - you will open them.
The warrior could understand this. The samurai immediately realized. He sheathed his sword and Hakuin said:
“And here the Gates of Heaven open.”
Heaven and hell exist in you. And the gate is in you.
If you are not conscious, this is the gate of hell. If you are alert and aware, this is the gate of heaven. Mind is heaven, mind is hell, and mind is the means to become different. But people continue to think that everything is somewhere outside, outside of them. Heaven and hell are not at the end of life, they are here and now. The door is always open. At any moment you yourself choose between heaven and hell.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru