Monday, July 7, 2008

Heaven and Hell

A samurai warrior, seeking enlightenment, called upon a Zen master.
‘What is the essence of Heaven and of Hell?’ asked the samurai.
The Zen master looked at the warrior keenly and then laughed. ‘How can a great oaf of a samurai like yourself expect to understand the essence of Heaven and Hell?’
The samurai’s brow furrowed into well-worn grooves of anger, as the Zen master continued to laugh. He reached instinctively for his sword to cut off the Zen master’s head.
‘This,’ said the Zen master, holding up a finger, ‘is Hell.’
The samurai stopped. The furrows disappeared, as the samurai was filled with the liberating truth of this insight. He composed himself and bowed humbly to the Zen master.
‘And this… is Heaven,’ said the Zen master, bowing in return.
Posted by Alex at 4:38 PM
Labels: , ,

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion. Herein lies the germ of all art and all true science. Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of wonderment and lives in a state of fear, is a dead man. To know that what is impenetrable for us really exists and manifests itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties - this knowledge, this feeling ... that is the core of the true religious sentiment. In this sense, and in this sense alone, I rank myself among profoundly religious men.
Albert Einstein
Powered by WebRing®.