A Japanese warrior approached a Zen master searching for an answer to a question that was troubling him.
“Tell me master” asked the warrior, “are there heaven and hell?”
“Ha!” snorted the master in what seemed to be scorn for the warrior.
“What makes you think you could understand such things?” “You are only an uneducated soldier who is wasting my time.”
The warrior immediately froze in shock, no one, but no one, ever spoke to a warrior like this. It meant instant death.
“You are still here” said the master. “Are you too stupid to understand what I said?” bellowed the master. “Stop wasting my time and get out of here.”
The warrior was overtaken by rage; his hand flew like lightning to his sword and swept it aloft for the kill. But just before the sword descended on the master’s head, he heard the master say “this is the gate to hell.”
The warrior froze in astonishment. His own rage brought hell to him and to those he attacked and the master risked his own life to make this point inescapably clear.
Sighing deeply, the warrior placed his sword back in its sheath and bowed humbly in awe.
“And this is the gate to heaven” smiled the master.
