Hell And Heaven

A Zen Master was asked by the Emperor of Japan…. The Emperor had come and asked the same question, Krishna Deva. Maybe you are the reincarnation of the same Emperor! Because the Japanese tend to be reborn in India — this is the land of their Master, Buddha. Every Japanese keeps the desire to come to India some day. If they die without coming in this life, they are reborn here. They die with the desire.

The Emperor reached the Zen Master and asked him, “What is hell and what is heaven?”

The Zen Master looked at the Emperor and said “You son-of-a-bitch! Have you looked at your face in the mirror lately? I have never seen such a dirty-looking fellow before!”

The Emperor was enraged! He had not expected such a thing from such a great saint. You don’t know great saints! You know only small, puny saints. A real saint is not a cat, he is a tiger!

The Emperor was so enraged that he pulled his sword out of its sheath. He was going to cut the head of the Master. Just as the sword was coming closer, the Master said, “Wait! You are entering hell. This is the gate to hell.”

The way the Master said “Wait!” was so powerful that the Emperor’s hand was stopped in the middle, and he understood — “True!” He threw the sword away, fell at the feet of the Master, and the Master laughed and said, “This is the way to heaven! You have already experienced both within a single moment. The distance is not far.”

Whenever you are surrendered to existence, whenever you live in trust, love, prayer, joy, celebration, you are in heaven.

Osho – “Be Still and Know”
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