Heaven and hell
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A very subtle and cunning way of sowing guilt today is through the idea of heaven and hell. People exploit your fear and greed by showing you ideas of hell and heaven. They create in you greed for heaven and fear for hell. They create so many concepts of hell and heaven and sell them to you. They say, ‘If you practice these types of things, you will be rewarded with heaven; if you practice otherwise, you will be punished with hell.’ When you are given rules based on greed and fear, you automatically start creating deep guilt in you.
A small story:
Once a military general asked a Zen master, ‘Master, what are heaven and hell?’
The master asked, ‘What do you do for a living?’
The general replied, ‘I am a general.’
The master just laughed, ‘Which idiot asked you to be a general? You look more like a butcher!’
The general was furious and took out his sword shouting, ‘I will cut you to pieces.’
The master just raised his hand and said, ‘These are the gates of hell.’
The general realized his folly and bowed down deeply to the master for forgiveness.
The master continued, ‘These are the gates of heaven.’
Be very clear, heaven and hell are not physical locations. They are psychological states of your mind. One instant the mind may be in hell and the next it may be in heaven – the gates to heaven and hell open and close at any time alternately.