The Gates of Heaven and Hell

A WARRIOR CAME TO THE ZEN MASTER HAKUIN AND ASKED “IS THERE
SUCH A THING AS HEAVEN AND HELL?”

HAKUIN SAID “WHO ARE YOU?”

THE WARRIOR REPLIED “I AM CHIEF SAMURAI TO THE EMPEROR.”
HAKUIN SAID “YOU, A SAMURAI? WITH A FACE LIKE THAT, YOU LOOK
MORE LIKE A BEGGAR.”

AT THIS THE WARRIOR BECAME SO ANGRY HE DREW HIS SWORD.
STANDING CALMLY IN FRONT OF HIM, HAKUIN SAID “HERE OPEN THE
GATES OF HELL.”

PERCEIVING THE MASTER’S COMPOSURE, THE SOLDIER SHEATHED HIS
SWORD AND BOWED.

HAKUIN THEN SAID “AND HERE OPEN THE GATES OF HEAVEN.”

This samurai had come with a simple question. He was not interested in scriptures, not in cost, not in any verbal answer. He was interested in reality. And what did Hakuin do? He said, “Who are you?” And the warrior replied, “I am a samurai.” It is a thing of much pride to be a samurai in Japan. It means being a perfect warrior, a man who will not hesitate a single moment to give his life. For him, life and death are just a game. He said, “I am a samurai, I am a leader of samurais. Even the emperor pays respect to me.”

Hakuin laughed and said, ” You, a samurai? You look like a beggar.”

The samurai’s pride was hurt, his ego hammered. He forgot what he had come for. He took out his sword and was just about to kill Hakuin. He forgot that he had come to this master to ask where is the gate of heaven, to ask where is the gate of hell. Then Hakuin laughed and said, “This is the gate of hell. With this sword, this anger, this ego, here opens the gate.” This is what a warrior can understand. Immediately he understood: This is the gate. He put his sword back in its sheath. And Hakuin said, “Here opens the gate of heaven.”

Hell and heaven are within you, both gates are within you. When you are behaving unconsciously there is the gate of hell; when you become alert and conscious, there is the gate of heaven.

What happened to this samurai? When he was just about to kill Hakuin, was he conscious? Was he conscious of what he was about to do? Was he conscious of what he had come for? All consciousness had disappeared. When the ego takes over, you cannot be alert. Ego is the drug, the intoxicant that makes you completely unconscious. You act but the act comes from the unconscious, not from your consciousness. And whenever any act comes from the unconscious, the door of hell is open. Whatsoever you do, if you are not aware of what you are doing the gate of hell opens. Immediately the samurai became alert. Suddenly, when Hakuin said, “This is the gate, you have already opened it —” the very situation must have created alertness.

- OSHO