{"id":6624,"date":"2014-06-26T10:48:31","date_gmt":"2014-06-26T14:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?p=6624"},"modified":"2014-06-26T10:48:31","modified_gmt":"2014-06-26T14:48:31","slug":"self-created-heaven-and-hell-a-zen-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/06\/self-created-heaven-and-hell-a-zen-tale.html","title":{"rendered":"Self Created Heaven and Hell: A Zen Tale"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"monk-buddha-hanoi-2821203-m\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Depending upon your religious beliefs, you may perceive of heaven and hell as actual places you go when you die, commensurate with your choices and actions here on this earthly plane of existence. Often used with the intention to keep people in line and well behaved, I can say without a doubt, that\u00a0the allure of heaven or threat of hell\u00a0is neither a\u00a0deterrent nor an incentive.\u00a0 When you consider the crime rate and people intentionally causing harm and wreaking havoc, you may agree. Doing good, being of service, acting with kindness and love, when coming from genuine desire,\u00a0 are a better barometer when done for their own sake. Although I was raised in a Jewish home and in a larger Judeo-Christian community, in which I was taught that they were indeed places: although no one ever located them on\u00a0 a map for me, I have come to believe, that they are self created.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is an ancient Zen tale\u00a0that\u00a0beautifully illustrates this idea. A big burly samurai comes to the wise man and says, \u201cTell me the nature of heaven and hell.\u201d And the roshi looks him in the face and says: \u201cWhy should I tell a scruffy, disgusting, miserable slob like you?\u201d The samurai starts to get purple in the face, his hair starts to stand up, but the roshi won\u2019t stop, he keeps saying, \u201cA miserable worm like you, do you think I should tell you anything?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Consumed by rage, the samurai draws his sword, and he\u2019s just about to cut off the head of the roshi.<\/p>\n

Then the roshi says, \u201cThat\u2019s hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

The samurai takes a step back and a deep breath along with it, bows his head and places his hands in prayer pose over his heart.<\/p>\n

“And that,” adds the roshi, “is heaven.”<\/p>\n

When we are caught up in anger and judgment, we are in a self created hell. When we dissolve into love, like sugar in warm water, then we are in a self designed heaven. Does that mean that we are not permitted to feel anger and frustration?\u00a0 Not at all. We are human beings with a full range of emotions that allow us to be genuine. It is when we stay in unsavory mood states and use them to harm ourselves or others, that we are in the danger zone.<\/p>\n

Each day, I know I have a choice. I carry judgments about the ways in which I and other people ‘should’ think and act. It is when I haul them around for too long, that they become heavy and burdensome. It is when I consciously choose to put them down, that I levitate into the heaven of my imagination.<\/p>\n

Photo credit:\u00a0 Tranquilite\u00a0 alq666\/flickr <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Depending upon your religious beliefs, you may perceive of heaven and hell as actual places you go when you die, commensurate with your choices and actions here on this earthly plane of existence. Often used with the intention to keep people in line and well behaved, I can say without a doubt, that\u00a0the allure…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,13,19,14,16,10],"tags":[2563,4897,1620,3857,1840,3856,413],"class_list":["post-6624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-bliss","category-blissfull-thinking","category-empowerment","category-how-to-invite-bliss","category-my-personal-bliss","category-spirituality","tag-buddhism","tag-edie-weinstein","tag-judaism","tag-judeo-christian","tag-monk","tag-roshi","tag-zen"],"yoast_head":"\nSelf Created Heaven and Hell: A Zen Tale - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/06\/self-created-heaven-and-hell-a-zen-tale.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Self Created Heaven and Hell: A Zen Tale - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  Depending upon your religious beliefs, you may perceive of heaven and hell as actual places you go when you die, commensurate with your choices and actions here on this earthly plane of existence. 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She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. 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