A Buddhist story of Heaven and Hell.
Over the years, I've come across versions of this story many times.
While visiting the temple one day, a young seeker approached the master of the temple.
"What are the differences between Heaven and Hell?" the young seeker asked the learned master.
"There are no material differences," replied the old monk peacefully.
"None at all?" asked the confused seeker.
"Yes. Both Heaven and Hell look the same. They all have a dining hall with a big hot pot in the center in which some delicious noodles are boiled, giving off an appetizing scent," said our old priest. "The size of the pan and the number of people sitting around the pot are the same in these two places."
The Zen master went on to explain. "Oddly, each diner is given a pair of meter-long chopsticks and must use them to eat the noodles. To eat the noodles, one must hold the chopsticks properly at their ends, no cheating is allowed,"
"In the case of Hell, people are always starved because no matter how hard they try, they fail to get the noodles into their mouths, They grow impatient and their hands and chopsticks entangle with one another's. The delicacies are scattered here and there, and everyone starves for want of those delicious foods just out of reach. The people could not eat, and they grew angry with each other, each believing the others were doing better."
"But doesn't the same happen to the people in Heaven?'
"No. They can eat because they each feed the person sitting opposite them at the table. In heaven, People happily use the long chopsticks to pick out someone else's favorite food and feed it to that person, and in turn they are being fed by others. They all enjoy their meal in harmony. That, you see, is the difference between Heaven and Hell,"
This is a story that speaks to my own spiritual journey.
While visiting the temple one day, a young seeker approached the master of the temple.
"What are the differences between Heaven and Hell?" the young seeker asked the learned master.
"There are no material differences," replied the old monk peacefully.
"None at all?" asked the confused seeker.
"Yes. Both Heaven and Hell look the same. They all have a dining hall with a big hot pot in the center in which some delicious noodles are boiled, giving off an appetizing scent," said our old priest. "The size of the pan and the number of people sitting around the pot are the same in these two places."
The Zen master went on to explain. "Oddly, each diner is given a pair of meter-long chopsticks and must use them to eat the noodles. To eat the noodles, one must hold the chopsticks properly at their ends, no cheating is allowed,"
"In the case of Hell, people are always starved because no matter how hard they try, they fail to get the noodles into their mouths, They grow impatient and their hands and chopsticks entangle with one another's. The delicacies are scattered here and there, and everyone starves for want of those delicious foods just out of reach. The people could not eat, and they grew angry with each other, each believing the others were doing better."
"But doesn't the same happen to the people in Heaven?'
"No. They can eat because they each feed the person sitting opposite them at the table. In heaven, People happily use the long chopsticks to pick out someone else's favorite food and feed it to that person, and in turn they are being fed by others. They all enjoy their meal in harmony. That, you see, is the difference between Heaven and Hell,"
This is a story that speaks to my own spiritual journey.