Excerpt from Christophe Lorreyte's book - Learn to meditate with the Tangram practice.
This reminds me of a little Japanese Zen story attributed to Hakuin (18th century Zen monk).
One day, a samurai went to meet the monk Hakuin and asked him this question:
- Is there really a hell and a heaven?
- But who are you," Hakuin asked him in return.
- I am the samurai...
- No sooner had he started to answer than Hakuin interrupted him, immediately retorting:
- You, a warrior! You've got to be kidding me. Who would take you into their service? You look more like a beggar. What lord with your looks would hire you?
Anger, like a devastating wind, seized the samurai, who brutally drew his katana.
Without batting an eyelid, Hakuin, unperturbed, continued his speech:
- Ah well, you even have a sword! But you are certainly too clumsy to cut my head off.
Hearing these words, the samurai went berserk and raised his blade above the monk's head, ready to dive in and detach it from his neck.
It was at that very moment that Hakuin said to him:
- Here the gates of hell open.
Bewildered by the unthinkable tranquillity that the monk exuded, the samurai sheathed his instrument of death and bowed.
Then the monk Hakuin said to him:
- Here the gates of paradise open.
Like the samurai in this story, the way we look at situations in our lives can take us in very different directions. The way we look at events is crucial. We cultivate a real superpower when the spirit of meditation illuminates all areas.
We extract ourselves from parasitic thoughts such as :
- It's not fair what's happening to me,
- I'm not a part of this story anymore,
- Some people are lucky all the same,
- And if I had this instead of this, it would have been better,
- It's the other guy's fault,
- I'll never make it ....
Accept what is through daily practice.
