First hell and then heaven
O master, what is self-control?
I will tell you a tale about a samurai and his master. The samurai had little confidence in his master and therefore asked him a difficult question: 'Master, could you show me heaven and hell?' At first, the master was silent but he soon started making remarks about how stupid the samurai was and how what he had asked was a very simple question. The samurai became angry and irritated.
But the master carried on. He even started making offensive remarks about the samurai's family. And then he said: 'You weak and stupid samurai, nobody will ever take you on. You don't even know what to do with that sword because you don't have the courage to use it.'
It all became too much for the samurai who, raging with anger and blinded by fury, wanted to lash out with his sword to bring the master down a peg or two. But just before he lashed out, the master, who had been sitting for all that time, stood up and said: 'STOP! Can you see hell now?' The samurai could feel all his rage and how he had completely lost self-control just because of some words. He had also been on the point of slaying a highly regarded master. He would have lost everything, his respect and self-worth, and everyone would have condemned him. Now, he could clearly understand what the master meant, he could see hell.
Slowly, he came to his senses and understood what had happened, what the master had done tohim. All his pent-up anger suddenly disappeared and his mistrust of his master was completely gone. He greeted the master with respect and thanked him for his wise lesson.
The master then gave him a beautiful flower and said: 'Now you can see heaven. You first had to experience hell in order to understand heaven.' Now the samurai could indeed see heaven!
* Food for thought
If we lose our self-control, we often do stupid things. What other people say about you is only true if you listen to them.
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