How are you today?

[MikeW]

There was once a Samurai, named Nobuchika, who approached the Zen master, named Hakuin, and asked whether there were really Hell and Heaven. The Zen master asked him, “Who are you?” The Samurai answered, “I am a Samurai, sir”. “Uh! Are you?”, the master exclaimed, “You don’t look like a Samurai; you look like a beggar”. The Samurai got angry and grabbed his sword. When Master Hakuin saw this he said, “Uh! You have a sword. It looks very dull. What can you do with a dull sword?” Nobuchika drew his sword out of its sheath. Then Master Hakuin said, softly, “See! There the gate of Hell opens.” When Hobuchika heard the master's wisdom he calmed down and began to re-sheath his sword. "And there," said Master Hakuin, "lies the gate of heaven”.

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