'What are the differences between Heaven and Hell?', a young Zen monk asked an aged Buddhist priest who was reknowned for his wisdom. 'There are no material differences,' replied the old monk. 'None at all?' asked the puzzled young monk. 'That's right. Both Heaven and Hell have a spacious hall with a big pot in the center in which noodles are boiled, giving off a delicious scent,' said the old priest. 'The size of the huge pan, the number of people sitting around the pot and the bowl of sauce placed in front of each diner are the same in both places.' 'The odd thing is that each diner is given a pair of meter-long chopsticks and must use them to eat the noodles.' 'To eat the noodles, you must hold the chopsticks properly at their ends,' the old monk told the young Zen monk. 'In the case of Hell's kitchen, people are always hungry because no matter how hard they try, they can't get the noodles into their mouths,' said the old priest. 'But isn't it the same case for the people in Heaven?' the junior monk inquited. 'No. They can eat because they each feed the person sitting opposite them at the table. That's the difference between Heaven and Hell,' explained the old monk. |