Inch Time Foot Gem
A governor visited Master Gudo and asked,
"
Is there a hell and a paradise?" Gudo replied,
"Why do you ask?" The governor said,
"I am a governor." Gudo's face turned stern. "What?
You are a governor?" he exclaimed. "You look like a beggar to me!" Enraged, the governor reached for his sword.
Gudo said,
"So you have a sword.
That opens the gates of hell." The governor, realizing his anger, sheathed his sword and bowed.
Gudo said,
"And that opens the gates of paradise."
Reflection
Gudo's teaching about hell and paradise uses the governor's own reaction to demonstrate immediate karma. When he takes offense, his anger opens the gates of hell in that very moment. When he realizes his mistake and bows, paradise opens. Heaven and hell are not future destinations but mental states arising and falling based on our responses in each moment.