here was once a Samurai Warrior who traveled to the distant home of an old monk. On arriving he burst through the door and bellowed, “Monk, tell me! What is the difference between heaven and hell?”

The monk sat still for a moment on the tatami-matted floor. Then he turned and looked up at the warrior. “You call yourself a samurai warrior,” he smirked. “Why, look at you. You’re nothing but a mere sliver of a man!”

“Whaaat!!” cried the samurai, as he reached for his sword.

“Oho!” said the monk. “I see you reach for your sword. I doubt you could cut the head off of a fly with that.”

The samurai was so infuriated that he could not hold himself back. He pulled his sword from its sheath and lifted it above his head to strike off the head of the old monk. At this the monk looked up into his seething eyes and said, “That, my son is the gate to hell.”

Realizing that the monk had risked his life to teach this lesson, the samurai slowly lowered his sword and put it back into the sheath. He bowed low to the monk in thanks for the teaching.

“My friend,” said the monk, “that is the gate to heaven”

adapted by John Porchino
in Spinning Tales, Weaving Hope
Stories, Storytelling and Activities for Peace, Justice and the Environment

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Spinning Tales,
Weaving Hope

Twenty nine wondrous stories from around the world. They range from the mythic to the silly and are are about loving each other, the Earth, and ourselves. Each story is enriched by storytelling tips, suggested activities and exercises, and resources.

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Dear Hearts,

Stories have a wonderful way of teaching lessons in ways that are neither confronting nor threatening. They allow us to see how we may be responding to people and events in inappropriate ways and to make corrections in our behavior without calling a lot of attention to it.

The above story has wisdom teachings in several areas: communication, manners, respect, and anger management, as well as how we create our own heaven or hell through the choices we make and the actions we take in each moment. For me, the most powerful lesson here is about how admiting and apologizing for poor choices can instantly turn things around and set them on the right track.

Choose to make it a great week.

Love and blessings,

Rick and Patricia

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