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A soldier named Nobushige came
to Hakuin, and asked:
"Is there really a paradise and a
hell?"
"Who are you?" inquired Hakuin.
"I am a samurai," the
warrior replied.
"You, a soldier!" exclaimed Hakuin.
"What kind of ruler would
have you as his guard? Your face looks like that of a
beggar."
Nobushige became angry, he began to draw his sword, Hakuin
continued:
"So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably too dull to
cut off my head."
As Nobushige drew his sword Hakuin remarked:
"Here open the gates of
hell!"
At these words the samurai, perceiving the master's
discipline, sheathed his sword and bowed.
"Here open the gates of
paradise," said Hakuin.
"Before Newton, the heavenly realm and earthly
realm remained separate.
The heavenly
realm was the realm of perfection, where heavenly bodies moved in perfect
circles (well, actually ellipses) and along predictable paths.
The
earthly realm was chaotic; what order there was (tides,
day and night,
seasons, and so forth) seemed to
originate in the heavens.
Naturally people associate
the heavenly realm of order and
mathematical perfection with God.
Heavenly bodies were not subject
to earthly laws -
the moon does not fall out of the sky
the way Galileo's weights fell from the leaning tower of Pisa." -
Charles
Eisenstein
"God, who is all these kinds of heavens in one, has
fallen on our heads like thunder, and
God's infinity is ours." - Henri
Barbusse
heaven is defined as:abode of bliss
dwelling place of gods
abode of souls after
death
place
conceived of as the domain of divine
beings
The condition of
supreme happiness or
great comfort,
delight, or
pleasure; perfect felicity;
bliss;
a sublime or exalted condition;
a heaven of
delight.
The expanse of space surrounding the earth; especially,
that which appears to be over the Earth like a great arch or dome; the
firmament; the sky; the place where the sun,
moon, and stars appear.
The
usual Hebrew word for "heavens"
is _shamayim_, a plural form meaning "heights," "elevations" (Gen. 1:1; 2:1).
The Hebrew word _marom_ is also used (Ps. 68:18; 93:4; 102:19, etc.) as
equivalent to _shamayim_, "high places," "heights."
Hebrew word
_galgal_, literally a "a wheel, whirl, whirlwind" is rendered "heaven" in Ps.
77:18.
Hebrew _shahak_ rendered "sky" (Deut. 33:26;
Job 37:18; Ps. 18:11), plural
"clouds" (Job 35:5; 36:28; Ps. 68:34, "heavens or firmament.")
"To the Lord thy God belong
the heavens and the heavens of the heavens."
Resh Lakish said, they are
seven, viz.: Vilon, Rakia, Shchakim, Zbul, Maon, Makhon, Araboth.
Vilon
serves no purpose whatever save this, that it enters in the morning, and goes
forth in the evening,
and renews every day the work of creation.
Rakia is that in which are
set sun and moon, stars and constellations.
Shchakim is that in which
millstones stand and grind
manna for the righteous.
Zbul is
the heavenly Jerusalem and the
Temple, and the altar is built there, and Michael the great prince stands
and offers upon it an offering.
Maon is that in which are companies of
ministering angels, who utter His song in the night and are silent in the day
for the sake of the glory of Israel.
Makhon is that in which are the
treasures of hail, and the high dwelling-place of harmful dews and the high
dwelling-place of the round drops, and the chamber of
the whirlwind and of the storm, and
the retreat of noisome vapor; and their doors are made of fire.
Araboth
is that in which are righteousness and judgement and grace, the treasures of
life and the treasures of peace and the treasures of blessing, and the souls of
the righteous and the spirits and souls which are about to be forged, and the
dew with which the Holy One, blessed be He, is about to quicken mortals."-
Babylonian Talmud, Tract
Hagiga, Chapter II |
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