Heaven and hell are not geographic, they are psychological, they are psychology itself. Heaven and hell are not at the end of life, they are here and now.
The door opens every moment; at every moment we travel between heaven and hell. It is something that happens from moment to moment, in a moment we can pass from hell to heaven, or from heaven to hell. Hell and heaven are within us. The doors are very close to each other
with the right hand we can open one and with the left open the other. With a mental change, the whole being is transformed: from heaven to hell and from hell to heaven. When we act unconsciously, without consciousness, we enter into hell; when we are conscious, when we act in full consciousness, we are in heaven.
The Zen master Hakuin was visited by a warrior, a samurai, a great soldier, and asked: "Is there heaven, is there hell? And if there is heaven and hell, where are the gates? From where do you enter? How can I avoid hell and choose heaven? ยป
He was a simple warrior. A warrior is always simple; otherwise he would not be a warrior. A warrior knows only two things: life and death; his life is always at stake, he is always playing; he is a simple man. He had not come to learn any doctrine. He wanted to know where the gates were to avoid hell and to enter heaven. And Hakuin answered in the only way a warrior could understand.
What did Hakuin do?
He said, "Who are you?"
"I am a samurai," replied the warrior.
In Japan being a samurai is something to be proud of. It means being a perfect warrior, a man who will not hesitate for a second to surrender his life. For him, life and death are only a game. He said, "I am a samurai, I am a chief of samurai. Even the Emperor presents me his respects.
"You a samurai?" Hakuin laughed. You look more like a beggar.
The pride of the samurai was wounded, his ego crushed. He forgot what he had come for. He drew his sword and was about to kill Hakuin. He forgot that he had come to see the master to learn where the gates of heaven and hell are.
Hakuin laughed and said, "This is hell's door." With this sword, this anger, this ego, the door opens. This is something a warrior can understand. And the samurai immediately understood: this is the door. He re-sheathed the sword, apologizing
And Hakuin said, "Now you have opened the gates of heaven."