美食祈祷与恋爱意大利文化 《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 87 (206):地狱的样子

《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 87 (206):地狱的样子  

Karma is a notion I've always liked. Not so much literally. Not necessarily because I be-lieve that I used to be Cleopatra's bartender—but more metaphorically. The karmic philo-sophy appeals to me on a metaphorical level because even in one lifetime it's obvious how of-ten we must repeat our same mistakes
banging our heads against the same old addictions and pulsions
generating the same old miserable and often catastrophic consequences
until we can finally stop and fix it. This is the supreme lesson of karma (and also of Western psychology
by the way)—take care of the problems now
or else you'll just have to suffer again later when you screw everything up the next time. And that repetition of suffer-ing—that's hell. Moving out of that endless repetition to a new level of understanding—there's where you'll find heaven.
But here Ketut was talking about heaven and hell in a different way
as if they are real places in the universe which he has actually visited. At least I think that's what he meant. Trying to get clear on this
I asked
"You have been to hell
Ketut?"
He smiled. Of course he's been there.
他微笑。他当然去过。
"What's it like in hell?"
"Same like heaven
" he said.
He saw my confusion and tried to explain. "Universe is a circle
Liss."
I still wasn't sure I understood.
He said. "To up
to down—all same
at end."
I remembered an old Christian mystic notion: As above
so below. I asked. "Then how can you tell the difference beeen heaven and hell?"
"Because of how you go. Heaven
you go up
through seven happy places. Hell
you go down
through seven sad places. This is why it better for you to go up
Liss." He laughed.
I asked
"You mean
you might as well spend your life going upward
through the happy places
since heaven and hell—the destinations—are the same thing anyway?"
"Same-same
" he said. "Same in end
so better to be happy on journey."
I said
"So
if heaven is love
then hell is . . ."
"Love
too
" he said.
I sat with that one for a while
trying to make the math work.
Ketut laughed again
slapped my knee affectionately with his hand. "Always so difficult for young person to understand this!" Eat
Pray
Love