[ wp ] after dying god informs you that hell is a myth , and `` everyone sins , its ok '' . instead the dead are sorted into six `` houses of heaven '' based on the sins they chose .

*Circa 500 B.C. * 
 
 His sandals slapped on the marble, the sound barely rising above the distant moaning and heady laughter echoing from the other Houses. The worn-out strips of leather that wrapped his feet were out of place against the ornate floor-murals made with deep azures and gold-leafed designs. 
 
 The walls seemed to be moving - squeezing in, and squeezing out. The acrid scent of burning filled the hallway, and slight tendrils of smoke lifted up from the corners of the room. 
 
 **'' WELL? `` ** the voice of God swept over him like a wave, threatening to knock him to his knees. 
 
 Chandeliers hanging from the vaulted ceiling clinked and swayed, causing tiny lights to dance over the man's shaved head. 
 
 He clasped his hands together, and as if refusing nothing more than a sweet treat, he said, `` No, thank you.'' 
 
 As if in response, the whole room quaked. Tremors rattled the chandeliers, and bits of crystal rained down on the marble floor, shattering like ice. 
 
 **'' I HAVE SHOWN YOU ALL OF MY HOUSES. HOW CAN NONE OF THEM INTEREST YOU? `` ** God demanded. 
 
 The man rubbed at the back of his shiny scalp, a lopsided touching his wrinkled eyes, `` Forgive me, but it is all very *material*.'' 
 
 The tendrils of smoke plumed into columns, **'' AND? `` ** 
 
 His grin faltered. He shrugged, and adjusted the wine-colored sash wrapped around his body, saying `` I thought there would be more.'' 
 
 **'' MORE? `` ** the floor below his feet shook, and this time he really did fall to his knees, **'' YOU STAND IN THE HOUSE OF GREED, AND YOU WANT MORE? `` ** 
 
 `` Yes. No. I mean to say, I thought your heaven would be *different. *'' 
 
 **'' UNGRATEFUL! `` ** the voice of God roared, and cracks appeared through the marbled murals. The chandeliers rocked violently, and a rain of shattered crystal and flakes of gold crackled around him. But the man did not move to cover himself. Instead, he crossed his legs, clasped his hands together, and waited while the tides of Anger broke over him. 
 
 **'' THEN I WILL GIVE YOU MORE. BEHOLD, MY SEVENTH HOUSE - AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. `` ** 
 
 `` Nobody is disputing your claim-.'' 
 
 **'' BEHOLD! `` ** 
 
 Tongues of flame burst from the floor and licked up the walls, bathing them in fire. The rain of crystal and gold became a bright crimson liquid, and the marble cracked and ground against itself, until it was nothing more than a coarse sand that burned at the touch. Distant moans of ecstasy became cries of agony, and a pulsing sound - a drum beat, or a heart beat - hammered through the House. 
 
 The man drew a long, deep breath through his nose. He closed his eyes, as if he were sitting by the side of a calm mountain stream, instead of a boiling lake of fire. He allowed a serenity to settle onto his face as he counted his breaths. 
 
 **'' IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED? `` ** God howled, **'' TO SEE MY SEVENTH HOUSE? `` ** 
 
 `` Not really, no.'' 
 
 **'' WHAT KIND OF GOD-FEARING MAN ARE YOU? `` ** 
 
 `` I'm not, really.'' 
 
 **'' YOU ARE NOT IMPRESSED? `` ** 
 
 `` I have seen your Houses, six plus one. Your pride and your lust run deep. I have felt your anger and your unimaginable greed. And I have found it lacking.'' 
 
 **'' LACKING?! `` ** the voice of God boomed. And then, the voice of God echoed the question, except this time God seemed to be asking the question of God's self, **'' LACKING...'' ** 
 
 `` Yes,'' the man folded slipped his hands inside his saffron sleeves, `` I have already lived a material life. I believed - I *hoped* there would be something more.'' 
 
 The beat of the drums faded, and the walls of infernos diminished into sizzling torches. Even the sand cooled, and became smooth. 
 
 **'' WHAT DID YOU HAVE IN MIND? `` ** 
 
 The man bowed his head, and for a time the House was silent. When at last he spoke, a wistful expression played at the wings of his lips, `` I had hoped, humbly, for a place to contemplate. Perhaps you could make a new House, bereft of desire, and void of sin.'' 
 
 The animosity was gone from God's voice, **'' YOU ASK FOR AN EIGHTH HOUSE? `` ** 
 
 `` I do. A house of *peace*.'' 
 
 God's response was slow, mediated, as if the idea of *peace* was foreign to him, **'' GO ON. `` ** 
 
 `` Have you heard of a man called Buddha?''
