See, speak, hear, and smell no evil

Higher forces work in mysterious ways. Recently, in the middle of the night,I was convinced that I saw a nose, a pair of eyes, an ear, and a mouth float separately by the end of my bed.  None of these parts seemed to belong to the same person. I watched the spectacle in silent apprehension, unsure if I was dreaming.

The next morning, I reflected back on the idea that I should trust my intuition and instincts about people I had met the previous day. In their own ways, they symbolized guardian angels or helpers who taught me new things about myself.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized my views about myself form my perceptions and shape what I gain from each experience.

I thought of a blond woman I had met seated in a cafe and studying Italian. This student admitted learning new things was difficult and carrying a big dictionary of knowledge was a burden, but also that her struggle was worth it. Turned out this student was moonlighting as a cafe waitress and offered me her table. I realized this was a good vantage point to remind myself who I am. I sensed all that I think, say and hear reinforce my perceptions of myself, my potential and the world.

I thought of a computer technician I had met in the city after a year working abroad. He expressed joy about his new experiences, the struggle to make money and to find another new place to live. He reminded me that I constantly seek ways to satisfy my needs when there is really nothing I have to do but live life.I realized my willingness to engage in each new experiences enables me to meet my needs. My imagination may exaggerate my irregular circumstances yet my growing ability to listen and understand is inestimable.

I thought of an Indian man I met who is concerned about his evolving long-distance relationship.  He has slowly learned he can't resolve his current fears without accepting that each decision he makes is valuable. He reminded me that assuming I ask meaningful questions about my own relationships enables me not to worry about the answers. The point is recognizing I don't know everything about the 'here and now'. I become more thankful about new obstacles that appear because they prompt my increasing self-awareness and understanding.

I sense a deeper significance of, "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil." This phrase is often used to describe someone who wishes a difficult learning phase of a life journey was over. This phrase also reminds you how speaking ill of others may come back to haunt you. Do you wish that?

The saying is typically associated with three monkeys; one covering his eyes, one covering his ears, and the other covering his mouth that may originate in a 17th century temple in Japan. The Nikko Toshogo Shrine, also known as the Sacred Stable, in Japan has a carving of three wise monkeys. Many scholars believe the monkeys were carved as a visual representation of this key principle.

Others believe the saying originated from a Japanese play on words. “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," translated into Japanese is, “mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru." The Japanese word for monkey is “saru", and sounds similar to the verb-ending “zaru". The saying may stem from a play on words.  Curiously, a Chinese Buddhist monk introduced the three wise monkeys to Japan in the eighth century A.D. Their gestures may represent the command of a blue-faced deity called Vadjra.

As it happens, we're all free to see, hear and say what we chose, provided we don't care about the consequences. They will unfold, regardless of our attitude and what we sense about them. It's up to each of us to decide whether we choose to experience any kind of conscious evolution.