Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil

The Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil apes or the mystic monkeys as they have been called depict a very novel and ancient concept one that I have been fascinated with for a long time now.  They are often used to depict societies in which people turn a blind eye towards crime and general depravity which is tolerated by that society.  The original thought behind them was that a man without guile in his heart will never speak, hear, or see the evil that surrounds them.   This definition however can be a bit misleading because it is not talking about naivety.  Naivety can shield a person from the harshness of the world, and the reason for this is simple when you are looking for only the good in people you will be oblivious to their nefarious nature.    For instance when you see a man walking down the street there are two ways the man can be looked at and it is a person experience that determines how it is seen.  If the man were looking very closely at the houses as he walked by one could say well these houses are very nice and this is a nice neighborhood he is probably just marveling at how astatically pleasing it is, on the flip side one might have noticed that the man had a very slight build and have assumed that man must be looking for something to steal so he can pawn it off for some drugs.   Since for inquisitive people like me this is impossible, and the fact that monkeys are used to symbolize it which are some of the most inquisitive animals in the world, this leads me to believe the saying resembles the statement “Seek No Evil” in that it has more to do with intent and it gives you some good concepts to live by. 

Speak No Evil (Iwazaru, the monkey’s name in case you were wondering), , speaking is one of our only ways to communicate with the world and if you put the two together it means one should influence the world in a positive way, because everyone influences the world in some way. 

See No Evil (Mizaru) , eyes have to do with what a person “looks” for out of any situation, If your looking to find ways to better yourself and your situation at all times much of the negativity one can view or see is taken as cautionary instead of instructional. 

Hear No Evil (Kikazaru), Listening is the primary receptor for communication and as said earlier communication is how influence is made, in that respect it is talking about how a person is influenced by others and the world one should never let themselves to influenced into “Evil” .  The mind is an amazing thing and can filter out all information we are given and can predict possible outcomes to any given situation, most of lives problems could be avoided with simply thinking of things in terms of cause and effect.