The Teaching of the Three Wise Monkeys of the Toshogu Shrine

The teaching that the wooden sculpture of the Toshogu Sanctuary of the 3 Wise Monkeys leaves us continues to inspire us today. Its original message was simple as well as emphatic: “do not listen to what leads you to do bad actions.””, “do not see bad actions as something natural” and “do not speak evil without foundation”.

Curiously, time and Our Western vision simplified its original teaching a little. to stay only with the classic “see, hear and shut up”. A motto that which we can even find in the form of an emoticon in the WhatsApp and that, in some way, it quite distorts the original idea and even the order of the figures represented.

However, the teaching goes much further than all this, because this 16th century representation erected in honor of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasum, nourishes its roots from the teachings of Confucius and, For many, the message of the three monkeys also has a lot to do with Socrates’ three filters.

Be that as it may, it is always enriching to immerse ourselves in this type of classic iconography and its original wisdom to be able to reflect and update our knowledge a little. The 3 wise monkeys of Togoshu give off that moral code and that mysticism that we like so much and that today we want to share with you.

What the legend says about the 3 wise monkeys

The legend of the 3 wise monkeys has its origins in Chinese mythology. It tells a striking story starring three curious characters. The protagonists are Kikazaru, the monkey who does not hear, Iwazaru, the monkey who does not speak and Mizaru, the monkey who does not see.

These three unique creatures were sent by the gods as observers and messengers. They had to bear witness to the acts and bad deeds of humanity to bring them to the attention of the deities themselves. Now, these divine messengers acted according to a magical spell by which they were granted two virtues and one defect, being represented in the following order:

Kikazaru, the deaf monkey, is the one who observed everyone who committed bad actions. Later, he communicated them to the blind monkey by voice. For his part, Mizaru, the blind monkey, is the one who transmits messages from the deaf monkey to the dumb monkey.to Iwazaru. Iwazaru, therefore, is the one who received the messages from the blind monkey. It was Iwazru who ensured the fulfillment of the sentence imposed by the gods on humans.since it was he who decided the punishment they should receive.

What emerges from this story is above all the need to always keep ourselves clean in spirit.avoiding listening to what forces us to act in a bad way, avoiding speaking without foundation and not seeing bad actions as something natural.

The 3 filters of Socrates

There is an interesting parallel between the legend of the three wise monkeys and that story that the Greek philosopher himself left us, where he explained how a student of his came into his house one morning eager to explain a rumor. Faced with the young man’s impatience, the wise man explained that before revealing that news, he should think about these three dimensions:

The rumor that you are going to explain to me… has it been verified? Is it a TRUTH in your opinion? Is what you want to explain at least GOOD? Lastly, What you are going to tell me, is it really useful or NECESSARY?

These three filters, as we see, have a lot to do with the profiles that each monkey represents. of Toshogu Temple.

Kikazaru is the monkey who covers his ears

Kikazaru, in addition to being wise, is prudent. It is the monkey that we have on the left and that chooses to cover his ears when faced with certain information because he simply wants to preserve his balance.

Therefore, it is not about shying away from certain data, truths or evidence. It is not a cowardly or defeatist attitude, but rather it outlines that figure that leaves aside information that is not useful and that it is harmful in order to protect its integrity.

The monkey that covers its mouth: Iwazaru

Iwazaru is the little monkey in the center who represents the need not to transmit evilnot to spread gossip and, above all, to be very cautious when it comes to spreading those stories that, as Socrates reminds us with his three filters, are neither true, nor good, nor even less useful.

Mizaru, the blind monkey

From a Socratic view, Mirazu represents a direct invitation to close your eyes to what is uselessin the face of what is neither useful nor good… Nor is there a passive or cowardly attitude here.

It is not about turning one’s face away, about not denouncing evil or the evil one himself. (remember that in the legend, it is the monkeys themselves who decide the punishments) . It is about applying that wise look of someone who knows how to differentiate good from bad.who sanctions the perverse to keep the luminous, the noble and that which helps us to be better.

To conclude, both in the original legend and in the three filters of Socrates, a primordial teaching is distilled that has survived the echo of time, and that continues to be more useful than ever: We must be cautious with what we say, wise with what we listen to and skillful when directing our gaze.. Three mechanisms that will undoubtedly help us preserve our internal balance and our happiness.

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