The Parable of the Impudent Monkey.
"Again a monkey?"
"Yes. Once there lived a monkey. She was impudent, proud, envious, and very stingy."
"What kind?"
"Greedy. She stole bananas from the other monkeys out of envy. One from each, again and again, night after night.
She gathered so many that she realized she could not possibly eat them all.
And at one point she stopped even sleeping, because a foul stench came from those overripe bananas.
For a long time she hesitated to throw it all away, to put her dwelling in order, to clear that foul mass from the walls of her home. But she could not bring herself to do it. Because anger, envy, greed toward others were first of all directed at herself. She could not, she did not want to get rid of what she had accumulated so long and so stubbornly. Even while understanding the absurdity of it.
Sometimes it is hard to tame pride. The more you accumulate, take, robbing someone, wishing to borrow from others, the less you become rich and the more you empty yourself to utter exhaustion and disgust with yourself.
For you will not find spirituality there."
"And what about the other monkeys? The ones the impudent monkey stole from?"
"They did not grieve. To lose a banana is not a great loss. To lose the striving to live in your truth—that is what they prized.
They went and gathered a new harvest. They did not starve, because they were firm in their knowledge and in their faith, and therefore a harvest was always prepared for them, fresh, fit for nourishment, sustaining and fostering them.
It happens that some borrow from others, hoping to enrich themselves, not understanding that they bring misfortune only upon themselves. Not upon those from whom they took, but upon themselves. And they gather so much that this greed, anger, hatred and envy poison their own temple of the soul, rotting inside like a venom hidden from sight. Keep the temple of your soul in light and spaciousness. Always choose for your soul the food you need, that which will nurture within you that very flame of hope, the flame of happiness, love in your heart.
And always share this light with others willingly. And you will see that the light kindled in their souls fills you with light as well. This is what it means to be enriched; this is what it means to comprehend the essence of everything that happens, the true purpose of your spiritual growth."
The Parable of the Impudent Monkey.
