The “Three Wise Monkeys” (also called the “Three Mystic Apes”) is a sacred ancient icon whose original meaning is intentionally being hidden from us by the Elite. Knowing the secret truth of the symbol’s age-old directive of “See no Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil ” can empower you in ways you never thought possible and change your life forever. In this article, we’ll uncover the symbol’s authentic ancient meaning, and we’ll see why this meaning is intentionally being covered up.
If you think you know the meaning of the Three Wise Monkeys symbol, maybe you better think again.
We’re taught by the Elite (i.e., the mass media and their corporate sponsors) that it stands for feigning ignorance to the misconduct of others rather than exposing their misconduct:
“In the Western world the phrase is often used to refer to those who deal with impropriety by looking the other way, refusing to acknowledge it, or feigning ignorance.”
The trouble is, “turning a blind eye” to the misconduct of others is not the symbol’s true authentic or original Eastern spiritual meaning. This is a false and corrupted “substitute” meaning.
The symbol’s original ancient significance has been hidden from us (by the powers that shouldn’t be) for good reason: The truth is far more potent, more self-empowering, more magical, and more spiritually uplifting than the Elite want the masses to know.
“Mahatma Gandhi’s one notable exception to his lifestyle of non-possession was a small statue of the three monkeys.”
Mahatma Gandhi, one of the world’s most beloved heroes.
Mizaru, covering his eyes, sees no evil. Kikazaru, covering his ears, hears no evil. Iwazaru, covering his mouth, speaks no evil. Together the three embody the proverbial principle to “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil.”
But what exactly does this mean?
Let’s take the first phrase: “See no evil.” It means just what it says: “See no evil,” or don’t look upon anything that is evil. Don’t look at evil, don’t watch or gawk at evil, don’t crave evil, don’t let evil enter into your system, not even for a moment.
Why not?
Ever drink old milk? Eat rotten meat? Bad cheese? When you swallow it, you digest it. And when you digest it you get sick from it. Your body absorbs it, and when your body realizes it’s no good your body needs to release it quickly, in some way.
It’s the same with evil. When we see evil, we digest it, and when we digest it the evil becomes a part of us. We then need to release it in some way, which often has a negative result.
For many, this idea that “seeing” evil is equivalent to “digesting” evil may sound like rubbish. But there is a powerful and profound principle at work here. To use a simple comparison, it’s a proven fact that seeing violence in the media (i.e., TV, movies, video games) makes us think and act more violently:
“Literally thousands of studies since the 1950s have asked whether there is a link between exposure to media violence and violent behavior. All but 18 have answered, ‘Yes.’ The evidence from the research is overwhelming. According to the AAP, ‘Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed.’ Watching violent shows is also linked with having less empathy toward others.”
—University of Michigan Health System (website)
Seeing violence causes us to act more violently. Similarly, when we “See Evil” we internalize it. And when we internalize evil, it becomes a part of us, which means eventually the evil needs to find its way out. If it does not exit, the evil wreaks havoc on our bodies and minds.
Thus, the ancient directive to “See No Evil” is a wise maxim that seeks to protects us from evil by warning us not to “see” it in the first place.
A 17th century carving over a door of the famous Toshogu shrine in Nikko, Japan.
The next phrase, “Hear No Evil,” rests on the same principle. When we hear evil, it becomes part of us. Our body absorbs it like a sponge. Again, it’s like ingesting rotten food; the body can’t hold it, and it needs to come out.
“Speak No Evil” is a bit different. Seeing and hearing are two of our five senses (along with touching, tasting, and smelling). But speaking is not a sense. Seeing and hearing both involve taking something into our body, while speaking involves pushing something out.
So the tenet “Speak No Evil” differs from the other two. In a sense, it can be seen as the outcome of the other two. In other words, if you “See No Evil” and you “Hear No Evil” you will then “Speak No Evil” because you will be pure. It’s the 1 + 1 = 2 formula.
The question is: Why is this simple wisdom being kept hidden from us? Hidden so well that many Americans will scoff at the authentic explanation of the Three Wise Monkeys just provided?
Those who scoff should realize that this wisdom is ancient, and can be traced back 2,500 year to a wise code of conduct followed by multiple high civilizations in China, India, Japan and elsewhere. Its wisdom has been adopted by great thinkers like Confucius:
“Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety”
—Confucius, c. 500 BC
We find similar ideas in other remote religions and spiritual systems. One example is Buddhism’s “Noble Eightfold Path,” which is the Buddha’s practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from suffering, attachments and delusions; and which finally leads to understanding the truth about all things:
Right Understanding
Right Thoughts
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
In ancient Zoroastrianism (c. 1200 BC), the term “Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta,” expressed the main idea of the religion. It stood for the maxim: “good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”
“From their infancy Japanese boys have one special precept instilled into their minds. It is: “See no evil: hear no evil; speak no evil.”
—Our Young People, St. Johns Institute For Deaf Mutes, 1910
“There are three monkeys…They are resolved to “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil.” They are intent upon guarding the whole output and input and intake of life from the taint of wrong.”
—Charles Reynolds Brown, The Religion of a Layman, 1920
“‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’ ; ‘Think evil and you create evil,’ are universal world-old proverbs.”
—Leonard Stuart, The Cosmic Comedy, 1919
“O’er the door of the sacred Temple
They sit in their wisdom the three –
The little deaf Monkey,
The little dumb Monkey,
The Monkey who will not see;
With their eyes shut to evil,
Ears that hear only the right,
Lips that are dumb to scandal,
They sit in their silent might”—Unknown
“…I recommend…the observance of a commandment that existed before either Christian or Jew existed.
Thou shalt make a covenant with thy senses,
With thine eye, that it beholds no evil.
With thine ear, that it hear no evil.
With thy tongue, that it speak no evil.
With thy hands that they commit no evils.—Thomas Paine, Federal City, Lovett’s Hotel, 1802
How admirably simple and pure this philosophy is. To turn one’s back on destructive negativity, to guard one’s eyes from images and impressions that are not constructive to one’s spiritual growth.
This philosophy, which was certainly adopted by Gandhi as a universal truth, likens the mind to a white sheet, which only retains its pure color when associated with others who are like-mindedly pursuing spiritual ideals—who refuse to expose their minds and the minds of others to “the lower order of things.”
Why, then, is the mass media increasingly pushing so much evil on us? Why are we being bombarded by evil, violence and fear on all sides? Forced to take it in, like so much old milk, rotten meat, and bad cheese?
Hollywood movies are getting more twisted, evil, and sinister.
Hollywood movies force us to violate the ancient “See No Evil” maxim.
Children’s video games are getting more violent, bloody, raw:
Left: Image from a violent children’s video game. Right: Children acting out violence at Columbine.
Television stations are broadcasting more and more disturbing and graphic programming.
Evil images and sounds from TV programs are stored in our brains. When the set goes off, they haunt our thoughts—consciously and unconsciously—and burst forth in misbehavior.
Music has been getting more violent for decades, much of it gratuitous, in terms of lyrics, album covers, videos and associated artwork:
The music industry, owned and operated by the Elite, is promoting violence to the younger generations.
Add to this all the poisonous evil that’s force-fed to us on all the TV and Cable News broadcasts. Every day the news at the top of the hour on all stations sounds the same: “Ten dead, six raped, four shot, two killed, one burned—bombs, Arab terror, hatred, race violence, corruption, mass arrests, sinking economy, gender warfare and al Qaeda.”
Watching the TV news forces evil, violence, fear and negativity on us.
When we watch the News we’re seeing and hearing evil all the time. We’re bombarded by it. How does it make you feel? Sad, scared, nervous, angry, depressed, and so on. Right?
Now, what if you found out that this Evil is being aimed at you…on purpose? The Elite are indeed doing this to us on purpose. Their goal is to destabilize society and prevent us from being empowered. At the same time, they are hiding the ancient wisdom of “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil” from us, effectively robbing us of the main tool / teaching we need to defend ourselves.
Like many a great wisdom, the ancient teaching warning us to “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil” has been subtly turned upside-down, and is now being used as a weapon against us. The maxim has been spun into a tool of perversion—”See Evil, Hear Evil, Speak Evil”—a control mechanism that blocks light, halts spiritual growth, and impedes the gentle and gradual revelation of ever-higher spiritual truth, wisdom, and realization.
The evil that’s being force-fed to us is much more damaging than we can imagine. It’s having more of a negative effect than we realize. It’s creating cancer in our bodies. In our minds. We’re constantly exposed to tremendous evil, and because we don’t realize the damage it’s doing to us we are not consciously trying to release it. Worse, we are willing participants in its consumption, not out of choice, but because we believe it’s normal, having been born and raised into society, into this system. We don’t realize it has all been purposely design to destabilize us mentally and physically, keeping the Elite in control and keeping the masses sick, suppressed, scared and subservient.
What can we do to fight against it?
Turn off the TV! Stop supporting Hollywood! Stop buying movie tickets! Don’t buy magazines. Newspapers. Resist watching the news. Spread the word—and warn the youth especially—that the system is rigged, the game is tilted.
Make sure you know that there are many positive ways of releasing the evil that we consume. Exercise (physical and mental) meditation, writing, reading, jogging, singing, biking. Even sex. In antiquity, the Olympics were founded so that city-states and kingdoms could release pent-up anger and hostility and evil against each other in a positive even joyous way.
The ancients held Olympic games to channel the evil they felt toward one another constructively. Today that wisdom has been lost.
Yes, there is real evil in the world (terrorists with bombs, murders with guns, laws that take away our freedoms, and genuine economic difficulties). But always remember that evil and fear are really only happening “out there” and not “in you.” All the negative things that are happening “out there” are out of our control until we can control what’s happening inside us. This starts with controlling our feelings and reactions to outside events. We have the power to change these events and that power lies in changing ourselves. As such, we each possess immense power.
As soon as you feel fear, recognize it as only a thought and consciously ask yourself: Why am I afraid? Is the cause of fear an immediate threat to your safety or well being? If not, then it is completely illusory and should be discarded. More times than not, we fear things that our minds invent. Things that may happen in the future, but haven’t yet actually happened to us. If we allow this fear to persist, we will likely attract the very things we fear. Push past these thoughts and concentrate, in fact meditate, on exactly the positive things you wish to occur instead of the outcomes you dread.
In Conclusion
The authentic ancient meaning of the Three Wise Monkeys has been censored, banned, and secreted away from you. Having originated in the East, the symbol’s meaning has been changed by the “powers that shouldn’t be” in the West, and now the Three Wise Monkeys icon stands for something that is totally alien to its nature.
If you want to see real change in your life, you may want to print a photo of the Three Wise Monkeys symbol and keep it by your desk or in your car. Buy an icon of the Three Wise Monkeys and carry it around with you, like Gandhi did. Evil perpetuates itself like a cancer. Once you cut it out, you will kill the cancer.