A JAPANESE FOLKTALE OF PRUDENCE

In a Japanese temple, an image of a meditating Buddha is seated on a lotus blossom. In front of him are three little monkeys, one with its hands over its eyes, another over its ears, and the third covering its mouth. What do these three monkeys signify? By its gesture the first one says: " I do not see evil and folly." The second one says: "I do not hear them." and the third: "I do not speak them."

In the same way, the wise man is prudent in what he looks at, in what he listens to, and in what he says. He considers the consequences, thinks of tomorrow, and if he does not know his way, he asks.