Don’t Be a Grasping Monkey –A Lesson in Spiritual Detachment.
Have you heard about the Monkey Trap?
In certain countries around the world, there is a simple way they use to catch a monkey. They fill a glass jar or a pot with a narrow neck, with nuts or a banana and wait for the monkey to come along. Attracted by the smell of the food, the monkey naturally tries to get to it by putting his hand into the jar. As soon as he tries to pull it out, he finds that his hand is trapped inside the jar. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t get it out. Of course, the solution would be to let go of the food and then he could remove his hand easily However, his tight grasping and refusal to let go, keeps him stuck and eventually leads to his capture and suffering.
Don’t Be a Grasping Monkey –A Lesson in Spiritual Detachment written by Christine King How often do we behave like those monkeys? We may not be rummaging around a narrow-necked jar to get our next meal but perhaps the story of the monkey refusing to let go of the nuts is something we can turn into a valuable metaphor and apply to our everyday life. For example, have you ever really longed for something, whether it be person, place or thing and despite all your manifesting efforts and visualisations, it either doesntt come to fruition or it all falls apart at the last minute, leaving you at best, bitterly disappointed and at worst completely devastated? The dream house we set our heart on and after months of dealing with mortgage brokers, lenders, solicitors, legislation and endless paperwork, the whole buyers’ chain breaks down and in the end it is taken off the market. Or the buyers who seemed so solid and emotionally invested in our property, suddenly pull out. Or maybe it’s a job that we desperately wanted, that seemed to tick all the boxes. We get down to the final interviews and it is given to another candidate Perhaps it’s a business agreement that we’d spent weeks negotiating and the client decides not to go ahead after all. Or it could be a relationship that ended in a very painful way and our longing for that person is overwhelming, even though we know we need to let it go. Or if the relationship ended acrimoniously, we are understandably, filled with bitterness and rage, sometimes holding on to it, way beyond its “sell-by date”
All of the above can trigger real and upsetting emotional responses, some perhaps more painful than others but nevertheless all needing to be felt and honoured. Buddha had a quote that sums up why these situations can be so painful for us. He said “Attachment is the root of suffering” This sounds very harsh and doesn’t seem to allow for the natural human inclination to cling to what we hold dear. However attachment creates grasping. Let’s go back to the monkey story. It was his clenched fist and grasping so tightly that kept him stuck. When we cling tightly to what we think will bring us happiness, it only keeps us stuck.
When we are willing to let go of it, our hands are free to receive something greater. Non attachment is one of the most powerful spiritual practices. By surrendering our most painful situations to the Great Self within, we are making room for our soul to fill that space with something that is truly for our Highest Good.
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