The monk saids its better to have been a monkey once than a snake twice. what does this mean?

Question

a monk was walking home from his monestry. on his way he saw a monkey in a tree and a snake in tall grass. the monkey was afraid of the snake so he threw acrons at the snake. the snake slithered up the tree and bit the money. the monk smiled and said its better to have been a monkey once than a snake twice

Answer 1

This is a type of riddle, similar to a Zen koan, originally used by the Jesuits as a sort of active form of meditation to expand the mind to possibilities not considered by conventional thought. It was believed that through advanced contemplation and discipline one could conquer the world’s ills; and as such the Jesuits took this mental exercise as part of their training.

Interestingly it has a modern use: by field agents of the Soviet and now Russian Federation GRU. Introduced by one of its early leaders Major-General Aleksandr Mikhailovich it has remained a staple of training for almost a century. Due to the sometimes intense physical and psychological rigors of covert activities, riddles such as these are believed to create a disassociation of the mind and body and thus allow one to better cope with the stresses involved in said activities.

To get more to the point, the answer to this riddle is that the monkey represents mans ingenuity and creativity; ergo the throwing of acorns (use of tools) and the connotative implications of a monkey itself (a clever animal). The snake represents mans basic instincts, anger the need to attack, this metaphor of course needs no elaboration. The monkey fears his own darkness and thus attacks it and is promptly bitten. Hence the main moral/answer of this riddle; not to fear or attack your darker instincts or try to suppress them with the use of reason, but rather to reconcile the two.

It is also worth noting the metaphor of height, the monkey being in the tree i.e. elevated, from the snake in the grass represents the belief that while both reason and instinct are necessary; reason is ultimately superior. This prompts the monk to make his comment, and thus gives us the more overt but less meaningful answer.

These types of riddles often have many meanings/answers and this one probably has more than those I listed; anyone of them should suffice to answer the question. On a personal note I am curious as to where you heard this as I have not heard one of these outside of seminary school. Not to imply that whoever told you is a Jesuit or a spy, but this particular type of riddle rarely leaves those two circles.

Answer 2

Meaning the snake can be more harmful than the monkey?

Answer 3

he hates snakes so he would rather have 1 monkey than 2 snakes!

Answer 4

It means its better to be a fool once than to be a fool over and over again.

Answer 5

It is better to give up one's life than to take other's; again & again.


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Answer 6

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Answer 7

i really dunno? sorry....................