day. But when the lead monkey ran back, calling out to its troop,
Ãcariya Mun understood the meaning of what was said as clearly
as if they had been conversing in human language.
In the beginning when the lead monkey first spotted him,
it hurried back to its troop, warning its friends to take care and
pay careful attention to what it had to say. Although it commu-
nicated this message in the goke goke sounds that monkeys make,
the essential meaning was clear to the others: Hey, stop! Not so
fast! There’s danger up ahead. Hearing the warning, the others
began wondering what danger there was. First, one asked: Goke,
what is it? Then, another asked: Goke, what’s the matter? The
lead monkey answered: Goke gake, there’s something up there – it
may be dangerous. The others asked: Goke, where is it? The leader
replied: Goke, right over there.
The sounds made by this large troop of monkeys, as they
questioned and answered one another, reverberated through the
whole forest. First, one called out in alarm; then another, until
monkeys, large and small, ran frantically back and forth, seeking
answers about their situation. Fearful of the possible danger they
all faced, they yelled excitedly to one another in a state of general
confusion – just as we people tend to do when confronted with an
emergency. Their leader was obliged to speak up and to try to clar-
ify the situation, cautioning them: Goke gake, everyone wait here
first while I go back and check to make sure. With these parting
instructions, it hurried back to look again. Approaching Ãcariya
Mun who was seated in front of the cave, it looked warily at him
while scurrying to and fro through the branches of the trees. Its
eyes examined him with intense interest until it was satisfied that
Ãcariya Mun wasn’t an adversary. Then, it hurriedly returned to its
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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