Hundredth Monkey

[Guest guest]

Ever think that what can just one person do ? Ever think that it is

going to take more than just you to make a difference ?

 

True, one person may not be enough - but that one person could be a

pivotal factor in the larger scheme of things. When we start adding

our energies ... something happens. We see this in group prayer and

satsangha.

 

I read this interesting article online and wanted to share it with

you ... My thanks to the unknown author.

 

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The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, has been observed in the filed

for a period of over 30 years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima

scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the

sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but

they found the dirt unpleasant.

 

An 18-month old female name Imo found she could solve the problem by

washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to

her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught

their mothers, too.

 

This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys

before the eyes of the scientists. Between 1952 and 1958, all the

young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them

more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned

this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dritysweet

potatoes.

 

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a

certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes -- the

exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one

morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to

wash their sweet potatoes. Let's further suppose that later that

morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes. THEN IT

HAPPENED!

 

By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet

potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth

monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!

 

But notice. The most surprising thing observed by these scientists

was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then spontaneously

jumped over the sea -- Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the

mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet

potatoes! (Lifetide, Watson, pp. 147-148, Bantam Books, 1980. This

book gives other fascinating details.)

 

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