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In a lake there once lived a horrible ogre. His face was black, his belly blue, and his hands and feet were red. He had great tusks for teeth. Whenever any animal came to drink water, the ogre suddenly came out of the lake, seized him, and drew him down by force.
Once a troop of monkeys came to the lake, led by their king. The monkeys were all thirsty. But the monkey king, who was very observant, noted that the footprints of various animals led to the lake but none led away from it. He was suspicious and worried. He gave strict orders that no one was to drink water from the lake until he gave the word. So the monkeys now waited by the waters of the lake, impatient, thirsty. Their discipline was good, however, and the monkey king's orders were scrupulously followed.
Hours passed. Everything was still and hushed. It was a tussle of wills between the monkey king and the unknown monster whose existence the former had assumed. It was the ogre who gave way first. Unable to restrain his greed, he popped up from the center of the lake and said in a stentorian voice, "Why do you not drink? I am the guardian of these waters. I tell you that the water is pure, refreshing, cool, and sweet. Drink, my friends, drink."
"No, my good fellow," replied the king, "your wished will not be fulfilled in the way that you want."
"What do you mean?" queried the ogre.
"You won't be able to catch us. We will drink the water of the lake and yet not fall into your clutches."
"How will you do that?" bellowed the ogre, amused in spite of himself at the monkey king's audacity.
"You will see," replied the monkey king. The monkeys then plucked reeds from the marshes and drank the water through the reeds. Thus was the ogre frustrated.
MORAL: The material energy may look very attractive, but actually it is full of suffering. However, some people need to get kicked by maya to gain realization of the hellish nature of the material energy. But a truly intelligent person takes advantage of the revealed scriptures, which enable him to get realization of the suffering in the material world without having to undergo that suffering himself, just as the monkeys used the reeds to drink the water so that the ogre could not catch them.
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