Original Eastern Dialogue Parables -🍌 The Banana Test: A Funny Buddhist Story About Attachment
he Monkey and the Meditation
A young monk had been meditating for months. One morning he ran excitedly to the abbot.
“Master! During meditation I felt completely free of desire!” The old abbot smiled. “Wonderful. Keep practicing.” The monk looked disappointed. “That’s it? Aren’t you going to congratulate me?” The abbot replied, “Who would I be congratulating?” The monk thought for a moment and bowed.
The next morning, while meditating under a tree, a monkey appeared carrying a perfectly ripe banana.
The monkey sat directly in front of the monk…
…peeled the banana…
…took one slow, exaggerated bite…
…then held the rest out toward him.
The monk kept his eyes closed. “I have conquered desire,” he thought proudly.
The monkey shrugged, finished the banana, and walked away. Five minutes later, the monk opened one eye. “The banana’s gone?”
The monkey poked his head back around the tree. “You weren’t attached to it, were you?” 🐒
The monk sighed. “No…”The monkey grinned. “Good. Neither was I.” And with that, he stole the monk’s lunch.
The abbot, who had been watching the entire scene from a distance, simply chuckled. “The monkey,” he said, “has been teaching here for years. The only difference is that he doesn’t charge tuition.”
The moral? Sometimes life doesn’t test whether you’ve let go of attachment—it waits until the banana disappears. Then it asks, “Still enlightened?” 😄
Reflection:
What disappears from your life that immediately disturbs your peace?
