It's fascinating to me that this little tale hails from West Africa; it seems the way they 'practice' the tale isn't too different from the ways of those old robe wearing folks in Asia. Those old guys NEVER tell you their answers, choosing rather to offer counterpoints and more questions. However, they do love sharing stories so here's a story that was told to me by one particular robe wearing dude a while back: (Attempting to do it in his voice as accurately as possible)

Hey, did you meet _____, the cute little 5 year old boy? He comes here every Sunday with his parents and he's full of mischief; he's always inspecting a new part of this temple. So I began asking him some questions, "Hey, where did you come from?"

After some thought, he answered, "I came from home!"

Quickly I added, "Where did you come from before that?"

He looked curious enough but threw his hands up and told me, "I don't know."

Every Sunday he came and every Sunday I would ask, "Hey, where did you come from?" And then I would continue to ask him, "Where did you come from before that?"

He's a smart boy. After many Sundays, I got him to continue back to the point where he answered, "I came from mommy's belly."

So I asked him, "Where were you before you were in mommy's belly?" Ha ha ha . . . this stumped him.

The first few times, he looked confused, curious . . . as if he was really thinking about it, and he would confess, "I don't know."

Of course I kept at it. . . and the next few Sundays, I could see he was trying to avoid me, ha ha ha. When I confronted him the last time and asked, "Where were you before you were in your mommy's belly?"

He stared at me with big enlarged eyes and screamed, "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!! . . . .

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(And the monk startled the shit out of me by screaming that "NOOOOO!!!!" with his huge freakin' eyes starin' down at my face.) - ha, ha, ha?

Mumbo jumbo. Do you or do you not kill the monkey?

BTW, koans are pretty much the antithesis to philosophy. You may want to read up on them.

People can't answer these kinds of riddle. Because there is no good answer.

First of all, my opinion got influenced by other posters. If I didn't read all these different comments and attempts, maybe it wouldn't be so mind-fucking.

What I know about these riddles? They represent a practical situation. But the real answer is way deeper than any usual "practical" situation.

So, what I know about this riddle? It's complex.

What "I don't know"? The practical answer. To kill or not to kill the monkey.


Now, I feel like I'm only getting into these details because I can't find the answer...

A young boy went into the bush to hunt with his bow and arrow. He saw a monkey on the branch of a tree and aimed his arrow. The monkey spoke to him, "Stop. You must think before you shoot me. If you kill me, your mother will die and if you do not kill me, your father will die."

What I know about these riddles?

They represent a practical situation.

But the real answer is way deeper than any usual "practical" situation.

So, what I know about this riddle? It's complex.