I thought at first the maxim depicted by the three monkeys was to be taken in a negative way, as spread by the popular culture in the West. While in Asia, I then realized it was actually the opposite, and its meaning could apply to me right away. Its meaning was really “See no evil; Hear no evil; Speak no evil.”, as opposed to “I pretend I not to see; I pretend I did not hear anything; I will not publicly repeat to anyone.”

I am sure other lessons will be learned here in Asia.