Speechless Shame and Shameless Speech
The Interior Salish in Idaho tell this story: “‘I will be the Sun-god,’ declared Coyote, and the people allowed him to try. He took the Sun-lodge across the sky. But he watched everything that the people did. Seeing people in secret love, he yelled down to them, much to their embarrassment. He told on those who were hiding. The people were glad when that day was over. They lost no time taking Coyote from the Sun-lodge.”
You and I know when to speak and when to hold the tongue, but Old Man Coyote doesn’t. He has no tact. They’re all the same, these tricksters; they have no shame and so they have no silence. Hermes should bite his tongue when he’s hauled before the assembly of the gods, but instead he wiggles his ears and tells a boldface lie, wearing—his mother says—“the cloak of shamelessness.” Loki once had his lips sewn shut by an irritated dwarf, but Loki ripped the thongs out and went right on talking.
It’s the same with Old Monkey in China. We know that Tripitaka, the venerable Buddhist monk who takes Monkey with him on “the journey to the west,” is a good man, because he’s regularly “struck dumb by his shame.” That’s as it should be; shame should steal your voice. Even if you want to speak, shame should bind your tongue. Some villagers once offered Tripitaka a woman. “When he heard these words, he bowed his head and fell into complete silence.” No such paralysis ever strikes Monkey’s loose and apish tongue. In fact, his constant fluency in situations that would silence more sensitive creatures is an ironic boon to Tripitaka on his journey, for it is hard to travel in this fallen world if you lose the power of speech every time evil meets you on the path. Tripitaka is so kindly that when monsters mask themselves as virtuous men he never sees through the disguise. “Master, please put away your compassion just for today!” Monkey begs. “When we have crossed this mountain, you can be compassionate then.” Monkey, never blinded by compassion, and certainly never “struck dumb,” keeps the pilgrims moving smartly along.