The Buddhist notion of “attachment” is symbolized by the Attachment Trap: In India and parts of Southeast Asia monkeys are sometimes trapped by placing food in a vessel with a hole just big enough for the monkey to reach through with one hand. Sensing the food, a passing monkey will reach in and grab it, forming a fist. What the monkey soon discovers is that it cannot pull its clenched fist out of the hole. The monkey will stay that way, with its hand clinging tightly to the food, until someone comes along and captures it. If the monkey would just let go, it could easily free itself. This “attachment trap” is a metaphor for a core Buddhist principle: by holding tightly to external sources of happiness, we prevent ourselves from being truly free.

- Tim McHenry, Director of Public Programs and Performance