寧靜的真諦

Once there was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of serenity. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked， and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for serene towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of serenity.

The other picture had mountains， too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky， from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look serene at all.

But when the king looked closely， he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There， in the midst of the rushing water， sat the mother bird on her nest—in perfect serenity.

Which picture do you think won the prize？The king chose the second picture. Do you know why？

“Because，” explained the king， “serenity does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise and trouble. Serenity means to be in the midst of all those things but still keep calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of serenity.”

從前有一個國王，他要懸賞一位能畫出表現寧靜這一主題的最好的畫的畫家。很多畫家都一試身手，國王看了所有的畫，但是只有兩幅畫他真的很喜歡，國王必須兩者選其一。

其中一幅畫的是一個平靜的湖面，波平如鏡，倒映著四周環繞的群山，頭頂是一片飄著絨毛似的白云的藍天。所有看過這幅畫的人都認為它是一個表現平靜的好作品。

另外一幅畫也有高山。但是這些山崎嶇不平，一片荒蕪，上方是狂躁的天空，電閃雨潑，山腳下是一掛飛濺的瀑布，這看上去一點也不寧靜。

但是當國王仔細一看時，他發現了瀑布后面有一小從灌木，長在巖石縫里。灌木叢中，鳥媽媽筑好了鳥窩——急流之間，鳥媽媽安祥地蹲在窩里。

你認為哪幅畫會勝出呢？國王選擇了第二幅，你知道為什么嗎？

“因為，”國王解釋道，“寧靜并不意味一個沒有喧囂和繁瑣的地方。寧靜意味著即使你身處塵囂仍然能心靜如水，那才是寧靜的真諦。”