宁静的真谛

真正的宁静来自于何方？一位17世纪的法国思想家曾说过：“如果我们在内心找不到宁静，到别处去找也是徒劳的。”下面的这则小寓言或许能带给我们一些启发……

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By Kareem Potts

那零 选注

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. 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 peaceful towering mountains were 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 peace.

The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, 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 rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest... perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The King chose the second picture. “Because,” explained the King, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”

Vocabulary

1. perfect: 完美的，无暇的；towering: 高耸的，屹立的。

2. overhead: 在头顶上的，上面的；fluffy: 松软的，轻软的。

3. rugged: 崎岖的，凹凸不平的；bare: 光秃的，无遮盖的。

4. angry: （风浪等）狂暴的；lightening: 闪电。

5. tumble: 坠落；foaming: 起泡沫的，覆有泡沫的；waterfall: 瀑布。

6. bush: 灌木；crack: 裂缝，缝隙。

7. in the midst of: 在……之中；rush: 急速流动（或行进）。