The Real Meaning of Peace
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 (adj.高耸的, 杰出的, 激烈的)mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy (adj.绒毛似的, 蓬松的) 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 ( adj.高低不平的, 崎岖的)and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled ( vi.翻倒, 滚动) a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful 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 rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest—in perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?
“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.”
很久以前，曾有一个国王向画家们悬赏征集一幅最能表现安宁主题的画。画家们纷纷尝试。然而国王看完所有的画后，只挑中了两幅，他得在二者中择其一。
第一幅画画的是一个宁静的湖泊。水波不兴的湖面就像一面完美的镜子，为静静挺立的群山所环抱。湖的上方则是白丝绒般的云朵，飘浮于蔚蓝的苍穹。所有看到此画的人无不称赞其对宁静主题的完美体现。
另一幅画画的也是群山。但这些山却崎岖不平，寸草不生。群山上空是狂怒的天空，电闪雷鸣，暴雨倾盆。在山的一侧还有瀑布翻腾而下，撞击出白色的水沫。这幅画看来毫无安宁可言。
但是国王凝神细看的时候，却发现瀑布后面岩石的缝隙中有一小丛灌木，一只鸟妈妈已在灌木丛中筑好了自己的巢。在如此狂奔四泄的瀑布旁，鸟妈妈却安详地端坐巢中，完全没受到打扰。
你认为哪一幅赢得了赏金？国王选中了第二幅。知道是什么缘故吗？
“那是因为，”国王解释道：“宁静并非意味着身处没有噪音、没有烦扰、毫无艰辛的环境之中。宁静是一种处乱不惊的内心祥和。这才是宁静的真谛。”
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