English Original
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, and there were only two he really liked, so he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought 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 lightning flashed. Down the side of the mountain tumbled 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.
"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."
中文翻译
从前，一位国王悬赏能画出最好“宁静”画作的艺术家。许多艺术家都尝试了。国王看了所有的画，但他只喜欢其中的两幅，因此他必须从中做出选择。
第一幅画画的是一个平静的湖泊。湖水如镜，完美地倒映着四周宁静高耸的山峰。头顶是蓝天，飘着蓬松的白云。所有看到这幅画的人都认为这是一幅完美的宁静之画。
另一幅画里也有山。但这些山崎岖而荒芜。上方是愤怒的天空，大雨倾盆，电闪雷鸣。一条泡沫翻腾的瀑布从山侧奔流而下。这幅画看起来一点也不宁静。
但当国王仔细看时，他发现瀑布后面，岩石的裂缝中长着一株小小的灌木。灌木丛中，一只母鸟筑起了她的巢。就在那汹涌怒水之中，母鸟安坐在她的巢里——处于完全的宁静之中。
你认为哪幅画赢得了奖赏？国王选择了第二幅画。
国王解释道：“因为，宁静并不意味着身处一个没有噪音、没有麻烦、没有艰辛劳作的地方。宁静意味着身处所有这一切之中，内心依然保持平静。这才是宁静的真谛。”