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 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 lightning played. 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. 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.”
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译文:
宁静的真谛【RD外传】——venessa版
从前有一位国王，悬赏能够画出最好的表达宁静之美的画家。很多画家都进行了尝试。但是，国王看完了所有的作品，只喜欢其中的两幅，并不得不从中选择一副最好的。其中一幅画是一片宁静的湖泊，犹如一面完美的镜子，四周还有群山环绕，白云在湛蓝的天空中徐徐飘过。所有看到这幅画的人都认为这幅画完美地表达出了宁静之美。
另一幅画也有山脉，但却崎岖不平，而且光秃秃的。天空中乌云密布、狂风骤雨、闪电雷鸣，一条白色的瀑布从山的一侧倾泻而下，看起来一点都不宁静。
然而，国王盯着这幅画仔细地看了又看，发现在岩石的裂缝中有一颗小小的灌木。在湍急的水流中间，鸟儿妈妈安静地坐在鸟巢中抚慰着它的幼儿——如此宁静而和谐。
你认为哪幅画能得到国王的赞赏呢？国王选择了第二幅。你知道为什么吗？
国王解释说：“这是因为，宁静并不是指这个地方没有噪音，没有烦扰，没有艰难的劳动。宁静意味着所有这些因素都存在于你的周围，而你的心中依然能保持一份安宁。这才是宁静的真谛。”
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