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 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.”

从前有个国王，悬赏能画出最好的宁静的画的画家。很多画家都试过了。国王看了所有的作品，但他真正喜欢的只有两幅。一幅画中是一片宁静的湖泊，四周群山环绕，而湖泊就是一面完美的镜子。蓝色的天空中白云飘飘，每个看到这幅画的人都认为这真是一幅表现宁静的完美作品。

另一幅画也有山脉，但却崎岖不平，而且光秃秃的。上面是乌云密布的天空，而且狂风骤雨、闪电雷鸣，一条白色的瀑布从山的一侧倾泻下来。这看起来一点都不宁静。

然而当国王仔细地看了看，他看到在岩石的裂隙中长着一颗小小的灌木。在汹涌的水流中间，鸟妈妈安坐在她的巢穴中——如此和谐。

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?

国王说：“这是因为，宁静并不是指在这个地方没有噪音，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安宁。这才是宁静的真谛。”