心如止水的故事｜The Secret of a Quiet Heart

往下拉阅读中文版。

A long, long time ago, in a quiet little village high in the Himalayas,there lived a ten-year-old boy named Atai.

Atai’s brain was always buzzing with wild, flying thoughts—“whirr, whirr, whirr”—they never stopped spinning!

Sometimes he watched cartoons while worrying about unfinished homework, then he’d remember the soccer game he didn’t finish last week, and then—oh no—he’d start worrying about the next test.

All those thoughts were like a wild wind, blowing his heart this way and that, so he could never sit still.

At night he couldn’t sleep, and during the day, he forgot how to smile.

One day, Atai heard a story.

Far away in the mountains to the southeast, there lived a mysterious old grandma everyone called “Still as Water.”

Long ago, when she was young, she had been a wise woman in the city. People said she could help others untangle their worries and find answers hidden deep inside their hearts.

But after many noisy years, she left the busy city behind, built a tiny bamboo house in the mountains, planted flowers, sipped tea, and basked in the sunshine.

Sometimes, when visitors came, she would talk with them gently and kindly.

When Atai heard this, it was like a little lantern lit up inside his heart.

“Maybe… maybe she can help me find peace!” So he packed his bag, climbed over hills and crossed rivers for many days, until he finally reached a quiet mountain village wrapped in bamboo groves and clear springs.

In front of a little bamboo house, vines swayed softly in the breeze. The old grandma was sitting on the porch with her eyes closed, as calm and still as an ancient pine tree.

Atai tiptoed up to her, bowed, and said, “Grandma, my heart is always so noisy. I want it to be quiet. Can you teach me how?”

The grandma slowly opened her eyes and smiled like the first warm wind of spring. 

“Of course,” she said, “but first—let’s play a little game.”

She took out a tiny blue-and-white teacup, filled it to the brim with clear mountain spring water, so full the water curved like a bubble on top.

“Here’s the game,” she said. “Carry this cup all the way to the big old locust tree at the village gate, and then come back. But—not even one drop can spill!”

Atai’s eyes grew wide. 

He held the cup carefully and walked very, very slowly. The stone path was a little crooked. Chickens clucked, dogs barked, and children ran by chasing their kites, laughing like little silver bells.

But Atai didn’t hear or see any of it.

His eyes stayed on the water. Like a quiet little cat, he stepped… and stepped… and stepped, not spilling a single drop, all the way to the old tree and back again.

“Grandma!”Atai came running back, grinning from ear to ear. “I did it! Not even one drop spilled!”

The grandma squinted and smiled.

“Very good. But tell me—did you see the children playing? Did you hear the dogs barking?”

“Uh… no.”Atai scratched his head. “I was only looking at the water.”

The grandma nodded softly.

“That is the secret. When you focus only on one small thing, your mind can’t run away to the past, and it can’t rush ahead to worry about the future. Just now, you only had the water in your heart, so your heart became quiet and calm.”

Atai’s eyes sparkled. He bowed happily.

“So peace isn’t something we have to find out there. It’s been inside us all along! As long as I keep my heart in this moment, peace will come.”

From that day on, Atai was no longer the frowning, restless boy he used to be. He had learned how to quiet his heart—and he walked home, step by step, light and carefree.

很久很久以前，在群山环绕的喜马拉雅，有一座安静的小村庄。村里住着一个十岁的小男孩，名叫阿泰。 阿泰脑袋里总是有各种各样天马行空的想法，“嗡嗡嗡”转个不停。

他常常一边看动画片，一边想着没做完的作业，又想到上次没踢完的那场球赛，一会儿又担心下次的考试会不会考不好。这些乱七八糟的念头像一阵狂风，把他的心吹得东倒西歪，无法静下来。他晚上睡不好，白天也忘了怎么笑。

有一天，阿泰听说，在远远的东南群山里，住着一位神秘的老婆婆，大家都叫她“心如止水”。

听说这位老婆婆年轻时是城里的智者，她有一种能力，可以帮别人解开心结，让见过她的人都能找到自己心中疑惑已久的答案。后来，她不想再听那些吵吵闹闹的事情，就搬到大山里，建了一间竹屋，种花、喝茶、晒太阳，过着静静的日子。偶尔，会有人去拜访他，她也会温和地聊上几句。

阿泰一听，心里像点亮了一盏灯：“也许，她可以帮我找到心里的平静！”

于是，他收拾行囊，翻山越岭，走了好几天，终于来到了那个被竹林和山泉环绕的小村子。

竹屋前，藤蔓轻轻摇着，老婆婆正坐在廊下，闭着眼睛，像一棵老松树一样安静。

阿泰轻轻走上前，弯下腰说：“婆婆，我的心里总是很吵很吵，我想静下来，您能教我吗？”

老婆婆缓缓睁开眼，笑得像春天的风一样：“当然可以呀，不过，我们先来做个小游戏。”

她拿出一只青花小茶盏，倒满清清的泉水，水面鼓得圆圆的，好像随时都会溢出来。

老婆婆说：“端着它，从这走到村口那棵老槐树，再走回来。一滴水也不能洒出来哦！”

阿泰瞪大眼睛，小心地捧着茶盏，慢吞吞地走出去了。

石板路有点歪歪扭扭，鸡在咯咯叫，狗在汪汪吠，小孩子在一旁追着风筝跑来跑去，笑声像银铃一样清脆。

可阿泰什么都没听见，眼睛只盯着茶盏里的水，像一只轻轻走路的小猫，一步一步，一滴不洒地走到老槐树，再走了回来。

“婆婆！”阿泰兴冲冲地跑回来，“我成功啦！一滴水都没洒出来！”

老婆婆眯起眼睛笑了笑：“那你有看到孩子在玩耍吗？有听到狗在叫吗？”

“呃……没有呀。”阿泰挠挠头，“我光顾着看茶盏里的水了。”

老婆婆轻轻点点头，“这就是秘密呀——当你只专心在一件小小的事情上，你的心里就不会被过去的烦恼拉走，也不会被未来的担心吓到。刚才，你心里只有茶盏里的水，所以心就变得安安静静的了。”

阿泰眼睛一亮，开心地鞠了一躬：“原来，平静不是去外面找的，它一直就在我们心里呀！只要把心放在这一刻，平静就会出现。”

从那天起，阿泰不再是那个总是皱着眉头的小男孩了，他学会了让心静下来，一步一步，轻轻松松地走回了家。