A (1)disciple and his teacher were walking through the forest. The disciple was disturbed by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest. He asked his teacher, "Why most people’s minds are restless, and only a few possess a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind?”

The teacher looked at the disciple, smiled and said, "I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came，flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away once more. This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly, "Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?" The fly answered, "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them．What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?" The elephant stopped eating and said, "My five senses do not rule my attention. Whatever I do, I get (2)immersed in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around." Upon hearing these words, the disciple’s eyes opened wide and a smile appeared on his face. He looked at his teacher and said, "I understand! If my five senses are in control of my mind and attention, then my mind is in constant unrest. If I am in charge of my five senses and attention, then my mind becomes calm." "Yes, that's right," answered the teacher, "The mind is restless and goes wherever the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind."
一對師徒正在一片森林中行走。徒弟因自己的思緒紛亂而感到煩惱不已。于是他請教師父：“為什么只有一小部分人能夠心如止水，而大多數人的思想都是焦躁不安的呢?要怎么做才能平靜下來呢?”
師父看著徒弟，笑著說：“我給你講一個故事。一頭大象站在一棵樹下，摘取葉子進食。一只小蒼蠅飛了過來，在大象的耳朵旁環(huán)繞并嗡嗡作響。大象揮動它的長耳朵把蒼蠅趕走。不久蒼蠅又來了，大象再一次把它趕走。一對師徒正在一片森林中行走。徒弟因自己的思緒紛亂而感到煩惱不已。于是他請教師父：“為什么只有一小部分人能夠心如止水，而大多數人的思想都是焦躁不安的呢?要怎么做才能平靜下來呢?” 這樣的動作持續(xù)了幾次，大象不禁向蒼蠅問道：“為什么你這么吵鬧停不下來呢?你不能靜靜地呆在一個地方嗎?” 蒼蠅回答道，“我無論看到什么，聽見什么或是聞到什么，都會被吸引過去。我的五種感官總是吸引我飛往不同的方向，而我抵抗不了。為什么你能保持這么平靜，一動也不動呢?你的秘訣是什么呢?” 大象停止了進食，說道：“我的注意力并不受五種感官的影響。無論做什么，我都全神貫注。(比如)現在我在吃東西，那么我就完全專注于吃東西。這樣我就能好好享受我的食物并且細嚼慢咽。我掌控自己的注意力，而不是屈服于它?！甭牭竭@些話，徒弟眼睛一亮，臉上漾起了笑容。他看著他的師父說，“我明白了!如果我讓我的五種感官控制我的思想與注意力，那么我的思想就會不停地波動。反之，如果我掌控了我的五種感官，那么我的思緒就會平靜下來。” “是的，就是這樣，”師父回答道，“思想是動態(tài)的并隨著注意力移動?？刂屏四愕淖⒁饬Ρ憧刂屏四愕乃枷?。”
NOTES:
(1) disciple:            n. 門徒，信徒
(2) immerse:         v. 使沉浸在；使浸沒
True(T) or False (F)
1. The fly can’t keep quiet because whatever it sees, hears or smells will attract it.
2. Because the elephant’s five senses rule its attention, whatever it does, it can get immersed in it.
Keys:
1. T