One day a student came to a teacher, upset. “Someone was rude to me,” she said, “and now I feel angry all day.” The teacher pointed to a still pond. “Throw a stone in,” he said. The student did, and the water churned and rippled.
有一天，一個學生很難過地來找老師。她說：「有人對我很沒禮貌，現在我一整天都覺得好生氣。」老師指著一個平靜的池塘，說：「丟一顆石頭進去。」學生丟了，水面就翻攪、起了漣漪。
“Now make the ripples stop with your hands,” the teacher said. The student splashed and pushed, but the water only grew wilder. So she stopped and waited. Slowly, on its own, the pond became calm and clear again.
「現在用你的手讓漣漪停下來。」老師說。學生又拍又推，水卻變得更亂了。於是她停下來，等待。慢慢地，池塘自己變回「平靜」又清澈了。
“Your feelings are the ripples,” the teacher said. “You cannot control whether the stone is thrown — but you do not have to splash. Observe, accept, and let go, and your heart returns to stillness.” This balanced, unshaken heart is Upekkhā — equanimity. We cannot control every stone, but we can always control our attitude, our words, and our actions: our Circle of Control.
「你的情緒就是那些漣漪，」老師說。「你無法控制石頭會不會被丟進來──可是你不一定要去拍水。觀察、接受、然後放下，你的心就會回到平靜。」這顆平衡、不被動搖的心，就是 Upekkhā──捨心（平等心）。我們無法控制每一顆石頭，但我們永遠可以控制自己的態度、言語和行為：這就是我們「可控制的圈圈」。