A wise man was walking from one town to another with a few of his followers, and they happened to pass a lake. So they stopped there to 1 for a while, and the wise man said to one of his followers, "I am very 2. Could you please 3 me some water from the lake?"
One follower walked to the lake 4 the wise man requested(要求). Some people were washing clothes in the water, and right at that moment, several carts(手推车) started crossing the lake. 5, the water become very muddy(泥泞的).
Then he went back and told the wise man that the water was very muddy and not 6 to drink. After they had rested for about half an hour, the wise man again asked the 7 follower to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. As requested, the follower went to the lake again. This time he found that all the mud had settled(沉淀) to the 8. The water was very 9 and looked fit to drink. So he 10 his water bottle and took it to the wise man.
The wise man took the water bottle and drank, then looked up at the follower. "See what you did to make the 11 clean?" he said. "You let it be for a while and the mud settled down on its own, 12 you could get some clear drinking water. Your mind can also be like that lake when it is disturbed (被搅乱) by something. If you just let it be and give it a little 13, it will most likely settle down on its own 14 being put in any effort at all to 15 it."
