A student and his teacher were walking through the forest. The student was disturbed(扰乱) by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest(不安). He asked his teacher, “Why most people’s minds are restless, and only a few have a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind ?”
The teacher looked at him, 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 denovo”. 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 immersed(沉湎于) in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew(咀嚼)it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around."
The student's eyes opened wide and smile rose on his face. "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".
How did the elephant drive the fly away?
A.With its long tail. | B.With its long ears. |
C.With its strong legs | D.With its long trunk. |
The reason why the elephant stayed calm and still was that _______.
A.it didn’t have a sense of direction |
B.it was too heavy to move around like the fly |
C.it paid much attention to things around it |
D.it concentrated (集中) on what it was doing |
The underlined word “denovo” in the second paragraph probably means _______.
A.in total | B.in common | C.once again | D.as usual |
The main purpose of the passage is to tell the readers _______
A.the relationship between the mind and attention |
B.how to make use of the five senses |
C.people should stay calm and still |
D.only the elephant can control the mind and attention |