Peace of Mind - Buddha's Teachings

Once Buddha was going from one town to another town with a few of his followers. While they were travelling, they happened to pass by a lake.

Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.”

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha?” So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.”

After about half an hour, Buddha again asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obeyed. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had.

So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be… and the mud settled down on its own.” Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. 

You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.

“Having peace of mind is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside.”