Peace of mind

Once, Buddha was walking from one town to another with a
few of his followers. This was during his initial days. While they
were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped
there, and 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 and turbid.

The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!” 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 obediently
went back to the lake. 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 looking up at the disciple, he said, “See what
you did to make the water clean. You let it be and the mud
settled down on its own, giving you clear water. 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.

Once the mind calms down, it can see things clearly and out of that
seeing, action emerges, leaving no place for conflict or pain in
that action.”