The pain of life is pure salt, no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the pain depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the key thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake.
人生的痛苦就像这把盐，不会多不会少。人生的痛苦就那么多，始终不变。但是，我们能尝到多少痛苦取决于放入的容器。所以当你感到痛苦时，你唯一能做的就是扩大你感知事物的容量。不要做一只杯子，要让自己成为一片湖。
Become A lake
Long long ago, there lived a wise old man in the mountains.
很久很久以前，山上住着一位聪明的老人。
One day, an unhappy young man came to the old man and told him that he had a very sad life and asked for a solution.
一天，一个闷闷不乐的年轻人来找老人，说他的生活非常悲惨，想寻求一个解决办法。
The old man ordered the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.
老人让这个闷闷不乐的年轻人在一杯水中放一把盐，然后喝下去。
"How does it taste?" the old man asked.
“味道如何？”老人问。
"Terrible," the young man answered, with a painful expression.
“太难喝了，”年轻人痛苦地回答。
The old man then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and held it in his hand.
老人让年轻人再抓一把盐，拿在手里。
The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and the young man was asked to put his handful of salt into the lake.
两人沉默着走到附近的湖边，老人让年轻人把盐放进湖里。
The old man said, "Now drink from the lake."
老人说：“现在喝点湖水。”
As the water went down through the young man's throat, the old man asked, "How does it taste?"
湖水顺着年轻人的喉咙流下，老人问：“味道如何？”
"Good!" said the young man, in a pleased voice.
“好喝！”年轻人高兴地说。
"Do you taste the salt?" asked the old man.
“你尝到盐味了吗？”老人问。
"No."
“没有。”
The old man sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands, and said, "The pain of life is pure salt, no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the pain depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the key thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake."
老人坐在这个苦恼的年轻人身边，握住他的手，说道：“人生的痛苦就像这把盐，不会多不会少。人生的痛苦就那么多，始终不变。但是，我们能尝到多少痛苦取决于放入的容器。所以当你感到痛苦时，你唯一能做的就是扩大你感知事物的容量。不要做一只杯子，要让自己成为一片湖。”