A Truly Happy Person真正快乐的人
1. This is a folk story passed down by the Jewish people. There was a very rich man who had plenty of property. One day, he suddenly fell seriously ill and couldn’t recover. Since he was very rich, his family invited many famous doctors from places around the country to cure him, but none succeeded.
2. The man’s health deteriorated and he seemed to have no hope of getting healed. Just when his family was in utter desperation, a spiritual practitioner who came from afar passed by and told them, “If you can find a very happy person, take his clothes and let your father wear them, then he’ll be cured.”
3. Upon hearing this, the rich man’s family set off in all directions looking for a happy person. However, after searching high and low, they could not find a truly happy person. The so-called happy people they found weren’t perfectly happy in every way so they couldn’t be regarded as truly happy people. The family carried on searching until they finally gave up. Nevertheless, one of the rich man’s sons was extremely filial. Unable to bear separation from his father, he was determined to see his father healed. Thus he left his hometown and went to faraway places, with his mind set on finding a truly happy person.
4. One day, the rich man’s son became exhausted by his tedious journey. Dusk was falling so he tried to find a resting place and came upon a cave where he decided to spend the night. As he approached the mouth of the cave, he heard a resounding voice from within saying, “Oh! I’m such a happy man! I had such a wonderful day today. I’m happy every day! Everything is fine with me. I’m delighted and happy with everything! I’m the happiest person in the world! I’m a truly happy man!” These words were repeated over and over, accompanied by joyful laughter. Finally, the voice said, “Oh! I’m sleepy now. I’m going to sleep in happiness. Even if I were to die now, I would still be very happy!”
5. The rich man’s son rejoiced to hear this and thought, “I’ve found the cure for my father’s illness!” He then quickly slipped into the cave, hoping to find the person and take his clothes from him. But when he went inside, he found that the man was completely naked! He wasn’t wearing anything! The son stood there stunned, not knowing what to do.
6. Seeing his disappointment and frustration, the happy man asked, “What’s wrong?” And the rich man’s son replied, “I failed to find something that I’m looking for.” So the happy man asked, “What are you looking for?” The rich man’s son replied, “My father is critically ill, and a spiritual practitioner told us that if we could find a truly happy person, we should take off his clothes and let my father wear them, then he’d be cured. That’s why I’m here to take your clothes. I never dreamt that you wouldn’t be wearing anything!” The happy man said, “Sigh! If I were wearing something, I wouldn’t be so happy now!”
7. What he meant was that if he possessed any property, he would be burdened and wouldn’t be so happy. Precisely because he had nothing, he was free of any pressure, not having to worry about losing anything, about his things being stolen or destroyed. He also didn’t have to worry about what to do should he not have a certain thing the next day. Since he had nothing to compare with others, he didn’t have to worry about other people having something better. Therefore, he was free of worries. He didn’t have to worry about anything, such as people stealing his things or hurting him. That’s why he was so happy.
8. It doesn’t mean that we’ll be happy if we don’t have any property; it also doesn’t mean that we’ll have worries or be happy if we have a lot of wealth. Whether we’re happy or unhappy can’t be measured by our wealth. It mainly depends on our heart. If we have some wealth, but we don’t cling to it and we use it in the right place, then we can say we possess no wealth and aren’t attached to it. Suppose we have no wealth and can’t earn money, but then we say that the grapes are sour because we have no grapes to eat then we’re not truly happy people.
9. The man in this story most probably was a truly happy person. We can tell from the way he talked. In fact, true happiness at heart is not to be derived from wealth or poverty.
1. 这是一则犹太人流传下来的民间故事。有一个人非常有钱，有很多财产，有一天，他得了重病，没办法康复。因为他很有钱，所以他的家人从各地请了好多出名的医生来帮他看病，但是都没有人能够把他的病医好。
2. 他的病越来越严重，看起来好像没有药救了、没有希望了。当他的家人已经绝望的时候，有一位从远方来的修行人经过，就跟他们说：“如果你们能够找到一个很快乐的人，把他身上的衣服拿下来，让你们父亲穿上，他的病就会好。”
3. 那个富翁的家人听了，就到处去找快乐的人，但是他们找遍了各地，都找不到一个真正快乐的人。因为他们找到的那些人，他们的快乐都不是圆满的，所以不能算是真正快乐的人。他们就这样一直找，找到最后都放弃希望了。不过那个富翁有一个儿子非常孝顺，他不想让父亲离开他们，决定要把父亲的病医好，就离开家乡，去到很远的地方，决心要找到一个真正快乐的人。
4. 有一天，他走得很累了，天又黑了，他就想找个地方休息一下。这时候他正巧看到一个山洞，于是就打算在那边休息过夜。当他来到山洞外面时，听到有声音从里面传出来：“啊！我是这么快乐的人！我今天过了这么好的一天，我每天都非常快乐！我什么都好，我什么都很高兴、很欢喜！我是最快乐的人！我是真正快乐的人！”那个声音一直这样念，还发出很欢喜的笑声，然后又听他说：“啊！我现在想睡觉了，我很快乐地去睡觉。即使我现在死了，也会很快乐！”
5. 富翁的儿子听了当然非常高兴，他心想：“父亲的病终于有救了！”于是就赶快跑进山洞里找那个讲话的人，准备把他的衣服拿下来。结果跑进去却看到那个人全身光溜溜的，什么衣服都没穿！他就站在那边，不知道该如何是好？
6. 那个快乐的人看到他一副很失望、很受挫折的样子，就问：“你怎么啦？”富翁的儿子说：“我想找一些东西却找不到。”那个快乐的人就问：“你想找什么东西？”富翁的儿子说：“我父亲病得很严重，有一位修行人说，如果我能够找到一个真正快乐的人，把他的衣服拿下来，带回去给我父亲穿上，他的病就会好。所以我才会来这里想拿你的衣服，没想到你竟然没有穿任何衣服！”那个快乐的人说：“哎呀！我如果有穿衣服的话，就不会这么快乐了！”
7. 他的意思是说，如果他有任何财产的话，就会有负担，不会那么快乐。就因为他什么都没有，所以他没有压力，不会怕失去任何东西，不怕别人来偷，不怕自己的东西会毁坏掉，也不用担心明天没有该怎么办？因为他什么都没有，不能和别人比较，所以也不怕别人的东西比他好。因此，他没有什么忧虑，不需要担心什么，不怕别人来偷，不怕别人伤害他，所以他才会那么快乐。