The Cure of the Mustard Seed 

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This story is taken from the Pali Canon, the original scripture of Buddhism, and relates an actual incident: Kisagotami, a young Mother brought her dead baby before the Buddha and begged him to restore her child to life. Buddha asked the woman to bring him some 'medicine,' some mustard seed from a house

in which no one had died.

 

In this tale we learn how Buddha’s simple request conveyed his teaching on the nature of life and allowed a young mother in great grief to accept the inevitability of death and change her attitude towards living.

 

"Perhaps you know a young person or someone who is confronting death for the first time. Read this story with him or her, look at the pictures and consider what you have heard and seen. If you know an adult that is grieving, give them the book or read it with them. If you are distraught or saddened, this story is good medicine for your own life. If you are feeling whole and balanced, hearing this tale may remind you of what is inevitable and what we all tend to forget." – from the book

 

The book is illustrated with photographs taken by the author at Manikarnika Ghat, the extraordinary and ancient cremation ground of Benaras, India.