The
auspicious herb
An old woman could not recover from the sorrow of his son's death, and cried
everyday in mourning. When she became desperate, she suddenly thought of the
Buddha being the only one who could save her son. Full of hope, she went to the
Buddha.
As soon as she saw
the Buddha, she felt like a drowning person who has found a raft. Kneeling , she implored the Buddha:" Buddha! I heard
that you are the compassionate father of this world who possesses mighty powers
that could solve all the problems of sentient beings. My son has died, and I
beg of you to make him come alive. If you do this for me, I will become your
follower and a patron of Buddhism. If you cannot make him come alive, I would
not believe in your teaching."
Having heard this
request, the Buddha was not the least antagonised. He
kindly said to her:" There is a medicinal herb on earth called the
auspicious herb. If you can find it for your son, he can definitely come back
to life."
The old woman was
most excited to hear of this wonderful and rare herb, and hastened to
ask:" May I ask where I can find it?"
"
This kind of herb is found in all families where there had been no
deaths. Go quickly to look for it." The Buddha instructed.
The old woman rushed
off, and ran through the whole country day and night in search of this
auspicious herb. However, she could not find any family even in all the neighbouring countries where a death had not occurred. She
was therefore in great desolation. It did not take long for her to realise that: death is an inevitable part of life. Under
the expedient teaching of the Buddha, this old woman eventually emerged from
her sorrow to turn a new page and move on.
[ The mountains and
rivers of the earth have manifested the process of becoming, existing,
destruction and extinction. Human beings undergo the process of birth, aging,
sickness and death. With every moment, the mind experiences the rise and fall
of changes. It is a natural law in worldly phenomena that everything comes and
goes. To perceive this timeless principle of becoming and extinction and the
true meaning of nirvana is to transcend birth and death and be liberated from
them.]