DEATH (the story about the ultimate reality in life) 1 minute read

Lord Buddha, the great teacher, was going from place to place preaching Dharma - the path of liberation - to the people. He happened to go to a village where he found a woman who had lost heronly son and was sunk in deep grief. She was going round the village asking everyone to do something to bring back her son's life. All of them said that as her son was dead, there was no chance of recalling him to life any more. But she would not believe it. A man advised her that she had better go to Buddha who was on a visit to the village at that time. The woman went to Buddha and told him that her only son had passed away and that she was very much grieved over the loss and requested him to restore her son to life. Buddha replied that he would revive her son, provided she could bring for him a handful of sesamum seeds from a house in which no death had occurred. She agreed and went about from house to house asking for a handful of sesamum seeds. When the people were about to give her what she wanted, she told them that the condition was that nobody should have died in the house. They all said death had occurred in their houses and the dead were more than the living, with the result that nowhere could she get the seeds as required by Buddha. Now the truth dawned upon her that death was common in the world and that those who were born had to die one day or the other. She found consolation, and giving up her grief, came to Buddha and begged him to teach her Dharma - the way to Nirvana.

 

(from the Stories as told by Papa Ramdas)