A poetic retelling of the Buddha’s lesson on loss, this piece explores how grief unites us all and how acceptance, not resistance, leads to healing. Discover the universal truth that pain is part of loving—and that peace comes when we let go of what cannot be changed.
She had only one child—
her son, her everything.
But one evening,
without warning,
his breath simply stopped.
No sign.
No reason.
No time to prepare.
She held him through the night,
rocking him gently,
as if love alone could bring him back.
Her body grew cold,
but her mind clung to hope.
She whispered,
“No… this can’t be real.
He was laughing just yesterday.”
As dawn broke,
she went from house to house,
pleading for a cure.
“Please,” she begged,
“someone must know a way to save him.”
Some people stared in silence.
Some wept with her.
Others turned away.
But one elderly man spoke softly:
“There is someone who may help.
Go to the Buddha.”
She found the Buddha beneath a tree—
calm, present, listening.
“Please,” she said, “I’ve heard you heal the sick.
My son just needs your help.”
The Buddha met her eyes,
not with shock or pity,
but with deep understanding.
He said,
“Bring me a handful of mustard seeds—
but only from a home untouched by death.”
She ran, hope flickering within her.
At every door, she asked the same question.
And every family gave the same answer:
“We lost our mother.”
“Our brother passed away.”
“Our child died last year.”
By nightfall,
her hope had faded.
Her grief remained—
but it was quieter now.
She returned to the Buddha,
her hands empty
but her heart changed.
She knelt before him,
her voice soft.
“There is no home that hasn’t known loss.”
The Buddha nodded.
“Now you see.
You were never singled out.
You were never alone.
You are simply… human.”
That’s when I understood—
Grief is the cost of loving deeply.
But suffering begins when we insist
that life should be different than it is.
Pain is part of our journey.
But peace arrives
when we accept what already is.