There was once a young woman whose only son died. Her heart was so heavy with grief that she could not go on. She went to Buddha and asked for a magic potion to take away the grief.
“Of course,” said the Buddha, “I just need one small thing. You must bring me a mustard seed from a home that has not known grief.”
The woman went off right away in search of the seed. Months passed. Buddha was walking through the village one day when he saw her again. This time she was washing clothes and humming.
“Do you still need the magic potion?” the Buddha asked her.
“Buddha,” she said, “when I went searching for the mustard seed, I found so many people whose sorrows were greater than mine. I started to help them… and I started to feel better. Save the potion for someone who really needs it.”
Discover how Regi Carpenter uses the medicine of this story to heal her own grief.