#(Buddha) 21 Mustard Seeds Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

One day, a woman came
Carrying in her arms
Her dead child and kept it,
With tears, at Buddha’s feet.

She cried and begged,
“Give life to my child, ”
He took pity on her,
And tried to console her.

He told her, “Yes, I’ll
Heal the child well,
But on one condition,
If you get it done.”

“Just bring mustard seeds,
A handful from a house,
Where no one has died,
To give life to this dead.”

She went from door to door,
But found everywhere,
Death had taken place,
Not sparing any single house.

Now, she well understood
The body, she then buried.
In the Sangha, she joined.
By Buddha, she was blessed.

Buddha tried to handle,
The aggrieved people,
In a practical manner
And gave them all shelter.

Besides his compassion,
His love for everyone,
Was a blessing in disguise
For the affected mass.

Sangha was an asylum
For every one of them
They found a healing touch
From Buddha very much.