The Buddha helps Kisa Gotami realize the wisdom to free herself from suffering

The Buddha helps Kisa Gotami, who lost her child, realize the wisdom to free herself from suffering

Below is a dialogue between the Buddha and Kisa Gotami, a classic story about enlightenment about impermanence and suffering.

The Dialogue Between the Buddha and Kisa Gotami

Context: Kisa Gotami was a young woman who had just lost her only son. Overwhelmed with grief, she carried her son's lifeless body everywhere, begging people to find a way to bring him back to life. Everyone thought she had gone mad. Finally, someone advised her to see the Buddha.

Kisa Gotami (distraught, tears streaming down her face, clutching her son's body tightly): Lord Buddha, please have mercy! My son has died; please grant me some miraculous medicine to bring him back to life! I beg you! I cannot live without him!

The Buddha (calmly, looking at Kisa Gotami with compassion): Kisa Gotami, I understand your pain. You have come to the right place. I can help you find a remedy to bring your son back to life.

Kisa Gotami (her eyes shining with hope): Really, Lord Buddha? I will do anything you ask!

The Buddha: Then go throughout the city, visit every house, and ask for a handful of mustard seeds. But there is one condition: the mustard seeds must come from a house where no one has ever died.

Kisa Gotami (momentarily stunned, but her desperate desire to save her son was too great, so she immediately agreed): I obey your command! I will go at once!

Kisa Gotami, filled with hope, carried her son's body and went through the streets, knocking on every door.

She went to the first house: "Please give me a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one has ever died."

The owner replied: "Oh, dear woman, my child passed away last year. My grandmother also passed away the year before that."

She went to the second house: "Please give me a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one has ever died."

The owner sighed: "My father just passed away last month. My wife also passed away several years ago."

She went from house to house, from neighborhood to neighborhood. Each time, she received the same answer: "No one has ever died? How can that be! Which house doesn't have people born and then die? Children, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives... everyone must eventually pass away."

Gradually, Kisa Gotami began to realize a painful but undeniable truth. Her hands loosened, and her son's body gently slipped down. Her tears still flowed, but they were no longer tears of desperate attachment, but tears of understanding.

Kisa Gotami (returning to the Buddha, no longer holding her son, her eyes still sorrowful but more serene): Lord Buddha, I have gone everywhere as you instructed. I visited every house, but I could not find a single handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one has ever died. Every family has had at least one person pass away.

The Buddha (still calm, compassionate): Kisa Gotami, what have you learned from your journey?

Kisa Gotami (bowing slightly, her voice filled with acceptance): Lord Buddha, I understand now. I was so engrossed in my own pain that I failed to see the truth. Death is a universal law for all sentient beings. No one can escape it. My precious son is not the only one to suffer this fate. All beings born must experience old age, sickness, and death. I was so ignorant and attached to an illusion.

The Buddha: Exactly, Kisa Gotami. You have seen the truth of impermanence. Everything that arises must cease. All things change; nothing is permanent. Suffering arises because we cling to impermanent things, wishing them to last forever. When you accept this truth, your sorrow will be alleviated, and you will find peace.

The Buddha: All things in the world are born and die, that is the law of nature, no matter old or young, wise or foolish, everyone must die, if I told you these truths before, would you believe me or not. The moon hanging in the sky is like this supreme truth, every night the moon rises, day by day it grows until it is full, after it is full it gradually wanes until it is no longer visible, then it begins to rotate gradually, but it does not disappear, it is just hidden from our sight, your child has not died, it is just living in your heart.

Kisa Gotami: Yes, that's right

The Buddha: Calm down and you will understand these things, the truth of life is like a human shadow, suffering follows us throughout our lives, and the cause of suffering is attachment to external things, you also understand that all things cannot last forever.

Kisa Gotami: Buddha, how can one attain liberation?

The Buddha: The key to liberation lies in the transformation of the mind, whether sorrow strikes or joy rushes in, one must maintain equanimity between the two, if one practices like this, the chains of suffering will naturally be opened, one will understand the ultimate truth and with the expansion of wisdom one will understand that life and death, coming together and separating are not two but one.

The Enlightenment:

From that moment, Kisa Gotami realized that her attachment to her deceased son was the cause of her endless suffering. She had seen the truth of the impermanence of all phenomena and the suffering caused by clinging. She no longer clung to her self and her personal grief but saw death as a universal law.

Kisa Gotami later requested to be ordained as a Bhikkhuni (Buddhist nun) and diligently practiced. Thanks to the Buddha's guidance and her deep understanding of impermanence, she attained enlightenment and became an Arhat.

This story is a profound lesson about facing loss, accepting the impermanent nature of life, and letting go of attachment to find the path to peace and liberation.