In the era of the Buddha, there lived a woman, whose only child died of sickness and was deserted by her husband. She was very sad, and wanted to end her own life.
She believed that Sakyamuni Buddha had the mystic power to revive her child’s life, so she carried the child’s body to see the Buddha.
She pleaded with the Buddha to help her, otherwise she would not believe that Buddha had mystic power and she would have considered Buddha’s enlightenment a fake.
Sakyamuni Buddha asked her to find a family who has not experienced death. Then she had to obtain from the family a mustard seed before he could revive the child’s life.
The woman visited many families and knocked on many doors. Each time, the family inside would shake their head and said that they could not help her. She could not find one family who had not experienced death in the past.
At last the woman realized all human beings must die, for immortality does not exist. It is impossible to resurrect the dead.
The woman finally realized the impermanence and suffering of life and decided to become a nun.
Sakyamuni Buddha told her: “Sickness is unavoidable, so is death. Buddhism teaches us the truth of life, so that we can transcend sickness, death, and all other sufferings in life”.
