jenny cares 

Even worldly people are grateful for the kindness of the mother, which extends from conception until death.

(1) My mother has been kind in giving me my precious human body. Her kindness is responsible for all the opportunities I have, of making use of my body and leading the sort of life that I do.

If she hadn't taken care of me when I was in the womb, I wouldn't have been born alive. If she hadn't fed me well afterwards, I wouldn't have enjoyed the various functions of my physical body, such as using my eyes to see the most beautiful objects, my ears to hear the most beautiful sounds, my nose to smell the sweetest perfumes, my tongue to enjoy the most delicious tastes, or my body to enjoy sexual love and have many children.

Also, becoming rich by working with my body, speech or mind, and being skilful and creative with my hands; all this depends on my mother's kindness. My mother always took good care of me, feeding me properly, protecting me from many dangers, directing my life, and making me study so that I could have a comfortable life and good reputation.

(2) From the time of my conception she has been worried and concerned about me. When I was in the womb she worried day and night, didn't move as freely as before, and always took more care of me than of herself, because of the great love and compassion she had for her baby. She took much care in eating-renouncing desirable food and eating only that which would not give me harm, avoiding foods that were too hot and too cold and so forth.

At the time of my birth, she bore the extreme suffering of feeling as if her body were about to split apart and had fear that her life was in danger. If my mother hadn't wanted to bear the suffering of childbirth, I wouldn't have been born.

When I was a baby, in spite of disgust, she always kept me clean of ka-ka, pi-pi, snot, etc. She always tried to keep me warm and protected and gave me the best clothes and food that she could. She would also keep the best part of her own food and other enjoyments for me.

My mother told lies to give me a good reputation and to hide my faults and bad behaviour. To protect me from danger she fought or did anything possible to help, taking more care of me than of herself.

All in all, my parents took great care of my life with much suffering, creating bad karma by making other beings suffer so that I would be happy.

(3) Moreover, because my present mother has been my mother in countless human lives, she has been infinitely kind to me since time without beginning.

Nagarjuna said: "The amount of milk we have drunk from the one mother is greater than the amount of water in the oceans."

If all the milk I have ever received from my mother could be collected, it would fill infinite space, and I could continue to drink it in future lives. Similarly, the food received from her is as infinite as space, and all my past ka-kas and pi-pis, the result of that food, would fill an infinite, immense extension- so would the clothes she gave me, the immense ocean of tears she shed out of worry for me, and the numberless bodies she sacrificed to protect my life.

Besides the kindnesses she gave me as a human, there are those she gave as all different beings, an infinite number of times each. I have received exactly the same amount of benefits from each sentient being. Therefore, as my present mother has been infinitely kind to me, so has every other sentient being.

(4) Finally, my mother has been extremely kind in educating me herself and in seeing that I received a good education throughout my life so that I could become self-sufficient and have a happy, fulfilling life.

When you have a heavy feeling of this present life's mother's kindness in this and previous lives, think also how your father has been mother. Then do this meditation with friends and enemies and then all other sentient beings.

This meditation is with our present mother in her human body. Then think of her kindness when she had other kinds of body, such as that of a dog, a bird and so forth. Think in great detail. Then also do this with father, friend, enemy, and all other sentient beings.

Note from Jenny: the circumstances mentioned in the note above "Although we usually try to offer in this space..." are that Nick Ribush was at his own mother's funeral yesterday.