/lit/ - Literature

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The birth of a child is, at the same time, the birth of a
mother into the world.
Child is the symbol of a mother. That love for the child,
that tenderness of the heart which characterises a mother, is so
significant that it is often associated with the change of red blood
into milk.
“Mettā” – usually rendered by that cross-bred term loving
kindness, is the universal love for which the mother’s love for her
child is the unit. The Buddha speaking about mettā says for
instance, “Just as a mother would protect her only child even at
the risk of her own life, so should one develop a boundless heart
towards all beings.”
A mother is not only born with the child she brings forth,
she also grows up with the child she brings up. Her growth is in
terms of the other three Divine Abidings or Brahma Vihāra –
compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. In bringing up her
child, sometimes a mother has to be stern and tactful. Her soft
tender love matures into a compassionate sternness, when the
child is passing through the unruly boyhood and reckless
adolescence. But that hardness of her heart melts at the correct
moment, like butter.
The child has now reached manhood. He can stand on his
own feet with enviable self-confidence. The mother also grows
up with sympathetic joy enjoying the fruits of her labour. Her
complacence, like curd, is serene and has nothing meddlesome
about it.
The bringing forth and the bringing up is over. The time
comes now to let go of the attachments and involvements
regarding the child. But for that separation too, the mother, now
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mature in her experience, is fully prepared with equanimity. Like
a pot of ghee, she is not easily upset.
Universal love, compassion, sympathetic-joy and
equanimity are the four Divine Abidings a mother practices in a
limited sense in the course of her motherly care for the child.
Charity begins at home. These four are homely virtues in the first
instance, to be remembered like milk, butter, curd and ghee. The
four Divine Abidings are to be developed, however, in a
boundless measure until one’s heart is fully released in them. A
mother bears testimony to the practicability and the reciprocal
value of these Divine Abidings, which hold the prospects of
spiritual growth, peace and harmony for the society at large.