The purpose of Buddhism is to solve the problems of life, alleviate the suffering of human beings, and obtain happiness and liberation, and lamentation and separation from the beloved are counted among the universal sufferings of human existence. They are closely associated with death and bereavement, and happen to everyone. In general, the loss of an only child is the most painful and unbearable. How a mother confronted the passing of her only child
son or daughter and coped with loss and grief in the early Buddhist texts? How the Buddha helped them to pass through sadness? Actually, bereavement may be more than a negative experience, and may possess positive implications. It gives the bereaved an opportunity to transform themselves from grief to inner tranquility and enlightenment, and the assistance does not comprise giving mere comfort or support, but also emphasizes the proper understanding of impermanence and the causes of suffering. This paper is a textual, narrative and comparative study of the bereavement process in the three cases in the Therīgāthā and its commentary
the Therīgāthā-aṭṭhakathā: Ubbirī lost her only daughter Jīvantī, Vāsiṭṭhī lost her only son, and Kisāgotamī lost her only son. It analyses and integrates the bereavement cases according to the structure of the Four Noble Truths
cattāri ariya saccāni, the similarities and differences among the bereaved, the reactions, the processes of changes, and finally consequences are related and compared. How the Buddha led them realize the impermanence on their path from grief to arahatship
arahatta is also essential.
