Mustard Seed - History

History

The earliest reference to mustard is in India from a story of Gautama Buddha in the 5th century BCE. Gautama Buddha told the story of the grieving mother (Kisa Gotami) and the mustard seed. When a mother loses her only son, she takes his body to the Buddha to find a cure. The Buddha asks her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a family that has never lost a child, husband, parent or friend. When the mother is unable to find such a house in her village, she realizes that death is common to all, and she cannot be selfish in her grief. The Buddha stated that if an individual were to pick a single mustard seed every hundred years from a seven-mile cube worth of mustard seeds, then by the time the last seed is picked, the age of the world cycle would still continue. (If a mustard seed is 3 mm in diameter, then taking one seed every 100 years from a seven-mile cube of seeds, would take 936 quintillion years, 68 billion times the age of the universe.)

The French have used mustard seeds as a spice since 800 AD, and it was among the spices taken by the Spanish on explorations throughout the fifteenth century.

In the Quran, it is stated that the scales of justice will be established on the Day of Judgement, and no soul will suffer the least injustice. Even the equivalent of a mustard seed will be accounted for because God is the most efficient reckoner.

Jewish texts compare the knowable universe to the size of a mustard seed to demonstrate the world's insignificance and to teach humility. The Jewish philosopher, Nahmanides, mentions the universe expanded from the time of its creation, in which it was the size of a mustard seed.

In the Christian New Testament, the mustard seed is used by Jesus in the parable of the Mustard Seed as a model for the kingdom of God which initially starts small but grows to be the biggest of all garden plants. Faith is also spoken about in the context of a mustard seed.