Description:
Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants.The seeds are usually about 1 or 2 mm in diameter.Mustardseeds arethe small round seeds of various mustardplants.The seeds are usually about 1 or 2 mm in diameter. Mustard seedsmay be colored from yellowish white to black. They areimportant spices inmany regional foods. The seeds can come from three differentplants: black mustard (Brassicanigra),brown Indian mustard(B. juncea),and white mustard (B. hirta/Sinapis alba).
In the NewTestament, the mustard seed is used by Jesus inthe parable of the Mustard Seed as amodel for the kingdom of God which initially starts small but growsto be the biggest of all garden plants. Faith is also spoken aboutin the context of a mustard seed.
The earliest reference to mustard isin India from a story of GautamaBuddha in the 5th century BCE. Gautama Buddha toldthe story of the grieving mother (Kisa Gotami) and the mustardseed. When a mother loses her only son, she takes his body to theBuddha to find a cure. The Buddha asks her to bring a handful ofmustard seeds from a family that has never lost a child, husband,parent or friend. When the mother is unable to find such a house inher village, she realizes that death is common to all, and shecannot be selfish in her grief.The Buddha stated that if anindividual were to pick a single mustard seed every hundred yearsfrom a seven-mile cube worth of mustard seeds, then by the time thelast seed is picked, the age of the world cycle would stillcontinue. (If a mustard seed is 3 mm in diameter, then takingone seed every 100 years from a seven-mile cube of seeds, wouldtake 936 quintillion years, 68 billion times the age of theuniverse.)
Jewish texts compare the knowableuniverse to the size of a mustard seed to demonstrate the world''sinsignificance and to teach humilityThe Jewishphilosopher Nahmanidesmentions the universeexpanded from the time of its creation, in which it was the size ofa mustard seed.
