Kisa Gotami again goes from house to house after she speaks with the Buddha. What does she ask for, the second time around? Does she get it? Why not?
(does_she_get_it) No, she does not get it.
(what_she_asks_for) The second time, Kisa Gotami asks for a handful of mustard-seed. The Buddha conditions that it must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child, husband, parent, or friend.
(why_not) She does not get it because death is common to all. Though people pitied her and offered the seed, every house had lost a beloved one. As the people said, the living are few, but the dead are many, and there was no house untouched by death.
Explanation
The Buddha uses the mustard-seed task as a practical lesson to shift Kisa Gotami's perspective. Initially, she is consumed by her own grief and believes her suffering is unique. By searching for a house untouched by death, she realizes that mortality is a universal reality. This shared experience of loss helps her overcome her personal grief, which is exactly what the Buddha intended for her to understand.