A good son learns from his mother, and when that son is a Buddhist monk, that son also teaches his mother. Venerable Sumitta's widowed mother raised him and his siblings in such a way that they always felt like a whole and complete family. She steered them all through joy and hardship. As she aged, and as he became an experienced monk, he steered her away from attachment and helped her let go of clinging and move toward a peaceful death.