Chapter 10: The Sermon at Benares 10

 Chapter 10: The Sermon at Benares (by Betty Renshaw, about Lord Buddha).

Word Meanings 

• Sermon – a religious talk or lesson

• Sacred – holy, very important for religion

• Suffering – pain, sadness, difficulty

• Enlightenment – true knowledge, deep understanding of life

• Monk – a holy man who leaves home to follow religion

• Mourn – to feel or express sadness after someone dies

• Grief – deep sorrow, sadness

• Fate – destiny, what is meant to happen

• Mortal – human being, who must die one day

• Immortality – never dying

• Alms – offerings or gifts to monks (like food)

• Ripe fruit – fruit ready to fall, symbol of death

• Weary – very tired

• Householder – person living a family life

• Wandered – moved here and there without aim

NCERT Question–Answers 

 Thinking about the Text

Q1. When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?

Kisa Gotami asked for medicine to bring her dead son back to life. Nobody could give it to her because death is natural and no medicine can bring back the dead. People understood this truth, but she didn’t.

Q2. Kisa Gotami again goes from house to house after she speaks with the Buddha. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. She couldn’t find such a house because death had touched every family. She realized that death is universal.

Q3. What does Kisa Gotami understand the second time that she failed to understand the first time? Was this what the Buddha wanted her to understand?
The second time, Kisa Gotami understood that death is common to all and no one can escape it. Yes, this was Buddha’s teaching—that wise people do not grieve over what is natural and unavoidable.

Q4. Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?
At first, grief had blinded Kisa Gotami. She thought only she had suffered. But when Buddha gave her the task of finding mustard seeds, she learned every family had faced death. Buddha’s lesson made her accept reality.

Q5. How do you explain the line: “The world is afflicted with death and decay, therefore the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world”?
This line means death and decay are natural laws of life. Every human must die one day. The wise accept this truth calmly. They do not grieve but try to rise above sorrow with understanding.

1. What did the Buddha chance upon when he went for hunting?

 While out hunting, Buddha saw a sick man, an old man, and a dead body for the first time. These sights shocked him deeply, as he realized that sickness, old age, and death are unavoidable parts of human life.

2. At what age, the Buddha was sent for schooling? What did he learn there?
 Buddha, known as Siddhartha, was sent to school at the age of twelve. There he studied sacred scriptures, history, philosophy, and the arts of warfare. He became skilled in knowledge as well as in physical training, yet remained thoughtful about human suffering.

3. Why did Gautam Buddha notice the sufferings for the first time at the age of 25 years?
 Gautam Buddha was kept inside the palace away from sorrow. At 25, when he went out, he saw sickness, old age, and death for the first time. These experiences opened his eyes to the truth of suffering in human life.

4. Which events forced Gautam Buddha to leave his home?
Seeing an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and finally a monk made Gautam Buddha realize that worldly pleasures cannot give peace. He left his palace, wife, and son at 29 to seek enlightenment and find the way to end human suffering.

5. Did Kisa Gotami get what she wanted? If no, then, how come did she get out of her grief?
 Kisa Gotami wanted medicine to bring her dead child back to life. She did not get it. Instead, Buddha’s lesson made her realize that death is natural and comes to all. Accepting this truth helped her come out of her grief.

6. How do grieving for the dead affect a person?
 Grieving too long for the dead makes a person sad, weak, and restless. It fills the mind with pain and prevents one from living peacefully. Buddha teaches that wise people accept death calmly, as it is a natural part of life.

7. How can a person come out of mourning due to the death of his loved one?
 A person can come out of mourning by understanding the truth of life—that death is inevitable. Instead of clinging to grief, one should accept reality with courage. Buddha’s teaching shows that peace comes when we let go of attachment and accept impermanence.