JAC Board Class 10th English Solutions First Flight Chapter 10 The Sermon at Benares.
JAC Class 10th English The Sermon at Benares Textbook Questions and Answers
Before You Read (Page – 133)
Activity
Use a dictionary or ask for your teacher’s help as you discuss the following questions in groups.
Question 1.
What is a sermon? Is it different from a lecture or a talk? Can this word also be used in a negative way or as a joke (as in “my mother’s sermon about getting my work done on time…”)?
Answer:
Sermon is mainly a talk or a speech given by a priest on religious or moral subject. It is totally different from a lecture or a talk. No, this word can’t be used in a negative way or as a joke.
Question 2.
Find out the meanings of the words and phrases given in the box.
alllicted with be composed desolation
lamentation procure be subject to
Answer:
- afflicted with – cause pain or suffering
- desolation – sorrow, sadness
- be composed – calm
- procure – to obtain
- lamentation – mourning
- be subject to – determined to, liable to
Question 3.
Have you heard of the Sermon on the Mount? Who delivered it? Who do you think delivered a sermon at Benares?
Answer:
Yes, I have heard about the, ‘Sermon on the Mount’. Jesus Christ delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Gautam Buddha delivered a Sermon at Benares.
Thinking about the Text
Question 1.
When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Answer:
When Kisa Gotami’s son dies, she goes from house to house to get some medicine that would cure her child. No, she does not get it. Because her child died and no medicine can cure a dead person.
Question 2.
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?
Answer:
Kisa Gotami goes from house to house to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one has lost a child, husband, parent, or friend. But, she does not get it. Because there was not a single house where no one had died in the family.
Question 3.
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?
Answer:
Kisa Gotami understands the second time that death is common to all. It is bound to happen. It is inevitable. Nobody can deny this fact. There is no house where someone has not died. This was what the Buddha wanted her to understand.
Question 4.
Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?
Answer:
Kisa Gotami understood that death is common to all. She understood this only the second time because it was then that she found that there was not a single house where some beloved had not died. Firstly, she was only thinking about her grief. That is why she was asking for a medicine that would cure her son. When she met the Buddha, he asked her to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died.
He did this intentionally to make her realize that there was not a single house where no body had died. Death is inevitable. Second time, when she went to all the houses she felt depressed that she could not gather the mustard seeds. Ultimately, she realized that the fate of men is such that they live and die. It is the natural course of life. Death is common to all. This is what the Buddha had intended her to understand.
Question 5.
How do you usually understand the idea of ‘selfishness’? Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that she was being ‘selfish in her grief’?
Answer:
‘Selfishness’ means being concerned only about one’s own interests without caring for others. Yes, it can be said that Kisa Gotami is ‘selfish in her grief’. She was so grieved at her son’s death that she was not able to understand that death is something that strikes all beings. If we take the usual sense of the word ‘selfish’, then calling Kisa Gotami selfish would be inappropriate, because every person becomes selfish in his/her grief.
Thinking about Language
I. This text is written in an old-fashioned style, for it reports an incident more than two millennia old. Look for the following words and phrases in the text, and try to rephrase them in more current language, based on how you understand them.
1. give thee medicine for thy child
2. Pray tell me
3. Kisa repaired to the Buddha
4. there was no house but someone had died in it
5. kinsmen
6. Mark!
Answer:
- give you medicine for your child
- Please tell me
- Kisa went to the Buddha
- there was no house where no one had died
- relatives
- Listen!
II. You know that we can combine sentences using words like and, or, but, yet and then. But sometimes no such word seems appropriate. In such a case we can use a semicolon (;) or a dash (—) to combine two clauses.
She has no interest in music; I doubt she will become a singer like her mother. The second clause here gives the speaker’s opinion on the first clause. Here is a sentence from the text that uses semicolons to combine clauses. Break up the sentence into three simple sentences. Can you then say which has a better rhythm when you read it, the single sentence using semicolons, or the three simple sentences? For there is not any means by which those who have been born can avoid dying; after reaching old age there is death; of such a nature are living beings.
Answer:
The single sentence using semicolons has a better rhythm. This is because the three parts of the sentence are connected to each other in their meanings. The second clause gives further information on the first clause. The third clause is directly related to both the first and the second. Their meanings are better conveyed when they are joined by semicolons.
Speaking
The Buddha’s sermon is over 2500 years old. Given below are two recent texts on the topic of grief. Read the texts, comparing them with each other and with the Buddha’s sermon. Do you think the Buddha’s ideas and way of teaching continue to hold meaning for us? Or have we found better ways to deal with grief? Discuss this in groups or in class.
I. A Guide to Coping with the Death of a Loved One
Martha is having difficulty sleeping lately and no longer enjoys doing things with her friends. Martha lost her husband of 26 years to cancer a month ago. Anya, age 17, doesn’t feel like eating and spends the days in her room crying. Her grandmother recently died. Both of these individuals are experiencing grief. Grief is an emotion natural to all types of loss or significant change.
Feelings of Grief
Although grief is unique and personal, a broad range of feelings and behaviours are commonly experienced after the death of a loved one.
- Sadness. This is the most common, and it is not necessarily manifested by crying.
- Anger. This is one of the most confusing feelings for a survivor. There may be frustration at not being able to prevent the death, and a sense of not being able to exist without the loved one.
- Guilt and Self – reproach. People may believe that they were not kind enough or caring enough to the person who died, or that the person should have seen the doctor sooner.
- Anxiety. An individual may fear that she/he won’t be able to care for herself/himself.
- Loneliness. There are reminders throughout the day that a partner, family member or friend is gone. For example, meals are no longer prepared the same way, phone calls to share a special moment don’t happen.
- Fatigue. There is an overall sense of feeling tired.
- Disbelief. This occurs particularly if it was a sudden death.
Helping Others Who Are Experiencing Grief
When a friend, loved one, or co – worker is experiencing grief how can we help? It helps to understand that grief is expressed through a variety of behaviours. Reach out to others in their grief, but understand that some may not want to accept help and will not share their grief. Others will want to talk about their thoughts and feelings or reminisce. Be patient and let the grieving person know that you care and are there to support him or her.
II. Good Grief Amitai Etzioni
Soon after my wife died her car slid off an icy road in 1985 a school psychologist warned me that my children and I were not mourning in the right way. We felt angry; the proper first stage, he said, is denial. In late August this year, my 38-year-old son, Michael, died suddenly in his sleep, leaving behind a 2 – year – old son and a wife expecting their next child. There is no set form for grief, and no ‘right’ way to express it. There seems to be an expectation that, after a great loss, we will progress systematically through the well-known stages of grief. It is wrong, we are told, to jump to anger or to wallow too long in this stage before moving towards acceptance. But I was, and am, angry.
To make parents bury their children is wrong; to have both my wife and son taken from me, for forever and a day, is cruel beyond words. A relative from Jerusalem, who is a psychiatrist, brought some solace by citing the maxim: ‘We are not to ask why, but what.’ The ‘what’ is that which survivors in grief are bound to do for one another. Following that advice, my family, close friends and I keep busy, calling each other and giving long answers to simple questions like, “How did your day go today?” We try to avoid thinking about either the immediate past or the bereft future. We take turns playing with Max, Michael’s two – year – old son. Friends spend nights with the young widow, and will be among those holding her hand when the baby is born. Focusing on what we do for one another is the only consolation we can find.
Answer:
The paragraphs mentioned above deal with grief. It is mainly felt after the loss of the near and dear ones. So far Buddha’s ideas and way of teaching are concerned they have meaning for us.
Writing
Write a page (about three paragraphs) on one of the following topics. You can think about the ideas in the text that are relevant to these topics, and add your own ideas and experiences to them.
Question 1.
Teaching someone to understand a new or difficult idea.
Answer:
To teach someone a new or difficult idea is really a tedious task. Because people are preoccupied with preconceived notions. To do this, the new concept should be simplified to keep into their mind. The concept should be repeated in their mind. Because the more they hear it, the better they understand it. Only teachers should not be delivered to students. But they should be taught through problem – solving or discussion among teachers and students. It should be elaborately explained so that new ideas can be taught. This way teaching someone to understand a new or difficult idea will become more easier.
Question 2.
Helping each other to get over difficult times.
Answer:
Being human beings, it is our moral duty to help others in difficult times. If someone is in difficulty, he must be helped. Human life is full of problems and difficulties. If we have to live in society, we also need the cooperation of others. If we seek other’s help then we should also help them in adverse circumstances. Human beings can’t live alone. Difficulty may be of any kind. It might be difficulty of money, health related, study, marriage, etc. At each and every stage of life, it should be solved through cooperation.
Question 3.
Thinking about oneself as unique, or as one among billions of others.
Answer:
Each individual considers himself to be unique. He always tries to differentiate himself from others. In the crowd of millions, he always tries to think about himself unique. It is a common phenomenon of human being. But, it shows his arrogant nature and feeling of pride. But it also varies from person to person. If someone is a very important person even then he mixes up with common people. But if someone has a unique idea then that will certainly create an effect on the people. It will mould his understanding.
JAC Class 10th English The Sermon at Benares Important Questions and Answers
I. Short Answer Type Questions (20 – 30 words & 2 marks each)
Question 1.
Who was Gautam Buddha? Write in few lines about his early life.
Answer:
Gautam Buddha was a prince. He was named Siddhartha Gautam by his parents. He was bom in 563 B.C. in North India. He was sent away for schooling when he was twelve years old but four years later he got married to a princess.
Question 2.
Which people did the Buddha call ‘wise’ in his sermons?
Answer:
Buddha said that everyone is subject to death. The world is afflicted with death and decay. But the ones who do no lament and grieve knowing the terms of the world, are wise.
Question 3.
Which two values are depicted in the statement, ‘To seek peace one has to draw out the arrow of lamentation’?
Answer:
The above statement depicts that no lamentation can bring back someone dear to life. Lamenting tells upon one’s health. One becomes sick and pale and may lose appetite and interest in life.
Question 4.
Why was Kisa Gotami sad? What did she do in her hour of grief?
Answer:
Kisa Gotami w as sad because her only son had died. In her hour of grief, she went from house to house in search of medicine to cure her son.
Question 5.
What did the Buddha want Kisa Gotami to understand?
Answer:
Buddha wanted Kisa Gotami to understand that death is common to all. Death is permanent. It is bound to happen. No one can avoid dying. No one can save their kith and kin. So, this reality must be accepted at all costs.
Question 6.
What does the Buddha say about the world?
Answer:
The Buddha says that everything in this world is subject to death. He further says that the world is deeply affected by suffering, disease or pain. Death is inevitable. Nobody can escape from it.
II. Short Answer Type Questions (40 – 50 words & 3 marks each)
Question 1.
Which inanimate object did Kisa Gotami compare human life? Why?
Answer:
Kisa Gotami compared human life to the lights of the city, which flickered up and extinguished again and at last the darkness of the night reigned everywhere. Similarly the life and fate of humans flicker up and are extinguished again. She did so because she realised that death was common to all and she was being selfish in her own grief.
Question 2.
How did Siddhartha become the Buddha?
Answer:
Siddhartha at the age of 25 confronted a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession and finally a monk begging for alms. These sights moved him so much that he at once went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he had witnessed. He wandered for seven years and finally sat down under a peepal tree, where he gained enlightenment. After seven days of enlightenment, he renamed the tree to Bodhi Tree and began to teach and share his new understanding. At that point he became known as Buddha.
Question 3.
Why did Prince Siddhartha leave the palace and become a beggar?
Answer:
One day while hunting, Prince Siddhartha saw a sick man, an aged man, then a funeral procession and a monk begging for alms. These sights of humans’ suffering moved him so much that he left the palace to seek enlightenment.
Question 4.
Which incidents prompted Prince Siddhartha to become a monk?
Answer:
Once Prince Siddhartha had gone for hunting where he came across a sick man, an aged man, a monk asking for alms and also saw a funeral procession. He was unable to understand these sufferings. Seeing this, he got perturbed. After wandering hither and thither, he went in search of spiritual knowledge.
Question 5.
What did Kisa Gotami learn in the end?
Answer:
In the end, Kisa Gotami learnt that death is common to all. No one can deny this fact. People weep over their dead ones but it is only the wise who do not grieve as they have accepted the truth. A person should only try to seek inner peace.
Question 6.
How did Buddha teach Kisa Gotami the truth of life?
Answer:
Kisa Gotami was totally dejected by the death of her only son. She wandered from door to door to save the life of her son. She ultimately went to the Buddha, who asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds. This raised a hope in Gotami’s heart that her son could be revived. But the Buddha imposed a condition. He told that the seeds should be from a house where people had not lost a loved one to death. It made Kisa Gotami realize the bitter truth of life. Sorrows are a part and parcel of life. It can never be denied.
III. Long Answer Type Questions (100 – 120 words & 5 marks each)
Question 1.
Life is full of trials and tribulations. Kisa Gotami also passes through a period of grief in her life. How does she behave in those circumstances?
Answer:
Kisa Gotami was very sad losing her only child. She carried her dead child to her neighbours in order to get medicine to bring him back to life. Her neighbours thought that she had gone insane as she was not able to accept the fact. It was at that time when someone suggested her to go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha. When she asked the Buddha to give her the medicine to cure her boy, the Buddha told her to fetch a handful of mustard-seed from a house where no one had lost a child, a husband, parent or friend. She went from door to door of people’s houses but didn’t find a single house where no one had died. Observing this, she chanced upon a realisation that death is an inevitable part of life and anyone who is bom is bound to die one day. Thus, the Buddha changed her understanding of death by this exercise.
Question 2.
“The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain .” With this statement of the Buddha, find out the moral values that Kisa Gotami learnt after the death of her child.
Answer:
After the death of her only son, Kisa Gotami went to the Buddha. Firstly, she went to every neighbour, asking for medicine for her dead son. She had lost all her senses. She forgot that no medicine could bring back the dead. Then she went to Buddha for making his son alive. Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no death had occurred. But she couldn’t find such a house. The Buddha made her realise that death is common to all. It also shows the detachment from mundane life. Only grieving cannot bring peace of mind.
Question 3.
At about the age of twenty-five, the prince there shielded from the sufferings of the world, while out hunting, chanced upon a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms. These sights so moved him that he at once went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he had witnessed.
On the basis of the above passage, explain why Buddha was so moved that he went out to seek enlightenment.
Answer:
Gautam Budha belonged to a princely state. He was sent for schooling by his parents at the age of twelve. After returning from there, he married a princess and was blessed with a son. But he was not meant for the worldly affairs. At the age of twenty-five, he went out for hunting. He saw a sick man, then an old man, funeral procession and finally a monk begging for alms, seeing such things, he was moved. These sights frustrated.
He was much thrilled seeing such a situation. He got frustrated and went out into the world to seek enlightenment. It was his opinion that all things are worthless in this world. Through this, we come to the conclusion that such sufferings are the part and parcel of this world. If someone is bom, he will certainly die one day. If someone is healthy, he will certainly be sick one day. If someone is young, he will certainly be old one day. These are the bare truths of life. One must accept these realities.
Question 4.
The Buddha answered, “I want a handful of mustard seed.” And when the girl in her joy promised to procure it, the Buddha added. “The mustard – seed must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child – husband, parent or friend.” On the basis of the passage, discuss the context in which the following has been written.
Answer:
Kisa Gotami had lost her child. But she did not want to accept this reality. So, taking her son, she went out from her home in her neighbourhood to find medicine that could cure her son. Although their neighbours tried to convince her a lot, she did not get convinced. At this she was advised to go to the Buddha who would tell her about the medicine to cure her son. When she reached to the Buddha, he told her to bring a handful of mustard seed. She considered it an easy task.
She was very happy. The Buddha told her to do so but with the condition that the mustard seed must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child, parent, husband or a friend. Hearing this, she became awestruck because there is no family in this world where not even a single man has not died. It is a universal truth that if someone has come on this earth, he will certainly die. Nobody can deny this phenomenon. Birth and death are the part and parcel of this world and everyone should accept this reality.
Reference To Context
Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
Question 1.
GAUTAMA Buddha (563 B.C.- 483 B.C.) began life as a prince named Siddhartha Gautama, in northern India. At twelve, he was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures and four years later he returned home to marry a princess. They had a son and lived for ten years as befitted royalty. At about the age of twenty-five, the Prince, heretofore shielded from the man, then a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms. These sights so moved him that he at once went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he had witnessed.
Choose the correct option:
(a) Where did Gautama Buddha begin his life as a prince?
(i) In southern India
(ii) In western India
(iii) In northern India
(iv) In eastern India
Answer:
(iii) In northern India
(b) At what age was Gautama sent away for schooling?
(i) Ten
(ii) Twelve
(iii) Thirteen
(iv) Fifteen
Answer:
(ii) Twelve
(e) After four years, Gautama returned to marry a princess.
(i) home
(ii) Patliputra
(iii) Kathmandu
(iv) nowhere
Answer:
(i) home
(d) What did move Gautama when he went out hunting?
(i) A sick and aged man
(ii) A funeral procession
(iii) A monk begging for alms
(iv) All of these
Answer:
(iv) All of these
(e) Find out a word from the passage similar in meaning to ‘protected’.
(i) exposed
(ii) shielded
(iii) vulnerable
(iv) unsecured
Answer:
(ii) shielded
Question 2.
He wandered for seven years and finally sat down under a peepal tree, where he vowed to stay until enlightenment came. Enlightened after seven days, he renamed the tree the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom) and began to teach and to share his new understandings. At that point he became known as the Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened). The Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Benares, most holy of the dipping places on the River Ganges; that sermon has been preserved and is given here. It reflects the Buddha’s wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering.
Choose the correct option:
(a) What does ‘Buddha’ mean?
(i) The Enlightened
(ii) Illiterate
(iii) Uncivilised
(iv) None of these
Answer:
(i) The Enlightened
(b) Where did Buddha preach his first sermon?
(i) Gaya
(ii) Allahabad
(iii) Benares
(iv) Patna
Answer:
(iii) Benares
(c) Gatam Buddha sat down under the …………. enlightenment. tree until he attained
(i) Mango
(ii) Peepal
(iii) Banyan
(iv) Eucalyptus
Answer:
(ii) Peepal
(d) For how many years did Gautam Buddha wander?
(i) Three years
(ii) Four years
(iii) Five years
(iv) Seven years
Answer:
(iv) Seven years
(e) Find out a word from the passage similar in meaning to ‘conserved.’
(i) ignored
(ii) hurt
(iii) preserved
(iv) skip
Answer:
(iii) preserved
Question 3.
Poor Kisa Gotami now went from house to house, and the people pitied her and said, “Here is mustard seed; take it!” But
when she asked, “Did a son or daughter, a father or mother, die in your family?” they answered her, “Alas! the living are few, but the dead are many. Do not remind us of our deepest grief.” And there was no house but some beloved one had died in it.
Choose the correct option:
(a) Who went from house to house?
(i) Kisa Gotami
(ii) Gautama Buddha
(iii) Buddha’s son
(iv) All of these
Answer:
(i) Kisa Gotami
(b) What did Kisa Gotami demand from the people?
(i) Water
(ii) Mustard seed
(iii) Lemon
(iv) Grains
Answer:
(ii) Mustard seed
(c) The living are few, but the are many.
(i) alive
(ii) worst
(iii) dead
(iv) none of these
Answer:
(iii) dead
(d) What did the people tell Kisa Gotami?
(i) Not to remind of their deepest grief
(ii) Only to remind of their deepest grief
(iii) Not to remind of their childhood days
(iv) Not to remind of their old days
Answer:
(i) Not to remind of their deepest grief
(e) Find out a word from the passage opposite in meaning to ‘remind’.
(i) recall
(ii) caution
(iii) cite
(iv) forget
Answer:
(iv) forget
Question 4.
Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless, and sat down at the wayside watching the lights of the city, as they flickered up and were extinguished again. At last the darkness of the night reigned everywhere. And she considered the fate of men, that their lives flicker up and are extinguished again. And she thought to herself, “How selfish am I in my grief. Death is common to all; yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads him to immortality who has surrendered all selfishness.”
Choose the correct option:
(a) What did Kisa Gotami watch at the wayside?
(i) The movement of the people
(ii) The lights of the city
(iii) The activities of small children
(iv) The working style of people
Answer:
(ii) The lights of the city
(b) What is common to all, according to the passage?
(i) Death
(ii) Life
(iii) Education
(iv) Habits
Answer:
(i) Death
(c) Kisa Gotami became and
(i) tired, sad
(ii) weary, hopeless
(iii) shy, unhappy
(iv) happy, hopeful
Answer:
(ii) weary, hopeless
(d) What reigned everywhere?
(i) Darkness of the night
(ii) Light of the day
(iii) Disappointment of life
(iv) All of these
Answer:
(i) Darkness of the night
(e) Find out a word from the passage opposite in meaning to ‘hopeful.’
(i) happy
(ii) eager
(iii) content
(iv) hopeless
Answer:
(iv) hopeless
The Sermon at Benares Summary
The Sermon at Benares About the Author
Betty Renshaw was bom on October 2, 1921 in Shannon, Mississippi. “ Values and Voices: A College Reader” is her important work.
The Sermon at Benares Gist of the Lesson
In the story, ‘ The Sermon at Benares’, the author has presented an account of the journey of Gautam Buddha. While on hunting, Buddha saw a sickman, an old man, a funeral procession and a man begging for alms. These sights moved him much. He was so moved that he went into the world to seek enlightenment.
He attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya. The Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares. A lady named, Kisa Gotami, was grieving over the death of her son. She carried the dead child to all her neighbours asking them for medicine. She needed the medicine that could cure her. Then a man advised her to go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha. The Buddha told her to bring a handful of mustard seed.
But it must be taken from that house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend. Kisa Gotami went from house to house. But she could not find the house where no one had died. She got tired and helpless. This way she knew that the lives of mortals in this world are troubled and grieved. Mortals are always in danger of death. It is inevitable. The world is full of pain and suffering. It is afflicted with death and decay.
The Sermon at Benares Summary
1. Early life of Gautam Buddha: Siddhartha Gautama was a prince of north India. When he was twelve years-old, he was sent away for schooling. After four years, he was married to a princess. He was blessed with a son. Moved by the sufferings of the world: Gautam Buddha was moved by the sufferings of the world. While on hunting, he saw a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession and a monk begging for alms. These sights moved him.
2. To seek enlightenment: He was so much moved by these sufferings that he went out into the world to seek enlightenment. After wandering for seven years, he sat under a peepal tree and stayed there until he got enlightenment. He got enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom) and shared his teachings among the people. Now, he was known as the Buddha. He preached his first sermon in Benares on the bank of the River Ganges.
3. The story of Kisa Gotami: Kisa Gotami had only one son. He died. After his death, she took her son to her neighbours and asked them for medicine that could cure him. Although they told her that the boy was dead even then she did not adhere to.
4. A handful of mustard seed: Kisa Gotami went to the Buddha and told him to give medicine to cure her son. The Buddha told her to bring a handful of mustard seed. But the seed must be taken from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend. She went from house to house but did not get such house where no one had died.
5. Gotami became hopeless: After this, Gotami became weary and hopeless. She sat down at the wayside and watched the lights of the city. The light flickered up and extinguished again. This thing gave her a good lesson. Now she understood the fact that Death is common to all.
6. Buddha’s spirituality: The Buddha told that the life of mortals in this world is troubled and painful. No body can deny death. All are subject to death whether they are young or adult, fool or wise.
7. Terms of the world: The world is afflicted with death and decay. The wise people know the terms of the world. So, they do not grieve on the death of anyone. We can’t obtain the peace of mind by weeping or grieving. Those who have become composed will obtain peace of mind.
The Sermon at Benares Lesson at a Glance
- This lesson gives a vivid account of the life of Gautam Buddha.
- Gautam Buddha (563 BC – 483 BC) was bom in a royal family as Siddhartha Gautama in northern India.
- He was sent for schooling when he was twelve-years old.
- After four years, he was married to a princess.
- At the age of twenty-five, he was deeply shaken by the sufferings of the world.
- While he was hunting, he saw a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession and a monk begging for alms. He was completely moved by these sights.
- He was so much moved with this that he went out into the world to seek enlightenment.
- After wandering for seven years, he sat down under a peepal tree to seek enlightenment.
- This tree was named as the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom).
- He also came to be known as the Buddha (the Enlightened).
- He preached his first sermon at Benares.
- Once a woman, named Kisa Gotami came to him requesting to bring her dead son to life.
- She went from house to house to get medicine to cure her child. But nobody could give her the
medicine. - On the advise of people, she met Buddha and told her misery.
- The Buddha told her to bring a handful of mustard seed but with the condition that the mustard seed must be taken from a house where no one had lost his near and dear ones, child, husband, parent or friend.
- Kisa Gotami went from house to house but did not get the family like that where no one had died. At this she became weary and hopeless.
- After this she could be able to understand that death is common to all.
- According to Buddha, the life of mortals in this world is troubled, brief and combined with pain.
- Mortals when bom are always in danger of death.
- All people whether fool or wise are subject to death.
- This world is affliced with death and decay. The wise people do not grieve knowing the terms of the world.
The Sermon at Benares Character Sketch
Gautam Buddha: Gautam Buddha was a prince. He was bom is 563 B.C. He studied Hindu sacred scriptures. When he was 25 years old, he saw a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms. Seeing this, he was totally moved. He left the luxuries of the world and wandered hither to thether. After seven years, he meditated under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya and got enlightenment. It was the Tree of Wisdom. He preached his first sermon at Benares.
The Sermon at Benares Word – Meanings
| Word | Meaning | Word | Meaning |
| sermon | religious or moral talk | sacred | holy, spiritual |
| scriptures | sacred text | befitted | appropriate |
| royalty | nobility | shielded | covered |
| funeral | burial, last rites | alms | charity |
| enlightenment | high spiritual knowledge | witnessed | observed |
| vow | promise | preached | delivered a sermon |
| inscrutable | difficult to understand | repaired | (here) went to |
| procure | to obtain | flickered up | a faint or wavering light |
| extinguished | put out | desolation | sorrow, grief |
| immortality | endlessness | kinsmen | relatives |
| depart | to leave, to go | afflicted with | troubled with |
| slaughter | the killing of animal | lamentation | expression of sorrow |
| mortals | those bound to die |