Class 10 English Chapter 1 Question Answers - First Flight

Q1: "The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain." With this statement of the Buddha, we find the moral value that Kisa Gotami learned after the house and was unable to get the mustard seeds and grieve for the death of her child.

Ans: According to Buddha, all men are mortal, so those who have been born cannot avoid dying.  The life of a mortal is always troubled and brief. Sorrow and suffering are inevitable for mortals. All young people and adults fall into the power of death; all are subject to death. So the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world. 
Kisa Gotami was the mother of her only son and was grief-stricken when he died. Initially, she was only thinking about her grief and was, therefore, asking for a medicine that would bring her son back to life.  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 purposely to make her realize that there was not a single house where no beloved had died and that death is natural. When she went to all the houses the second time, she felt dejected that she could not gather the mustard seeds. Then, when she sat and thought about it, she realized that the fate of men is such that they live and die. Death is common to all. This was what the Buddha had intended her to understand.

Q2: Why did Kisa Gotami understand the message given by the Buddha only the second time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?

Ans: Earlier, she could see only her grief. When she went from door to door the second time, she understood that everyone was dealing with the loss of a beloved one.  There was not a single house in the town where death had not taken a father, a mother, a sister, a brother, a son, or a daughter. Everyone, at some point or another, has experienced the death of a loved one. 
Gautama Buddha helped her to understand all this as he told her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where death had never knocked at the door. This way, she became aware that death is common to all human beings. The Buddha changed her perception. She understood that a man could not get peace of mind by grieving.

Q3: The Buddha said, “The world is affected by death and decay, therefore the wise men do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world.” Do you think the statement is appropriate even for today’s life? Write your views in the context of the above statement.

Ans: The above-said statement holds true concerning today’s life as well. The Buddha said that death is common to all mortals. Those who are born must die one day. Death is certain and can’t be avoided. As ripe fruits fall off the trees, so does the life of mortals. The life of a man is like an earthen pot that breaks and meets its end. No amount of weeping and lamenting can bring the dead back to life. So, wise men don’t grieve. 
They understand that it is the law of the world. Weeping and lamenting produce no gain. It rather spoils one’s health and gives more pain. If only you could take out the arrow of lamentation and get composed, you would get peace of mind. To overcome sorrow, become free of sorrow. But in today’s world, man has forgotten this. He goes to great lengths to provide for himself and earns money through any means, whether right or wrong. He forgets that one day he has to die and everything will be left here alone.

Q4: Through the story of Kisa Gotami, what did the Buddha try to preach to the common man?

Ans: The Buddha said that death is common to all mortals. Those who are born must die one day. You can not avoid it. Death is certain. He taught this through the story of Kisa Gotami. Kisa was a common woman whose son had died. She could not believe it and carried her son to the neighbours requesting that they give her medicine to cure him. People thought that she was not in her senses. 
She approached Buddha. He asked her to procure a handful of mustard seeds, but he put a condition that they should be procured from a house where no death had ever taken place. Kisa could not find such a house. She was sad and depressed, sat on sideways and watched the city lights that flickered and extinguished. It made her realize that human lives flicker and extinguish as well and that death is an unavoidable phenomenon. She thought herself selfish for thinking only about her grief.

Q5: What impression do you form of Lord Buddha after reading the lesson, “The Sermon at Benares”?

Ans: "The Sermon at Benares" describes the life of Buddha, who was born in North India as a prince named Siddhartha. One day, while out hunting, he saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession, and a barefoot monk. These sights deeply affected him, and he renounced his royal life to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he witnessed.
After several years of intense meditation, he attained enlightenment under a Bodhi tree and became known as the Buddha, or the enlightened one. He then gave his first sermon at Benares, which reflected his profound wisdom on the nature of suffering.In the sermon, Buddha explained that life is full of troubles and pain, and that suffering is an inherent part of human existence. He compared human life to a ripe fruit that falls to the ground and eventually rots away, emphasizing the impermanence and fleeting nature of life. However, he also spoke of the possibility of overcoming suffering through the Eightfold Path, which includes right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.
Buddha's sermon at Benares reveals him as a wise and compassionate teacher who sought to help people overcome the sorrows and pain of life. His teachings have had a profound impact on millions of people around the world, and his ideas continue to inspire and guide people in their search for meaning and enlightenment.

Q6: Who was Gautama Buddha? What made him renounce his royal life and become a monk? 

Ans: Gautama Buddha was born in 563 B.C. He was born into a royal family. His name was Siddhartha Gautama. At the age of twelve, he was sent away for schooling. He studied all the sacred Hindu scriptures. At the age of sixteen, he married a princess. They had a son. For ten years, the couple lived a happy life. 
Siddhartha had been shielded from the sufferings of the world. However, when he was twenty-five, Siddhartha saw a sick man, then an aged man, and finally a funeral procession. Finally, he came across a monk begging for alms. This was his first encounter with the harsh realities of life. These sights made him so sad that he decided to renounce worldly pleasures. He left his family and became a monk. He went out into the world to seek spiritual knowledge.

Q7: Why did Kisa Gotami go to every neighbour? Why did she say, ‘How selfish I am in my grief?’

Ans: Kisa Gotami’s only son had died. Naturally, she was filled with grief. She carried the dead child to all her neighbors. She asked them for medicine. The people thought that she had lost her senses in grief. She was demanding medicine for her dead son. Only after meeting the Buddha did she follow his instructions. She couldn’t get a handful of mustard seeds, not even from one family. 
There was no family where no one had lost a child, husband, parent, or friend. Only then did she realize what the Buddha wanted her to understand. She realized that she was very selfish in her grief. She was grieving for her dead child. She forgot that death spares none. She realized that no amount of lamentation or grieving could bring a dead person back to life again.

Q8: What did the Buddha ask Kisa Gotami to do? Why couldn’t Kisa Gotami succeed in getting a handful of mustard seeds from any family?

Ans: Kisa Gotami couldn’t get any consolation or cure from her neighbors. They realized that grief had made her almost mad. One of them directed her to the Buddha. He thought only Sakyamuni Buddha was the most appropriate physician to cure her son. The Buddha wanted the grieving woman to learn a lesson. So, he asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from the family. 
The mustard seed must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child, a husband, or a friend. Poor Gotami went from house to house begging for a handful of mustard seeds. The people pitied her. They were ready to give her a handful of mustard seeds. But, there was no house where some beloved person had not died in it. So, Kisa Gotami didn’t succeed in her mission. She only realized that she had been selfish in her grief.

Q9: Describe the main teachings of the Buddha as highlighted in The Sermon at Benares.’

Ans: Before the age of twenty-five, Siddhartha Gautam was carefully shielded from the sufferings of the world. When he saw a sick man, an aged man, and a funeral procession for the first time, he was moved and shocked at the sights. He gave up his royal luxuries and went out in search of a permanent solution to all those sufferings and sorrows. After a long meditation, he got enlightened. At that time, he became known as the Buddha, or the Awakened One. He gave his first sermon at Benares. 
Through Kisa Gotami, the Buddha wanted to tell the world that death is the ultimate truth. All mortals are destined to die sooner or later. There is no family in a world where no one has lost a child, husband, parent, or friend. Lamenting a son or a parent is like showing selfishness in grief. No amount of lamentation or grieving can bring a dead man back to life. This world is afflicted with death and decay. He who has overcome all sorrow will become free from sorrow. He will be the blessed one.

Q10:  What does the Buddha say about the life of mortals in this world? How can one obtain peace of mind?

Ans: The Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares. He preached that all men, women, and children are mortals. Also, all mortals are destined to die. Actually, death and decay are the fates of all mortals in this world. Death spares none. The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief. It is combined with pain. 
Those who have been born can’t avoid dying. Actually, there is no means of avoiding death and decay. The ripe fruits fall, and so do the aged people of the world. One by one, the mortals are carried off, like an ox that is being led to the slaughter. Therefore, the wise do not grieve. No amount of lamenting or grieving can bring a dead man back to life. Weeping and grieving will never give anyone peace of mind. On the other hand, they only compound misery. He who has overcome all sorrows will become free from sorrows. He will be a blessed one.