The Sermon at Benares Class 10 Worksheet English Chapter 1

Q.1. “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.

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 her son alive. Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no death had occur. 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.

Q.2. Describe the journey of Siddhartha Gautam becoming the Buddha.

Gautam Buddha began his life as a royal prince. He was named Siddhartha Gautama. At twelve, Gautama was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures. At the age of sixteen, he returned home to marry a princess. The prince was deliberately shielded from all sufferings of the world. But this attempt failed when the prince while out hunting chanced upon a sick man. Then, he saw an aged man. He also chanced to see a funeral procession. Finally, he saw a monk, begging for alms. These sights of suffering, sickness and decay shocked and moved the prince. He wanted to seek the final solution of all these sorrows and sufferings. He wandered for seven Years in search of enlightenment. Finally, he sat down under a fig tree. He meditated there until he was enlightened after seven days. He renamed the tree the Bodhi Tree or the Tree of Wisdom. He became known as the Buddha or the Awakened or the enlightened one. The Buddha gave his first sermon at Benares on the River Ganges.

Q.3. Did Kisa Gotami get a handful of mustard seeds as directed by the Buddha?

Poor Kisa Gotami went from house to house. The people pitied her and were ready to give a handful of mustard seeds to her. But, she couldn’t find a house where no one had lost a child,husband, parent or friend.

Q.4. What did Buddha say about the mortals of the world?

The Buddha told Kisa Gotami that the life of mortals is troubled and brief in this world. Those who have been born can’t avoid dying. As ripe fruits are in danger of falling, so mortals are always in danger of death. All earthen vessels end in being broken.

Q.5. Why did Kisa Gotami understand the message given by the Buddha only the second time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?

Kisa Gotami had lost her only son and in grief, she carried her dead son to all her neighbours to get him cured and restored back to life. Finally, she went to the Buddha asking him for medicine to cure her boy. The Buddha felt that she needed to be enlightened about the truth of life — that death and sorrow are inescapable. He could see that grief had blinded her, and it would be difficult for her to accept the truth. So the Buddha told her to procure mustard seeds from a house where none had died. Kisa Gotami went from door to door. Then she realized that there was no house where no one had died and that death is common to all. She came back to the Buddha where He sermonized her that life in this world is troubled and filled with sorrows. He gave her examples of ripe fruits and earthen vessels whose ‘lives’ are short. This way he made her realize that death is unavoidable and none — even the near and dear ones — can save anyone from death.

Q.6. Who was Gautam Buddha? Write a few lines about his early life.

Gautam Buddha was a prince. He was named Siddhartha Gautam by his parents. He was born 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. 

Q.7. Why did Kisa Gotami say, ‘How selfish am I in my grief!’ What did she realise about the fate of mankind?

Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless. At last, the darkness of the night reigned everywhere.She realised that she had been very selfish in her grief Death spares none. One who is born is destined to die sooner or later. No grieving or lamenting would bring a dead man to life.

Q.8. How do you usually understand the idea of selfishness? Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that she is 'selfish' on her grief? Is it natural for people to be selfish at times?

'Selfishness' means when a person does something only for his own benefit or thinks only about himself/herself. He/she does not consider other people's happiness. Kisa Gotami is selfish in wanting her dead son to be alive. It is a mother's love which has blinded her. However, she is wrong in wanting that as she cannot see the reality of life. Death is the reality of life. Every one dies as death is common to all. It is perfectly natural for anyone to be selfish at times. When this desire becomes harmful to others or the demands become unrealistic, it is immoral and wrong. A little bit of selfishness is there in general in everyone and it is human nature to be selfish to meet your goals and satisfy your desires. Selfishness can only lead to unhappiness as most of the times, we will not meet our goals. Then, human beings will feel devastated. Hence, human beings should be more selfless and open-minded.

Q.9. Life is full of trials and tribulations. Kisa Gotami also passed through a period of grief in her life. How did she behave in those circumstances?

After the death of Kisa Gotami’s only child, she became very devastated. She carried her dead child to her neighbours in order to get medicine to bring him to life. Her neighbours thought that she had gone insane as she was unable to accept the fact that her child was dead. Then, she met Gautama Buddha who gave her an exercise to do. She was asked to collect mustard seeds from a house where no one had ever died. Then,  she went from one house to another but was unable to find a single house in the town where no one had died. That way, she realised that death is a part of life and anyone who is born is bound to die one day. Thus, Gautama Buddha changed her understanding of death through this exercise. Buddha told her that only the wise do not grieve, and they accept the reality of life and death.

Q.10. Which people are referred to as “wise” by the Buddha in his sermons?

Buddha preached in his sermons that everything that is born will come to its end. Death is inevitable; both young and adult or fools and wise are subject to death. But the people who do not grieve knowing the terms of the world are called wise people. Wise people neither weep nor grieve.