THE SERMON AT BANARAS
Question 4.
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.
[CBSE 2014]
(a) Where did Buddha preach his first sermon?
(b) What does the sermon preached by Buddha reflect?
(c) „Find the exact word from the extract which means
impossible to understand‟.
(d) How Benares is described in the lesson?
Answer:
(a) Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares.
(b) It reflects Buddha‟s wisdom about one inscrutable kind of
suffering.
(c) „Inscrutable‟ from the extract means „impossible to
understand‟.
(d) Benares is described in the lesson as the most holy of the
dipping places on the river Ganges.
uestion 1.
Why did Prince Siddhartha leave the palace and become a
beggar? [CBSE 2012]
Answer:
Once Prince Siddhartha, while hunting saw a sick man, then an
aged man, then a funeral procession and finally a monk
begging for alms. Looking at this, he left the palace and
became a beggar to search for enlightenment.
uestion 4.
How did Kisa Gotami realise that life and death is a process?
[CBSE 2016]
Answer:
Kisa Gotami went from house to house but was unable to find
one house where nobody had died. She was tired and hopeless
and sat down at the wayside watching the lights of the city as
they flickered up and were extinguished again. She realised
that similar to the city lights human lives also flicker up for
some time and are extinguished again.
Question 5.
What was the effect of the sufferings of the world on Buddha?
Answer:
At the age of 25, while hunting, one day Buddha saw a sick
man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession and finally a
monk begging for alms. These moved him so much that he
went out into the world to seek enlightenment.
Question 6.
According to Kisa Gotami what is the greatestgrief of life?
[CBSE 2014]
Answer:
According to Kisa Gotami, the greatest grief in life is the death
of one‟s loved ones and one‟s inability to stop them from
dying. Therefore, instead of lamenting on it, the wise should
not grieve. Weeping will only increase the pain and disturb the
peace of mind of a person
Question 2.
What do you know about the early life of Buddha?
Answer:
Gautama Buddha was born in a royal family. His childhood
name was Siddhartha. At the age of 12, he was sent away for
schooling in Hindu sacred scriptures and four years later he
got married to a princess.
Question 6.
“Not from weeping nor from grieving will anyone obtain peace
of mind; on the contrary, his pain will be the greater and his
body will suffer. He will make himself sick and pale, yet the
dead are not saved by his lamentation. He who seeks peace
should draw out the arrow of lamentation, and complaint, and
grief.”
(a) Who said these lines?
(b) How can a person seek peace?
(c) Find the exact word from the text which means „to express
sadness about something‟.
(d) What effect does the weeping or grieving have on us?
Answer:
(a) Buddha said these lines.
(b) The person who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of
lamentation, complaint and grief.
(c) „lamentation‟ from the extract means „to express sadness
about something.
(d) Weeping or grieving makes our pain greater than before.
The person will make himself sick and pale. 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.
(a) Who was Gautama Buddha?
(b) What did Gautama Buddha study?
(c) Find the exact word from the extract whii means „people of
royal family‟. „
(d) When did Gautama Buddha marry?
Answer:
(a) Gautama Buddha was a prince born in North India.
(b) Gautama Buddha studied Hindu Sacred Scriptures.
(c) „Royalty‟ from the extract means „people of royal family‟.
(d) Gautam Buddha married after his schooling at the age of
sixteen years.
Question 1.
What is the nature of the life of the human beings according to
the Buddha?
Answer:
The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief. It is
combined with pain. Nobody can avoid dying. After reaching
old age, there is death. Such is the nature of human beings.
Just as ripe fruits are in danger of falling; so mortals are in
danger of death. As all earthen vessels after a certain period of
time break, so is the life of mortals. All have to die. Only he
can get peace of mind who does not lament, complain and
grieve. He who has overcome sorrow will be free from sorrow,
and be blessed.
uestion 10.
What was the basic idea of the Buddha’s preaching?
Answer:
The basic idea of the Buddha’s preaching was that death is the
ultimate truth of life. It is that every living being has to die one
day. No one can escape from death. Grief cannot console
anyone. We must accept this universal truth.
Question 6.
Why was Kisa Gotami sad? What did she do in her grief?
Answer:
Kisa Gotami’s only son died and she was full of grief. She
carried the dead son to all her neighbours. She asked them for
medicine so that her son can be alive again. The people
remarked that she had lost her senses.
uestion 4.
Why did the Buddha choose Benares to preach his first
sermon?
Answer:
The Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Benares.
This city is regarded as the most holy of the dipping places of
the River Ganga. That sermon has been preserved. It reflects
the Buddha’s wisdom about one kind of suffering which cannot
be understood.
2. Where and when did Siddhartha became the Buddha?
Answer: At the age of 25, Siddhartha confronted a sick man
then an age sight moved funeral procession and finally a
monk. Palace and wandered for seven years to shed seedling
team the tree The Bodenheim Tree‟ until enlightenment came.
He renames Finally so much that he even allied heat swath
teen admiral.
tHow did the Buddha teach Kisa Gotami the truth of life?
Answer: Buddha changed Kisa‟s thinking with the help of a
simple act—asking her to procure a handful of mustard seeds
from a house where none had died. She could not understand
it. But, gradually she understood that death is inevitable.
15. What does the Buddha say about the world?
or
What is Gautam Buddha’s opinion about death?
Answer: Buddha says that the world is a valley of death. There
is a path that leads man to immortality reality that has been
cleansed of all selfishness. Death is common to all. One who is
born will die as well. Death is imminent. The life of mortals in
this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain.
17. Kisa Gotami was selfish and grief-stricken. Justify.
Answer: Kisa Gotami lost her only son. In her grief, she carried
her dead child everywhere and asked people to cure him. As
instructed by Buddha she went door to door to get a handful
of mustard seeds with condition that there should not be any
loss of a child. Husband, parent or friend. In her grief, she
forgot that everyone had to suffer such type of loss in his or
her family Death is common to all. But in her grief, she became
selfish and tried to fulfil the condition that was impossible.
22. What does Gautama Buddha say about the life and
death of human beings?
Answer: Gautama Buddha says that the life of human beings
in this world is troubled, brief and combined with pain. It is
because there is not any means by which those that have been
born can avoid dying.
31. Why did Kisa Gotami say, ‘How selfish am I in my
grief!’ What did she realise about the fate of mankind?
Answer: 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.
32. What did Buddha say about the mortals of the world?
Answer: The Buddha said to Kisa Gotami that the life of
mortals is troubled and brief in this world. Those who have
been born can 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
Describe the main message that the lesson ‘The sermon at
Benares’ gives to the readers.
Answer: The Buddha wants us to understand that this world is
full of sufferings, death and decay. Death spares none. Death is
the ultimate truth of life. Everything that is born today will die
sooner or later. No lamentation or grieving will bring the dead
to life again.
. Elucidate any one quality that Siddhartha demonstrated
when he gave up his status and family. Explain your
choice.
Ans. Siddhartha demonstrated compassion. He felt
sympathetic towards others. He wanted to know the reason
behind people’s suffering. He gave up the princely life in
search of the truth.
2. Do you think being enlightened placed a far greater
responsibility on the Buddha than being king would have?
Justify your stance.
Ans. – As Buddha, he owned the responsibility of preaching
and educating the people about the truth that he had realized.
Even a king takes care of his people. But as Buddha, his
responsibility was greater because everyone was affected by
it.
3. The Buddha renounced his worldly life to attain
enlightenment. How might the sermon at Benares have
helped Siddhartha Gautama’s wife if she had heard it?
Ans. – The sermon at Benares would help her just like it
helped the other disciples. She would also get to know the
biggest truth of life.
4. How can death be considered an equalizer?
Ans.- Death ends suffering for the person. It is the ultimate
truth because everyone has to die one day. It ends all the
materialistic needs and wants of a soul. So, we can call it an
equalizer.