CBSE Class 10 - English - Chapter 10 - THE SERMON AT BENARES (Q & A) (#class10English)(#cbsenotes)(#eduvictors)

 CBSE Class 10 - English - Chapter 10 - THE SERMON AT BENARES (Q & A)

Q1: Who was Gautama Buddha? When and where was he born?

Answer: Gautama Buddha was a prince who was named Siddhartha Gautam by his parents. He was born in 563 B.C. in North India. He had been shielded from the sufferings of the world. He attained enlightenment under a peepal tree and named it as ‘Tree of Wisdom’.

Q2: 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 died, she went from house to house, she asked for some medicine that would cure her child.

No, she did not get it because her child was dead and no medicine could have brought him back to life.

Q3: Why was Kisa Gotami sad? What did she do in her hour of grief?

Answer: Kisa Gotami was sad because her only son had died. In her hour of grief, she went from house to house in search of medicine to cure him. She had become selfish in wanting her son back.

Q4: 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: She asked for a handful of mustard seeds from a house in which no one has died. Kisa Gotami went from door to door, but couldn't find a single house where death had not taken a beloved away. She could not get it. The reason is that death is inevitable. Anyone who is born is bound to die one day.

Q5: What did the Buddha want Kisa Gotami to understand?

Answer: Buddha wanted Kisa Gotami to understand that death is common to all and no one could avoid dying, no one can save their relatives. So the wise do not grieve after accepting this truth of death.

Q6: What did Kisa Gotami learn in the end?

Answer: In the end, Kisa Gotami realised and learnt that death is common to all and that no one could avoid dying. 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.

Q7:  Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood it only the second time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?

Answer: Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time. It was because she found that there was not a single house where some beloved had not died.

The Buddha changed her understanding by asking her to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house in which no one had ever died. He did this purposely to make her realise that death is inevitable. 

When she went to all the houses the second time, she found she could not get the mustard seeds. Then, when she sat and thought about it, she realised that the fate of men is such that they live and die. The inevitable end of human life is death. In this way, the Buddha changed her understanding.

Q8: 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. Inevitably there is death and decay.

Q9(CBSE 2014): According to Kisa Gotami, what is the greatest grief of life? 

Answer: According to Kisa Gotami, the greatest grief in life is the death of one's loved ones. Therefore, instead of lamenting on it, the wise should accept the truth of death. Weeping will only increase the pain and disturb the peace of mind of a person.

Q10: What did the Buddha do after he had attained enlightenment? Why?

Answer: Prince Siddhartha Gautama was deeply pained by the sufferings he saw around him and left the house to seek the truth of life. After wandering for seven years, he finally sat under a peepal tree to meditate till he received enlightenment. Wisdom of the law that governs the cycle of birth and death dawned on him and ‘The Buddha’ set out to share it with the world to relieve the mortals of their sufferings.

Q11:  Which people are referred to as “wise” by the Buddha In his sermons?

Answer: 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.

Q12: How do you usually understand the idea of selfishness? Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that she was ‘selfish’ on her grief? Is it natural for people to be selfish at times?

Answer: ‘Selfishness’ means when a person does something only for his own benefit or think only about him/ her self. Kisa Gotami was selfish in wanting her dead son to be alive. It was a mother’s love that had blinded her. She was wrong in wanting that. She could not see the reality of life. 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 wrong. A little bit of selfishness is there in generally everyone and it is natural to be so.

Q13: The Buddha said, ‘The world is afflicted with death and decay, and therefore the wise 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.

Answer: ‘Sakyamuni’s’ first Sermon at Benares was to accept death as a fact, as a truth that cannot change Grieving and lamenting cannot lessen the pain or revive a dead one, but only make life more difficult. ‘Man is mortal’, is a harsh reality that is as steadfast as the various other natural phenomena. The cycle of birth and death is eternal and continues ceaselessly. Acceptance of this truth is important and in the light of the transient nature of life, one must strive to do at least one good deed every day and live life to the fullest.

Chapter Summary:

Gautam Buddha (563 B.C to 483 B.C) was a prince. His parents had named him Siddhartha Gautama. He had been shielded from the sufferings of the world. At the age of twenty-five, he saw a sick man, an aged man and a dead man. He also saw an ascetic begging for alms. Unable to understand that, he went in search of spiritual knowledge.

After wandering for seven years, he sat under a Peepal tree and vowed that he would stay there until he got enlightenment. He got that after a week and named the tree ‘Tree of Wisdom’. He himself came to be known as Buddha.

He gave his first sermon at Benares. This sermon contained ten important points. These points were conveyed through the story about Kisa Gotami whose only son had died. She went to people asking for medicine for him. At last, a man told her to go to Buddha, the Sakyamuni.

Buddha told her that he would cure her son if she brought some mustard seeds from a house where no death had taken place. Kisa went to many houses but was unable to find one where no death had been seen.

She finally realised that death was common to all and no one could avoid dying. No one can save their relatives. People weep over their dead ones. It is only the wise who do not grieve as they have accepted the truth. If a person weeps, his sufferings only become greater. Those who do not grieve have peace of mind and will overcome sorrow.

👉See Also:

A Letter to God (Chapter Summary)
A letter to God (Questions and Answers)

Long Walk to Freedom (Key Points)
Long Walk to Freedom (Oral Comprehension Check-1)

Two Stories About Flying (Q & A) 
Two Stories About Flying (MCQs)

The Making of Scientist (Q & A)
The Hundred Dresses-1 (Chapter Summary)