Please refer to The Sermon at Benares Class 10 English Important Questions given below. These solved questions for The Sermon at Benares have been prepared based on the latest CBSE, NCERT and KVS syllabus and books issued for the current academic year. We have provided important examination questions for Class 10 English all chapters.
Class 10 English The Sermon at Benares Important Questions
Short Answer Type Questions
Question. Who do not grieve as the world is afflicted with death and decay?
Ans. The world undergoes the cycle of life and death. Anything that is born has to die one day. It is afflicted with death and decay. No one can save the other from death. But the wise men do not grieve. They know the terms and nature of the world.
Question. When and where was Gautama Buddha born? Why did he decide to leave the palace?
Ans. Gautama Buddha was born in 563 B.C. in northern India. For some time, Buddha was kept away from all the sorrows of life. Once he saw a sick man, a beggar, an aged man and a funeral procession. He realised that the world was full of sorrow. He wanted to attain knowledge about the ways of life. So, he decided to leave the palace to get enlightened.
Question. What kind of suffering is reflected in the sermon?
Ans. Grief over the death of a loved one is the main theme of this sermon. People fail to understand that death is common to all. All mortals have to die one day. There is no use of lamenting. One does not get peace of mind unless one overcomes the sorrows.
Question. As all earthen vessels made by the potter end in being broken, so is the life of mortals. Both young and adult, both those who are fools and those who are wise, all fall into the power of death; all are subject to death.
(a) Why did Buddha not teach this lesson to Kisa first and asked her to get the mustard seeds?
(b) What comparison does Buddha make between a human being and pottery?
Ans. (a) Buddha wanted Kisa to make the realisation on her own. She was so beside herself with grief that she would not have heard any wise words of Buddha. Thus, she had to be taught the lesson practically.
(b) Buddha says that a potter moulds articles with clay and tries to make them as durable as possible but one day the clay pot will break, this way even human beings, though sturdily built will have to die one day.
Question. What did Kisa Gotami learn in the end ?
Ans. 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.
Question. Why was Kisa Gotami sad ? What did she do in her hour of grief ?
Ans. Kisa Gotami was sad because her only son had died. In her hour of grief, she went from house to house in search of a medicine to cure him. She had become selfish in wanting her son back.
Question. What did the Buddha want Kisa Gotami to understand ?
Ans. 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 dead.
Question. What does the Buddha say about the world ?
Ans. 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.
Question. Kisa Gotami again goes from house-to-house after she speaks with the Buddha. What does she ask for the second time ? Does she get ? Why not ?
Ans. Kisa Gotami goes from house to house to bring some mustard seeds where no death had taken place as asked by Buddha to cure her son. But she was unable to find such a house where no death had taken place. It made her realise that death is inevitable and that no one can deny the nature’s cycle.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question. “Not from weeping nor from grieving will any one obtain peace of mind; on the contrary, his pain will be greater and his body will suffer. He will make himself sick and pale, yet the dead are not saved by his lamentation.”
(a) How can one obtain peace at the death of a loved one according to Buddha?
(b) What is the meaning of the word: Lamentation?
Ans. (a) One can obtain peace at the death of a loved being by realising the ultimate truth, that death was inevitable. It will come in some form. Thus, we must make our peace with it and avoid constant weeping and suffering.
(b) Lamentation means to grieve for someone.
Question. What does the Buddha make Gotami understand and how?
Ans. When Kisa Gotami came to him looking for a medicine to bring her dead son back to life, Buddha realised that she did not understand the truth about life and death. If he would have lectured her that time she must have not understand the philosophy of life. So, he wished to practically teach her the truth about life the way he himself had learnt it. He sent her looking for mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. On not finding such a house, Gotami realised what Buddha was trying to make her understand. She understood that death is common to all and in her grief she was being selfish in believing that only she had to face such grief. She understood that to obtain peace, one has to accept death as a part of our being.
Question. 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? What lesson does a reader learn from the story of her life? Give any two points how you would like to act in the midst of adverse circumstances.
Ans. Kisa Gotami’s only son had died. Grief-stricken, she went about asking people for medicine to revive her dead son. At the behest of a man, she went to the Buddha who said he would cure her son only if she could gather some mustard seeds from a house where no death had ever occurred. After knocking several door and being unsuccessful, she realised that death was common to all and it could not be avoided. No one can save anyone, so, weeping over a dead soul was fruitless. It was wise to stop grieving and accept the truth. Grieving over what is lost would only cause pain and suffering and doing that too, cannot bring one back to life. Accept life as it comes, be grateful and live it to the fullest with peace of mind and good health.
Question. 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.
(a) Why did Kisa Gotami become weary and hopeless?
(b) What did she realise at this point?
Ans. (a) Buddha has told Kisa to bring mustard seeds from a home where no death had occurred. She could not find any such household. Thus, by evening, she became hopeless and dejected, knowing that the quest was futile.
(b) Kisa was aggrieved at the loss of her son whose corpse she had taken to Buddha to revive. She realised finally that death was a natural progression of life and that it affects each human being.
Question. How can one attain peace? Does the lesson teach you something? Explain in your own words the theme of the lesson.
Ans. One can attain peace by renunciation, i.e., by giving up all material gains. Too much affinity to material gains brings grief, one cannot even sleep, pondering over how to attain one’s material gains like amassing one’s fortune, conquering countries, enriching one’s property. One who can overcome one’s greed, grief and lust can obtain peace of mind. This lesson, taught us Buddha’s Sermon. The sermon teaches us that we all are mortals, so we will die one day. We should not grieve, nor should we crave for material gains. Surrender of our selfishness, lust and grief leads us to the path of immortality. Life is short, men are mortal and everything is transitory. So, we should be free from sorrow. Path to enlightenment is to surrender all material gains and draw out the arrow of lamentation, complaints and grief from one’s chest.
Question. What lesson on death and suffering did Buddha teach Gotami in the chapter, ‘The Sermon at Benares’?
Ans.Kisa Gotami was devastated by the death of her only son and wandered door to door, seeking help. Someone directed her to Sakyamuni, 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 condition imposed by Sakyamuni was that the seeds should be from a house where people had not lost a loved one to death. Kisa Gotami’s futile search made her realize the bitter truth that sorrows are a part and parcel of life and one can attain peace only by acceptance. 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, therefore the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world. Not from weeping nor from grieving will anyone obtain peace of mind.
Question. How did Buddha make Kisa Gotami realise about the reality of death ?
Ans.When Kisa’s only son had died, she went to Buddha. Being plunged into deep grief, first she went to every neighbour, asking for medicine for her dead son. She had lost all her senses and forgot that no medicine could bring back the dead. Then she went to Buddha for requesting to make his son alive. Buddha asked her to bring some mustard seeds from a house where no death had occurred. But she couldn’t find such a house. Buddha made her realise that death is common to all. So in the midst of adverse circumstances, we should not lament. He who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, and complaint and grief. He who has drawn out the arrow and has become composed will obtain peace of mind, he who has overcome all sorrows will become free from sorrows, and be blessed.
