NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 10 The Sermon at Benares

Thinking About the Text
(Page 135)

Question 1.
When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house? What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Answer:
After the death of her only son, Kisa Gotami was overcome with grief. She carried the dead body of her son in her arms and went from door to door asking for medicine to cure her child, but nobody could provide any medicine. For there is no such medicine available which can bring a dead person back to life.

Question 2.
Kisa Gotami again goes from house to house after she speaks with the Buddha. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Answer:
Gautama Buddha asks Kisa to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where death had never knocked at the door. 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 as death is ineritable and anyone who is born is bound to die one day.

Question 3.
What does Kisa Gotami understand the second time that she failed to understand the first time? Was this what Buddha wanted her to understand?
Answer:
After failing to procure a handful of mustard seeds from a house where death had never knocked at the door, she sat down by the roadside feeling helpless. She saw the lights of the city that flickered and were extinguished. At last, it was darkness everywhere.
She realised that death was common to all and she was being selfish in her grief. Yes, this is what Buddha wanted her to understand, that everyone who is born has to die one day.

Question 4.
Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time? In what way did Buddha change her understanding?
Answer:
Earlier, she could see only her grief. When she went from door to door the second time, she understood that everyone was dealing the 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, son or a daughter. Everyone, at some point or the other, have experienced the death of their loved ones. 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 got aware that death is common to all human beings.

Question 5.
How do you usually understand the idea of selfishness? Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that she was being selfish in her grief?
Answer:
A selfish person is one who only thinks about himself or herself, and to some extent Kisa Gotami was being selfish because we are humans and it is natural for us to die. We do not easily accept the death of our loved ones. Same has happened with Kisa Gotami. As it was her only child, she did not want him to die finally went to Buddha to ask for help.

Class 10 English Chapter 10 The Sermon at Benares Important Questions

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 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.

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 3. Where did Buddha preach his first sermon?

Answer: Gautama Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Benares, which is regarded as the holiest of the bathing places on the river Ganges.

Question 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 c what is the greatest grief 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 7. Why was Kisa Gotami sad? What did she do in her hour of grief?

Answer: Kisa Gotami was sad over the death of her only son. In the hour of grief, she went door to door in order to find medicine for her son that could bring him to life.

Question 8. What did the Buddha do after he had attained enlightenment?

Answer: When Buddha Attained enlightenment, he started preaching and telling people about life and its meaning. He spread his preaching far and wide so that people

Question 9. How did Gautama come to be known as the Buddha?

Answer: Siddhartha Gautama wandered for seven years and finally sat down under a Peepal tree till he got enlightenment. After seven days of enlightenment, he renamed the ‘Bodhi Tree’ and began to teach and to share his new understanding and came to be known as the Buddha.

Question 10. How did Buddha get enlightenment?

Answer: Siddhartha Gautama wandered for seven years and finally sat down under a Peepal tree till he got enlightenment. After seven days of enlightenment, he renamed the ‘Bodhi Tree’ and began to teach and to share his new understanding and came to be known as the Buddha.

Question 11. 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.

Question 12. What did Kisa Gotami say to Buddha? What reply did he give to her?

Answer: Kisa Gotami went to the Buddha and asked him to give her the medicine to make her son alive. The Buddha asked her to bring him a handful of mustard seed. It should be brought from a house where no one had died.

Question 13. 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.

Question 14. What did Kisa Gotami do after the Buddha had asked her for a handful of mustard seed?

Answer: Kisa Gotami went from house to house to get a handful of mustard seed. People gave her the mustard seed. But when she asked if anyone had died in their family, they regretfully told her that the livings were few, but the deads were many. Kisa Gotami found no house where someone had not died.

Question 15. What did the Buddha want to explain to Kisa Gotami?

Answer: The Buddha wanted to explain to Kisa Gotami that man cannot get peace of mind by grieving. On the contrary, his pain will be greater and his body will suffer. He will make himself sick and pale. A man who overcomes all sorrows will be free from sorrow and will be blessed.

Question 16. Why did Kisa Gotami go from house to house?

Answer: Kisa Gotami was a lady who lived in Benares. Her only son had died and she could not’bear it. She went from house to house to cure his dead son. Someone told him about the Buddha and she reached him to cure his dead son.

Question 17. 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.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. 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?   [CBSE 2013]

Answer: After the death of Kisa Gotami’s only child, she became very sad. 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. It was then that someone suggested her to meet Gautama Buddha. When she met Gautama Buddha he gave her an exercise to do.She was asked to collect mustard seeds from a house where no one has ever died. She went from one house to another but was unable to find a single house where no one has died. This way she realised that death is a part of life and anyone who is born is bound to die one day. Thus, Buddha changed her understanding of death by this exercise. could come to terms with the truth.

Question 2. Personal losses are a part and parcel of life. Instead of wailing on them, we should move on in life. This message of Gautama Buddha has become more relevant in modern times. Do you agree? Why /why not?   [CBSE2015]

Answer: Yes, I agree with the message that Gautama Buddha has given about life. In the modem times, people have a lot to explore and move with the world at the same pace. If people don’t understand the practicality of life, they will be under stress which would in turn affects, their personal and professional lives. People need to understand that everyone who is born will have to die one day. There is no use being sad or crying over the loss. People should remain calm and composed in such situations. They should face the truth and move on in life.

Question 3. What did Buddha say about death and suffering?

Answer: After enlightenment, Buddha started to spread his teachings about life, truth and the likes of it. He told that death and suffering are the part and parcel of life. None can avoid this truth. One has to meet one’s destined end one day. Whoever has come to the world, will die one day. In the hour of grief, one must remain calm and composed so that grief doesn’t overcome one. People who are wise, never complain or lament over their loss. They accept the truth and be blessed with it. So, the wisdom lies in the fact that people should not get distressed with pain, suffering and death.