UP Board Class 10 English Chapter 8 – The Sermon at Benares (Prose)

The story is about Lord Buddha and his teachings on life and death. Lord Buddha was born as a prince named Siddhartha Gautama in a royal family in North India. He was sent away to study the Hindu scriptures when he was twelve years old. He returned four years later and married a princess. They had a son and lived a luxurious life for ten years. However, one day on his way to hunt, he saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms. He was shocked by the suffering of the world and decided to leave his palace and family to seek enlightenment.

He wandered for seven years and finally attained salvation under a tree, which is called the Bodhi Tree. He became known as the Buddha, which means the Awakened or the Enlightened. He started to preach his new wisdom to the people. He gave his first sermon in Benares, a holy city on the river Ganges.

In his sermon, he told the story of a woman named Kisa Gotami, who had lost her only son. She was in great sorrow. She carried her dead son from house to house, asking for medicine to revive him. People thought she was crazy, but one man suggested her to go to Lord Buddha. She went to him and begged him to cure her son. Lord Buddha asked her to bring him some mustard seeds from a house where no one had ever died. She agreed and went to look for such a house.

However, she soon realised that there was no such house, as everyone had experienced death in their family. She understood that death was inevitable and common to all. She buried her son and returned to Lord Buddha. He taught her that a wise person does not grieve for what cannot be changed, but accepts the reality and finds peace.

यह कहानी भगवान बुद्ध और उनके जीवन व मृत्यु से सम्बन्धित शिक्षा के बारे में है। भगवान बुद्ध का जन्म सिद्धार्थ गौतम नामक राजकुमार के रूप में उत्तर भारत के एक राजपरिवार में हुआ था। जब वह बारह वर्ष के थे, तब उन्हें हिन्दू धर्मग्रन्थों के अध्ययन हेतु दूर भेजा गया था। वह चार वर्षों के उपरान्त वापस लौटे और एक राजकुमारी से विवाह किया। उनका एक पुत्र था और दस वर्षों तक वह विलासी जीवन जीते रहे। यद्यपि, एक दिन शिकार पर जाते समय, उन्होंने एक बीमार व्यक्ति, एक बूढ़े व्यक्ति, एक अन्तिम संस्कार एवं एक भिक्षुक को भिक्षा माँगते हुए देखा। वह संसार के दुःखों को देखकर अचम्भित हो गए और उन्होंने अपना राजमहल व परिवार छोड़कर ज्ञान प्राप्ति के लिए निकलने का निश्चय कर लिया।

वह सात वर्षों तक भटकते रहे और अन्ततः उन्हें एक वृक्ष के नीचे निर्वाण की प्राप्ति हुई, जिसे बोधि वृक्ष कहा जाता है। उन्हें बुद्ध के नाम से पहचाना जाने लगा, जिसका अर्थ है – प्रबुद्ध या अभिज्ञात। उन्होंने अपने नए ज्ञान के बारे में लोगों को उपदेश देना प्रारम्भ किया। उन्होंने अपना पहला धर्मोपदेश, गंगा नदी के तट पर स्थित पवित्र शहर, बनारस में दिया था ।

अपने धर्मोपदेश में, उन्होंने किसी गौतमी नामक स्त्री की कहानी सुनाई, जिसके एकमात्र पुत्र की मुत्यु हो गई थी। वह अत्यन्त दुःख में थी । वह अपने मृत पुत्र को एक घर से दूसरे घर लेकर जाती और उसे दवा देकर पुनः जीवित करने के लिए कहती थीं। लोगों ने सोचा कि वह पागल हो गई है, परन्तु एक व्यक्ति ने उसे भगवान बुद्ध के पास जाने की सलाह दी। वह उनके पास गई और अपने पुत्र को ठीक करने की याचना करने लगी। भगवान बुद्ध ने उससे किसी ऐसे घर से सरसों के बीज लाने के लिए कहा, जहाँ पर किसी की मृत्यु ना हुई हो। वह मान गई और ऐसे घर की तलाश में निकल गई।

हालाँकि, उसे शीघ्र ही यह एहसास हुआ कि ऐसा कोई घर नहीं था, क्योंकि प्रत्येक व्यक्ति ने अपने परिवार में मृत्यु अनुभव की थी। वह समझ गई कि मृत्यु अपरिहार्य है और सभी के लिए सामान्य है। उसने अपने पुत्र को दफनाया और भगवान बुद्ध के पास लौट आई। उन्होंने उसे शिक्षा दी कि एक बुद्धिमान मनुष्य उस बात का दुःख नहीं करता, जिसे बदला नहीं जा सकता, बल्कि वास्तविकता को स्वीकार करता है और शान्ति को प्राप्त करता है।

परीक्षा में पाठ्य-पुस्तक के Prose के पाठों से एक Extract दिया जाएगा तथा उस पर आधारित 2 Multiple Choice Questions पूछे जाएँगे, जिनके उत्तर विद्यार्थी को देने होते हैं। यहाँ पर हमने Extracts के साथ 2 अधिक Questions दिए हैं, जो केवल विद्यार्थियों के सम्पूर्ण अभ्यास के लिए है। परीक्षा में 1-1 अंकों के 2 ही Questions पूछे जाते हैं।

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

(a) A prince

(b) A teacher

(c) A preacher

(d) An old man

Ans. (a) A prince

(a) Gautama

(b) Siddharth Kapoor

(c) Siddharth Gautama

(d) None of these

Ans. (c) Siddharth Gautama

(a) To ashrama

(b) With the monk

(c) For schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures.

(d) None of the above

Ans. (c) For schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures

(a) 6 years

(b) 7 years

(a) Banyan tree

(b) Bodhi tree

(c) Neem tree

(d) Acacia tree

Ans. (b) Bodhi tree

(a) After seven days

(b) After six days

(c) After four days

(d) After five days

Ans. (a) After seven days

(a) Death of her son

(b) She lost all her wealth

(c) Death of her near ones

(d) None of these

Ans. (a) Death of her son

(a) Kisa Gotami and her dead husband

(b) Kisa Gotami and Gautama Buddha

(c) Kisa Gotami and her dead son

(d) Kisa Gotami and a boy from neighbourhood

Ans. (c) Kisa Gotami and her dead son

(a) To go to Sakyamuni

(b) To go to Physician

(c) To go to Raj Vaidh

(d) None of these

Ans. (a) To go to Sakyamuni

(a) Gurudev

(b) Gautama Buddha

(c) The Monk

(d) Vardhman

Ans. (b) Gautama Buddha

(a) Putli Bai

(b) Meera Bai

(c) Kisa Gotami

(d) Kanta Bai

Ans. (c) Kisa Gotami

(a) Sidha

(b) Sadhu

(c) Siddhartha

(d) Sidharth

Ans. (c) Siddhartha

(a) 10 years

(b) 19 years

(c) 18 years

(d) 20 years

Ans. (a) 10 years

(a) he lived a happy and fulfilling life

(b) he was a prosperous man

(c) he was a pampered and a wealthy man

(d) he was ignorant to the sufferings of the world

Ans. (a) he lived a happy and fulfilling life

Ans. We know about the early life of Buddha that he was born in a royal family. His childhood name was Siddhartha. At the age of twelve, he was sent away for schooling in Hindu sacred scriptures. Four years later, he got married to a .princess and had a son.

Ans. By observing the suffering of the world, Buddha moved a lot and he at once went out into the world to seek enlightenment, concerning the sorrow he had witnessed. Buddha wandered for seven years and finally sat under a peepal tree, where he vowed to stay until enlightenment came.

Ans. Buddha wandered for seven years and finally sat under a peepal tree, where he vowed to stay until enlightenment came. Enlightenment came after seven days and he named the tree the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom).

Ans. Siddhartha Gautama sat under a big peepal tree, where he vowed to stay until he got enlightenment. He was enlightened after seven years. He began to teach and share his new understandings. In this way, he came to be known as Buddha.

Ans. After the Buddha had attained enlightenment, he started teaching and sharing his new understandings. He spread his preachings far and wide so that people could come to know the truth. He shared his knowledge, with people through his teachings.

Ans. Gautama Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Benares, which is regarded as the holiest of the dipping places on the river Ganges. The sermon reflects his knowledge about an inscrutable kind of suffering.

Ans. Buddha changed Kisa’s thinking with the help of a simple act; he asked her to get a handful of mustard seeds from that house where none had died. Initially, she could not understand it. But, gradually she understood that death is inevitable.

Ans. The early life of Buddha was filled with royal pleasure and happiness. Lord Buddha was born in a royal family as Siddhartha Gautama. He was shielded from the sufferings of the world. The sight of suffering sick man, an old man, funeral process and a beggar had a deep impact on Buddha. He was so affected by the sufferings that he at once left his royal life in search of enlightenment and an understanding of the world around him.

Ans. Kisa Gotami was in so much grief because her only son had died. In her hour of grief, she carried her dead child to all her neighbours and asked them for medicine, but no one could help her.

In the end, Kisa Gotami learned that death is inevitable. Death is the ultimate fate that a human being would meet. There is not a single house or family where no one has died anytime. So, she must move on.

Ans. When Kisa Gotami’s son dies, she goes from house to house to ask for some medicine that can cure her child. No, she doesn’t get the medicine because her child is dead and no medicine can bring him back to life.

Ans. The second time around, she asks for a handful of mustard seeds from a house in which no one has died. Kisa Gotami goes from house to house, but could not find a single house where death has not taken a beloved away. She could not get it because death is inevitable. Anyone who is born is bound to die one day.

Ans. Kisa Gotami understood the second time that death is common to all. She understood that she was being selfish in her grief. There was no house where some beloved had not died.

Ans. The Buddha asked the girl to bring mustard seeds from a household where no one had experienced death. He did this to help her realise the universality of suffering and impermanence, leading her towards enlightenment.

Ans. From the flickering of lights, Kisa Gotami learned that all mortal life is temporary. Anyone who is born also has to die. Just as the flame flickers and fades, life too is temporary and subject to change.

Ans. The sights of the suffering of the world that Siddhartha saw, moved him a lot and he at once went out into the world to seek enlightenment, concerning the sorrow he had witnessed.

Ans. Introduction Gautama Buddha was the founder of the religion of Buddhism.

Spiritual Person Buddha was a spiritual preacher. He taught that life of a human being is short and full of sorrow and pain. So, we should not weep and grieve on death. Weeping and grieving will make our sorrow greater. So, we should draw out the arrow of lamentation, complaint and grief, and become free from sorrow.

Sensitive and Emotional Gautama Buddha was born in a royal family. He had everything wealth, family and empire. But he left everything when he saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession and a monk begging for alms. He went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrow he had witnessed.

Intelligent Buddha understood the grief of Kisa Gotami. He knew that she would not understand anything by his lectures. So, he intentionally sent her to bring mustard seed from a house where no one had died. By this, he made her realise the inevitability of death. He made her calm and free from her sorrow.

Conclusion Buddha is an idol of wisdom, peace and calmness. He taught the way of mental peace and wisdom. He taught us humanity, truth and peaceful co-existence.

Ans. Kisa Gotami’s only son had died. In her grief, she carried the dead child to all her neighbours, asking them for medicine. She went to Gautam Buddha and requested him to bring her son to life. She lost her senses and not ready to understand that nobody could make her son alive. Buddha understood her sorrow and grief.

Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds but he laid one condition; that it must be from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend. Kisa Gotami tried to find a such a house, but after making lots of efforts she came to know that death is unavoidable. Everyone has to die one day. She understood the message of Buddha that all those who are born have to die one day. Death is inevitable and can’t be avoided. At the end, Kisa acquired her peace of mind and became calm.

Ans. Gautama Buddha (563 BC-483 BC) 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. At about the age of twenty five, the prince, heretofore shielded from the suffering of the world, by chance saw a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession and a monk begging for alms. These sights moved him so much that at once he left his palace and went out to seek enlightenment.

He wandered for seven years and finally sat under a peepal tree. There, he got his enlightenment after seven days and began to teach and share his new understandings.