THE SERMON AT BENARES

Page No: 135 Thinking about the Text

1. When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house.

What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?

Ans: When Kisa Gotami’s son dies, she goes from house to
house, asking if she could get some medicine that would cure
her child. No, she does not get it because her child was dead
and no medicine could bring back his life.
2. 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?
Ans: When she meets the Buddha, he asks her to get a
handful of mustard-seed from a house where no one has
lost a child, husband, parent or friend. She goes from one
house to another, but could not get the mustard seeds as
there was not a single house where no one has died in the
family.
3. What does Kisa Gotami understand the second time that she

failed to understand the first time? Was this what the Buddha
wanted her to understand?
Ans: Kisa Gotami understands the truth of life that death is
common to all and that she was being selfish in her grief. There
was no house where some beloved had not died.
By sending her to different houses, Buddha wanted her to
realize the fragile nature of human life. He also wanted her to
rise above worldly matters so that the departed soul could rest
in peace.
4.Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second
time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?
Ans: Kisa Gotami understood that death is common to all and
that she was being selfish in her grief. She understood this
only the second time because it was then that she found
that there was not a single house where some beloved had not
died.

First time round, she was only thinking about her grief and
was therefore asking for a medicine that would cure her son.
When she met the Buddha, he asked her to get a handful of
mustard- seed from a house where no one had died. He did
this purposely to make her realize that there was not a
single house where no beloved had died, and that death is
natural. When she went to all the houses the second time,
she felt dejected that she could not get the mustard seeds.
Then, when she sat and thought about it, she realized that
the circle of life is such that who is born, must die. Death is
common to all. This was what the Buddha had intended her
to understand.
5. How do you usually understand the idea of ‘selfishness’?
Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that she was being
‘selfish in her grief’?
Ans: Selfishness is preoccupation with I, me, and myself. Kisa
Gotami was not in a position to think about other people’s
grief. It is natural to feel sad over death of near and dear ones.
But most people carry on their next responsibility of performing
proper last rites of the dead.
People seldom carry a dead body in the hope of some miracle
happening to that. The family and the society always come
together in hour of grief and sorrow. But Kisa Gotami was
being 'selfish in her grief' and engrossed in her sorrow that she
forgot to think about live members of her family and society.
 REFERENCE TO CONTEXT
I) “Alas! The living are few, but the dead are many. Do not remind
us of our deepest grief.”

a) Who is the speaker of these words?

Ans. The speaker of these words are the people whom Kisa Gotami
asked for a handful of mustard- seed.

b) Who are these words addressed to, and in what context?

Ans. These words are addressed to Kisa Gotami who asked people for
a handful of mustard-seed. They spoke these words when she told
them that she would accept the mustard if no dear and near one of
their family had died.

c) What idea is conveyed by the phrase “living are few, but dead
are many?”
Ans. Each family Kisa Gotami visited had more of their members
among the dead than among the living. There was no family who had
not experienced the death of their love ones.

d) In what way were ‘they’ being reminded of their deepest grief?

Ans. Kisa Gotami’s request for mustard seeds reminded the people of
the grief of having lost their near and dear ones to death.

II) He who has drawn out the arrow and has become composed
will obtain peace of mind.

a)Which arrow is being referred to in this excerpt?

Ans. It is the arrow of lamentation, complaint and grief when a loved
one departs.

b) How can this arrow be drawn out?

Ans. This arrow can be drawn out by understanding the terms of the
world and reconciling to the inevitability of death.

c) How would the drawing out of the arrow affect an individual?

Ans. Drawing out of the arrow will free one of sorrow. He would
become composed and experience peace of mind and be blessed.

d) What would happen if no effort is made to draw out the arrow?

Ans. If the arrow of lamentation is not drawn out, one would suffer
from great pain. Such a person would make himself pale and sick and
would be of no help to the departed soul as his lamentation would not
be able to bring back the dead.
THEME

The theme of the account ‘The Sermon at Benares’ is the inevitability

of death. Anything that comes in this mortal world is bound to
perish. The Sermon at Benares reflects the Buddha’s wisdom and he
brings home the point that every single being in this world is subject
to death. Peace of mind and bliss come when one gets over
lamentation and sorrow.

MESSAGE

The message that the extract gives its readers is that life is full of
sufferings, physical as well as mental; and sooner or later one is
bound to become aware of them. It also brings home the idea that
death is inevitable and one must submit to it. If one wants to rise
above the life of frustration and desolation, one must shed off all
selfishness. The sermon also teaches us that it is futile to grieve over
the departed ones. Grief makes one sick and our lamentations are
never able to save the dead or being them back. In order to be
blessed, one must keep oneself free from sorrow.

TITLE

‘Sermon’ means an advice or discourse on a religious or a moral

subject. The title ‘The Sermon at Benares’ is an apt one. The
inclusion of the word ‘Sermon’ in the title makes it appropriate as it
directly points out at the discourse by an enlightened soul, the
Buddha that forms the entire extract. Benares fits in perfectly well
because this Sermon was delivered at Benares. Thus the title ‘The
Sermon at Benares’ is fully justified.

LONG ANSWER QUESTION (8 MARKS)

Q) Through the story of Kisa Gotami, what did the Buddha try to
preach to the common man?

Or

What does the chapter ‘The Sermon at Benares’ teach us about

life and death?

Ans. In his first sermon at Benares regarding death, the Buddha says
that human life is full of suffering and that pain and separation are an
essential part of life. Anyone who takes birth must necessarily meet
his end and there are no means by which one can escape death.
Mortals are compared to a fruit which once ripe, must eventually fall
down. The sermon reiterates this fact by referring to the earthen vessel
made by the potter. All these vessels eventually get broken.

In the words of Buddha, “… the world is afflicted with death; therefore

the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world.” Weeping and
grieving rob one’s pace of mind and lamentation cannot bring back the
dead or alleviate (reduce) pain. In fact, suffering makes the body sick
and pale. Therefore, those who seek peace should draw out the arrow
of lamentation, complaint and grief. Only then can they overcome
sorrow and be blessed.

Q) Valli in ‘Madam rides the Bus’ and Kisa Gotami’ in ‘The Sermon
at Benares’ learn an invaluable lesson about the life of mortals.
Discuss.
Ans. Valli is an eight-year-old who ventures alone on a bus ride to
experience the six mile journey from her village to the nearest town
and back. During her onward journey, she is amused when she sees a
cow running right in the middle of the road ahead of her bus, with its
tail right up. This sight amuses Valli and she laughs heartily to see the
scared animal. However, during the return journey she happens to see
the same cow lying in a pool of blood on the roadside. The little girl
feels miserable to see that a creature that was alive and kicking some
time ago was now gone. She learns an invaluable lesson that death
comes suddenly and life is not permanent.

Kisa Gotami is a young mother who loses her only son to death. She
is acutely grieved by her loss and loses her sense of reasoning. She
moves from door to door seeking medicine that could cure her son.
However, when the Buddha asks her to bring a handful of mustard-
seed from such a house where no dear one had been lost to death, she
understands that death is common to all. Sinking oneself in personal
grief only makes one pale and sick. So, one should be wise and should
accept death as a natural end of life that cannot be avoided.

Therefore both Valli and Kisa Gotami learn the lesson that all mortals
have to meet their end one day. This lesson is invaluable and makes
one appreciate that life should be lived appropriately since death can
bring it to a sudden and an abrupt end.