The Sermon at Benares | Lesson 5 | Prose | Summary | Questions and Answers |

 

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English | Class 10th | Tulip Series |

The Sermon at Benares | Lesson 5 | Prose | Summary | Questions and Answers |

 

SHORT SUMMARY

            "The Sermon at Benares" by Berta Renshaw is a retelling of one of the most famous sermons of Gautama Buddha, delivered at Benares (Varanasi). The story highlights key moments and teachings from Buddha's life, focusing on his message about suffering and the path to enlightenment. Here’s a short summary:

Buddha, originally born as Prince Siddhartha, renounced his luxurious life to seek answers to human suffering. After years of meditation and asceticism, he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha. In his first sermon at Benares, Buddha addressed his five former companions and shared the Four Noble Truths:

1. The Truth of Suffering (Dukkha): Life is full of suffering and sorrow.

2. The Truth of the Cause of Suffering (Samudaya): The cause of suffering is desire and attachment.

3. The Truth of the End of Suffering (Nirodha): Ending desire and attachment will end suffering.

4. The Truth of the Path to the End of Suffering (Magga): Following the Eightfold Path leads to the end of suffering.

The Eightfold Path consists of right views, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation.

Through this sermon, Buddha taught that by understanding and following these truths and paths, one can achieve Nirvana, a state of liberation and freedom from the cycle of birth and death. This sermon marks the foundation of Buddhism, emphasizing self-realization, ethical conduct, and mental discipline as the way to overcome suffering and achieve true peace.

 

Thinking about the Text

Question 1. What is a sermon? How is it different from a lecture?

Answer: A sermon is a religious discourse delivered by a preacher, typically addressing a congregation, with the aim of providing spiritual guidance, inspiration, and moral teachings based on religious texts or beliefs. It often involves elements of persuasion, exhortation, and reflection on ethical and spiritual matters.

In contrast, a lecture is an educational talk given by an expert or teacher to convey information, knowledge, or instruction on a particular subject. Lectures are generally more structured, fact-based, and focused on imparting specific knowledge or skills, without the spiritual or moral emphasis found in sermons. While sermons seek to inspire and morally guide, lectures aim to educate and inform.

Question 2. When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?

Answer: When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house asking for a mustard seed to cure her son. However, she specifies that the mustard seed must come from a household that has not experienced death. She does not get the mustard seed because she discovers that death is a common experience in every family. This realization teaches her that death is a universal and inevitable part of life, leading her to understand the nature of human suffering and the impermanence of life.

Question 3. 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: After speaking with the Buddha, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house asking for a mustard seed from a household that has not experienced death. She does not get the mustard seed because every house she visits has experienced death. This journey helps her realize the universality of death and suffering, and that no one is exempt from this natural cycle. It leads her to understand the Buddha's teaching about the impermanence of life and the inevitability of death.

Question 4. 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?

Answer: The second time, Kisa Gotami understands the universality of death and the inevitability of loss. Initially, she was solely focused on her own grief and sought a way to bring her son back to life. After her journey to find a mustard seed from a household that had not experienced death, she realizes that death is a common experience that touches everyone. This understanding brings her to the realization that death is an inevitable part of life, and suffering is shared by all.

This is precisely what the Buddha wanted her to understand. He aimed to teach her about the impermanence of life and the importance of accepting death as a natural part of existence. Through this realization, she could find peace and move beyond her personal suffering.

Question 5. Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?

Answer: Kisa Gotami understood the universality of death only the second time because her initial grief and desperation clouded her perception. The Buddha guided her to seek a mustard seed from a household untouched by death, which was an impossible task. This journey forced her to confront the reality that every family experience loss, shifting her focus from her personal sorrow to a broader understanding of human suffering. The Buddha's method was transformative, as it allowed her to see death as a common, inevitable part of life, thereby changing her understanding through a direct, experiential lesson.

Question 6. How do you usually understand the idea of 'selfishness'? Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that she was being 'selfish in her grief?

Answer: Selfishness is typically understood as prioritizing one's own needs and desires over those of others. Kisa Gotami believed she was selfish in her grief because her intense focus on her own suffering prevented her from recognizing the universal nature of loss. I agree with her perspective; in her initial grief, she was consumed by her pain and sought a solution solely for her own relief, without considering the commonality of death in others' lives.

Language Work

1. Modal Auxiliaries

Modal auxiliaries are those helping verbs that express the mode of action denoted by the main verb. First form of verb is used with modal auxiliary.

Following are the members of the family of modal auxiliaries:

Shall, will, should, would, can, could, may, might, must, ought to, used to, need and dare.

The modals express meanings such as futurity, promise, determination, ability, permission, possibility, necessity, habit, advice, obligation, suggestion, willingness etc.

Now use the appropriate modals in the following sentences:

1. Every day he _____ do jogging in the morning.

2. I _____ be glad to hear from you.

3. He _____ take the car.

4. I _____ leave the office as soon as I have finished.

5. He said I _____ use his laptop.

6. He _____ be waiting at the airport when we arrive.

7. Measles _____ be quite dangerous.

8. The child _____ help weeping.

9. Parents _____ look after their children.

10. We _____ respect our parents.

11. We _____ not worry.

12. He _____ not face his enemy.

13. I _____ prefer death to dishonour.

14. We _____ help the poor.

15. She _____ tell a lie at any time.

16. _____ that I were rich!

17. Take light diet lest you _____ fall ill.

18. How _____ it happen?

19. Gandhiji _____ spin every morning.

20. We eat so that we _____ live.

Answer:

1. Every day he should do jogging in the morning.

2. I will be glad to hear from you.

3. He can take the car.

4. I can leave the office as soon as I have finished.

5. He said I could use his laptop.

6. He would be waiting at the airport when we arrive.

7. Measles can be quite dangerous.

8. The child can’t help weeping.

9. Parents must look after their children.

10. We should respect our parents.

11. We need not worry.

12. He cannot not face his enemy.

13. I would prefer death to dishonour.

14. We should help the poor.

15. She must not tell a lie at any time.

16. Would that I were rich!

17. Take light diet lest you should fall ill.

18. How can it happen?

19. Gandhiji used to spin every morning.

20. We eat so that we may live.

2. Relative Clause

Look at the following sentence:

The girl who was sleeping was punished.

 

In the above sentence, the underlined part is a relative clause. As we know, a clause is a smaller sentence which forms part of a longer sentence and has a subject and predicate of its own. A relative clause is a part of sentence which ‘tells’ us which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means. In other words, a relative clause gives us extra information about the subject or object.

The following relative pronouns are used in relative clauses:

Case	For persons	For animal/s and thing/s	Place	Time	Reason/s
Subjective/ Nominative	who/that	which/that	where	when	why/ what, etc.
Objective	whom/that	which/ that	where	when	why/ what, etc.
Possessive	whose	whose	where	when	why/ what, etc.

 

Now study some more examples:

1. The article is about a boy who/that runs away from home.

2. The bus which/that goes to the airport runs every hour.

3. He is the person whom we met last Sunday.

4. I know the woman whose child died.

5. Let us again go to the place where we first met.

6. I’ll never forget the year when I was appointed as teacher.

7. What are those marks which are on your shirt?

8. They whom gods, love die young.

Now join the given pairs of sentences by changing one of the pairs into a Relative Clause (one has been done as an example.)

1. My brother has made a mark in the field of art and literature. My brother is living in France these days.

Answer: My brother who is living in France these days has made a mark in the field of art and literature.

2. A waitress served us. She was very polite and patient.

Answer: A waitress who served us was very polite and patient.

3. Government passed a law. The public didn't accept it.

Answer: The government passed a law which the public didn't accept.

4. A girl was highly praised. She saved a baby from drowning.

Answer: The girl who saved a baby from drowning was highly praised.

5. Tom could not walk properly. Tom was lame.

Answer: Tom, who was lame, could not walk properly.

6. I visited the school. Sir Mohammad Iqbal had studied in that school.

Answer: I visited the school where Sir Mohammad Iqbal had studied.

7. The fires caused widespread damage. They swept across much of Northem Kashmir.

Answer: The fires, which swept across much of Northern Kashmir, caused widespread damage.

8. A play was staged in the theatre. It wasn't a great success.

Answer: A play that was staged in the theatre wasn't a great success.

9. Javid is away from home a lot. His job involves a lot of travelling.

Answer: Javid, whose job involves a lot of travelling, is away from home a lot.

10. The manager spoke to the workers. Their work was below standard.

Answer: The manager spoke to the workers whose work was below standard.