CBSE Class 10 English The Sermon at Benares Worksheet Set A

GIST
Sermon is a religious talk delivered by a prophet or Saint. Here we have the journey of Gautam Buddha from prince hood to his saintly life. He left the palace at the age of 25, after seeing the sufferings of the world, to seek enlightenment. He wandered for seven years, here and there, and under a peepal tree at Bodhgaya he got it. His first sermon was delivered at Benaras as it was considered to be the holiest place because of the river Ganga.

He thinks that he who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, complaint and grief. He who has drawn out the arrow has become composed, and will obtain peace of mind; he who has overcome all such circumstances will be free from sorrow and be blessed.Kisa Gautami was grieving over the death of her son. She moved from door to door and at last came to Buddha. She made him a humble request to make her son alive. Buddha said he would do but he asked a handful of mustard seeds. He further commanded it must be taken from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend.

She went from house to house but was unable to find one where nobody had died. She was tired and hopeless and sat down at the wayside watching the light of the city as they flickered up. And she realised that these lives flicker up for some time and are extinguished again.
This way she was taught that the lives of mortals in this world are troubled and brief and there is no means by which one can avoid deaths. As all earthen vessels made by the potter are being broken, so is the life of mortals. Death is inevitable.

DETAILED SUMMARY

Gautam Buddha was born in 563 B.C. He was born in a royal family. He was a prince. His name was Siddhartha Gautam. At the age of twelve, he was sent away for schooling. He studied all the sacred Hindu scriptures. He returned after four years. At the age of sixteen, he married a princess. They had a son. For ten years the couple passed a happy life. Siddhartha had been shielded from the suffering of the world. However, when he was twenty-five, Siddhartha saw a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession. Finally, he came across a monk begging for alms. This was his first encounter with the harsh realities of life. These sights made him so sad that he decided to renounce the worldly pleasures. He left his family and became a beggar. He went out into the world to seek spiritual knowledge.

Siddhartha Gautama wandered for seven years in search of wisdom and truth. Finally, he sat down under a fig tree to meditate. He vowed to stay there until he got enlightenment. After seven days, Gautama got enlightenment. He named the tree as the ‘Bodhi Tree’. that is ‘The tree of wisdom’. He became known as ‘the Buddha’ which means ‘enlightened’ or ‘the awakened’. He began to teach and to spread his message of wisdom and truth. He became known as the Buddha (the enlightened). Buddha gave his first sermon at Benares. It is the holiest of places on the bank of the Ganges. His first sermon reflects his wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering i.e. death. Here, the Buddha tells about the universality of death which is inevitable and can’t be escaped.

A lady named Kisa Gotami had an only son. One day, her son died. She wanted her child should become alive again. She wanted some medicine to bring her son to ‘life. People called her mad. At last, she came across a man. He advised her to meet the Buddha. She approached Buddha with a request to give her medicine so that her only son could he live again. After deep thought, the Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard-seed. But there was a condition. She must bring it from a house where no one had died. Kisa Gotami went from door-to-door to get the mustard-seed. She found mustard: seed in every home but she could not find a home where nobody had died. By evening, she was sad and tired. She saw the lights of the city. Soon there was the darkness of the night. Now she considered the fate of man. Now she realised that death is inevitable. No one can escape it.

She came back to the Buddha and asked for his blessings. The Buddha in his sermon told her that our life is brief and painful. Everyone who takes birth has to die. The vessel made by the potter is not permanent. It has to break one day. In the same way, everyone has to die. Death spares none. A father cannot save his son. Everyone grieves when someone dear dies. But grieving cannot bring the dead back to life. So death and sufferings are unavoidable. The wise persons do not grieve as they know the truth. Weeping does not bring peace to the mind. On the other hand, a person’s pain becomes greater by grieving. His body also suffers. One who has learnt to control his grief shall have peace of mind. That person is blessed, who has overcome his sorrow. 

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

1.”The Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Benares, most holy of the dipping places on the River Ganges; that sermon has been preserved and is given here. It reflects the Buddha’s wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering.”

Question. What does Buddha’s first sermon reflect?
Answer.Buddha’s wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering.

Question. Name the holiest of the dipping places on the River Ganges where the Buddha preached his first sermon.
Answer.Benares.

Question. How was he known as then?
Answer.As he started preaching, he was known as Buddha, meaning, the awakened or the enlightened one.

Question. What did Gautama do after getting on light emend?
Answer.After getting enlightenment, he began to teach and share his new understandings with the common people.

2. “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.”

Question. How many sons did Kisa Gotami have?
Answer.Only one.

Question. What message did she get from the flickering and extinguishing lights of the city?
Answer.Their lives flicker up and are extinguished.

Question. Why do you think Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless?
Answer.it was because she could not find a house where no one had died.

Question. What did she notice while sitting at the wayside?
Answer.She noticed the flickering lights of the city.

3. At twelve, he was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures and years later he returned home to marry a princess. They had a son and lived for ten Y befitting royalty. At about the age of twenty-five, the prince heretofore shielded from sufferings of the world, while out hunting chanced upon a sick man, then an aged than a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms. These sights so move that he at once became a beggar and went out into the world to seek enlighten concerning the sorrows he had witnessed.

Question. What happened when he was out hunting———-
Answer.He saw a sick man, then human image man and then a funeral procession

Question. When did he marry?
Answer.He married at the age en after completing his schooling.

Question. What happened at the age of twelve?
Answer.At twelve, he was sent away for schooling in the Hindi; sacred seen

Question. Where was he sent away for schooling?
Answer.He was sent away for Schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures.

4. Buddha said, “The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain. For there is not any means by which those that have been born can avoid dying; after reaching old age there is death; of such a nature are living beings. As ripe fruits are early in danger of falling, so mortals, when born, are always in danger of death. 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.”
 

Question. What does a ripe fruit fear?
Answer.A ripe fruit fears the danger of falling.

Question. What, according to Buddha, death is avoidable?
Answer.There is not any means by which those that have been born, can avoid dying.

Question. What did the Buddha say about the life of the people?
Answer.The life of people is troubled and brief and combined with pain.

Question. What happens after reaching age?
Answer.There is death after birth.

5. 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. And she thought to herself, "How selfish am I in my grief! Death is common to all; yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads him to immortality who has surrendered all selfishness.”

Question. Kisa Gotami thinks that she is selfish in her grief because.........
(a) she didn't realise that death was common to all and cared about her grief alone.
(b) she wanted the lights to burn all-night.
(c) she wanted to become immortal.
(d) it was dark and she wanted to go through the valley.
Answer. A

Question. Pick out the incorrect statements with regard to the extract.
(a) the lights of the city gave her the hope that man is immortal
(b) the lights flickered and extinguished reflecting the fate of men.
(c) she was tired after looking for a house ,where death has not happened
(d) no one can escape death by virtue of his/her birth
Answer. A

Question. Kisa developed the understanding that............
(a) there will be a death every time the city lights extinguish
(b) life is a full of happiness and devoid of pain
(c) death is common to all and that she was selfish in her grief
(d) darkness will not reign when lights continue burning
Answer. C

Question. Pick out the statement/statements that express Fact and opinion.
1 Death is common to all
2 Kisa Gotami should have understood that no one can escape death
3 Like lights flickering and getting extinguished, men's lives also glow and end in death.
4 Kisa Gotami should not have shared her grief with others
a F -1,2 O- 4
b F -1, 3 O-2, 4
c F-1 O-2, 3, 4
d F- 3, 2 O- 1, 4
Answer. B

Question. The word that is not a synonym for desolation ‘is...........
(a) Wildness
(b) isolation
(c) solitude
(d) gratitude
Answer. D

6. The Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Benares, most holy of the dipping places on the River Ganges; that sermon has been preserved and is given here. It reflects the Buddha’s wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering.

Question. The first sermon of Buddha is about...................
(a) how one can attain enlightenment
(b) about enjoying life as it is short.
(c) about a kind of suffering that is difficult to be understood
(d) how a person can attain immortality.
Answer. C

Question. Pick out a word from the extract which means 'impossible to understand'?
(a) Reflects
(b) Inscrutable
(c) Wisdom
(d) Preached
Answer. B

Question. Pick out the option which cannot be considered as a sermon
(a) We get into many difficulties, dissatisfaction with life and stunted spiritual growth the moment we deliberately go against the master’s will.
(b) In a life of uncertainty, we are encouraged as we walk by faith.
(c) Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man
(d) We can achieve liberation from suffering through detachment
Answer. C

Question. The statement that does use the word reflect as used in the passage is
(a) She paused to reflect on what she had achieved
(b) I often reflect on my school days
(c) She raised her bracelet to the light to watch the colours reflect off
(d) You have to reflect on what he said
Answer. C

Question. The word that can replace the word preserve in the passage is ........................
(a) conserved
(b) rendere(d)
(c) delivere(d)
(d) detached
Answer. A

Multiple Choice Questions 

Question. What moved him to seek out enlightenment?
(a) A sick man
(b) An aged man
(c) A monk begging
(d) All of the above
Answer. D

Question. Where did he vow to stay until his enlightenment came?
(a) His palace
(b) Under peepal tree
(c) Under banyan tree
(d) Under a tree
Answer. B

Question. Which seed did Buddha ask Kisa to bring?
(a) Pumpkin seeds
(b) Mustard seeds
(c) Sunflower seeds
(d) Seesame seeds
Answer. B

Question. How did Kisa feel at first on being unable to find such seeds?
(a) Weary
(b) Hopeless
(c) Motivated
(d) Both A and B
Answer. D

Question. Both young and adults, fools and wise fall into the power of _____
(a) life
(b) death
(c) food
(d) all of these
Answer. B

Question. Siddhartha Gautama was sent for schooling at the age of................
(a) 12
(b) 7
(c) 11
(d) 5
Answer. A

Question. The word alms means...........
(a) money collected by begging from rich people.
(b) money or food, given to poor people.
(c) money stolen from people.
(d) family wealth
Answer. B

Question. Siddhartha Gautama went to seek enlightenment............
(a) in order to get more wealth to make his kingdom better.
(b) in order to become a saint so that he could help people.
(c) as he was concerned about the sorrow and misery he witnesse(d)
(d) as he wanted to help his kingdom abolish poverty.
Answer. C

Question. Siddhartha Gautama sat for enlightenment................
(a) in the outskirts of the kingdom.
(b) under the tree that he found after 7 days of travel.
(c) on top of a heavy rock that was difficult to clim(b)
(d) under a peepal tree
Answer. D

Question. Siddhartha Gautama took .................. days to gain enlightenment.
(a) 14 days
(b) 9 days
(c) 11 days
(d) 7 days
Answer. D

Question. The name Siddhartha Gautama gave to the tree, where he got enlightenment was............
(a) Great Tree
(b) The Enlightened Tree
(c) The Bodhi tree
(d) The Budha Tree
Answer. C

Question. The word Buddha means............................
(a) saint
(b) enlightened/awakened
(c) wicked
(d) blessed by God
Answer. B

Question. Buddha preached his first sermon at?
(a) Benares
(b) Bennur
(c) Bannarghatta
(d) Bodh Gaya
Answer. A

Question. The river that flows near Benares is...........
(a) Godavari
(b) Ganges
(c) Kaveri
(d) Brahmaputra
Answer. B

Question. The death of her ............ made Kisa Gotami sorrowful
(a) neighbour’s
(b) Son
(c) Father
(d) Dearest one
Answer. B

Question. Kisa Gotami asked for medicine.............
(a) to cure her deaf son
(b) to cure her suffering
(c) to cure her dead son
(d) to make everyone believe that she is caring
Answer. C

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. How can death be considered an equaliser?
Answer. Death is certainly- an equalizer as it creates a balance of life. New lives start on earth only after the old lives are gone. If mortals won’t die, there will be no place far new lives. Moreover a person gets new Life after leaving the old one. So, death is required to keep the circle of life going.

Question. What makes a young man not to love the woman referred to in the first stanza?
Answer : The woman has beautiful yellow hair. But the outer part of her ears is not attractive. The poet says that never shall man love her only for herself.

Question. Did Kisa Gotami get a handful of mustard seeds as directed by the Buddha?
Answer : Poor Kisa Gotami went from house to house. The people pitied her and were ready to give a handful of mustard seeds to her. But, she couldn’t find a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend.

Question. Who was Gautam Buddha? Write a few lines about his early life.
Answer : Gautam Buddha was a prince. He was named Siddhartha Gautam by his parents. He was born in 563 B.C. in North India. He was sent away for schooling when he was twelve years old but four years later, he got married to a princess.

Question. What is the theme of the poem ‘For Anne Gregory’?
Answer : The poem conveys the idea that physical beauty may be important for young men or human beings. But God does not love human beings for their physical beauty. In this poem, the poet gives an example of a lover who loves the yellow hair of a young lady but does not like her ramparts. The lady disapproves his love.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Describe the journey of Siddhartha Gautam becoming the Buddha.
Answer : Gautam Buddha began his life as a royal prince. He was named Siddhartha Gautama. At twelve, Gautama was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures. At the age of sixteen, he returned home to marry a princess. The prince was deliberately shielded from all sufferings of the world. But this attempt failed when the prince while out hunting chanced upon a sick man. Then, he saw an aged man. He also chanced to see a funeral procession. Finally, he saw a monk, begging for alms. These sights of suffering, sickness and decay shocked and moved the prince. He wanted to seek the final solution of all these sorrows and sufferings. He wandered for seven Years in search of enlightenment. Finally, he sat down under a fig tree. He meditated there until he was enlightened after seven days. He renamed the tree the Bodhi Tree or the Tree of Wisdom. He became known as the Buddha or the Awakened or the enlightened one. The Buddha gave his first sermon at Benares on the River Ganges.

Question. “The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain” With this statement of the Buddha, find out the moral values that Kisa Gotami learnt after the death of her child.
Answer : After the death of her only son, Kisa Gotami went to the Buddha. Firstly, she went to every neighbour, asking for medicine for her dead son. She had lost all her senses. She forgot that no
medicine could bring back the dead. Then she went to Buddha for making her son alive. Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no death had occur. But she couldn’t find such a house. The Buddha made her realise that death is common to all. It also shows the detachment from mundane life. Only grieving cannot bring peace of mind.

Question. People are not objects. They should be valued for being themselves. What lesson does the poet want to give to the readers through this poem?
Answer : Absolutely true. People are not objects. Appearances may be deceptive. A person should be liked and loved for being himself or ‘herself. Outwardly appearances do tempt and dazzle us. There may be many persons who would love to see Anne’s beautiful hair falling over her ears like the ramparts of a fort. Many would love Anne Gregory for her beautiful yellow hair. It would be difficult to find a real lover who loves Anne for `herself alone’. What is so great about yellow hair? Anne ridicules the idea of being loved for her yellow hair. She can dye her hair the way she likes — brown, black, carrot or yellow. But the irony of this world is that people will go on being tempted and dazzled by glamour, show and outwardly appearances. Only God can love a person for ‘himself or herself’ alone.

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 haw you would Like to act in the midst of adverse circumstances.
Answer : Kisa Gotamfs 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 taken place After knocking severaL doors 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 more pain and suffering and even then, cannot bring one back to life. Accept Life as it comes, be grateful and Live to the fullest with peace of mind and good health.