What Are the Main Lessons from The Sermon at Benares?
Class 10 First Flight is a beautiful collection of remarkable prose pieces written by the best authors of all time. One of the best chapters in this book is ‘The Sermon at Benares’. It is written by Betty Renshaw. It is a part of her book named ‘Values and Voices’. In this chapter, she depicted how a royal prince left his family back in the palace to find the truth behind all the sufferings in the world. The Sermon at Benares summary is all about the revelations made by Lord Buddha during his journey. He met people who helped him understand the real truth and achieve enlightenment. His journey of spiritual awakening will be perfectly described in this summary prepared by the experts of Vedantu.
To understand the context of this chapter, you need to follow the summary and study it line by line. It will help you to find out the right answers to all the questions and score well in the exam.
Class 10 English the Sermon at Benares Summary
Gautama Buddha was one of the greatest saints in the history of the entire world. He was born in the royal family residing in the northern part of India a long time back. His name was Siddhartha Gautama before his enlightenment. The people back then suffered a lot from diseases and miseries. It was his father who knew how sensitive Siddhartha was towards the pain and agony of the people. He decided to shield him from such miseries and sent him to study Hindu scriptures when he was 12. He learned and became more knowledgeable but was unable to quench his thirst related to the miseries and pain in the world outside. He was then married to a beautiful princess. They had a beautiful son. He continued to live this luxurious life for more than 10 years without knowing about the unpleasant truths in the world.
If you read the chapter and follow the summary of The Sermon at Benares, you will find that the day came when Siddhartha realized how much pain has surrounded his world and he was unaware of it. He was outside hunting with his royal guards. On his way, he met a man who was very old. He was very sick and was on the verge of his end. He also saw the arrangement of a funeral. He witnessed a beggar looking for alms in pain. All he felt was a pain but could not find the real meaning behind feeling such pain. This day was the eye-opener to the young prince. He found that he was being shielded from the agony the entire world is facing.
He decided to start his journey to find the truth behind all this pain. He attended salvation one day and found the answers to all his questions. He started spreading this high spiritual knowledge to his disciples and people meeting him on the way. He traversed from one place to the other and reached Benares one day. His path crossed with a lady named Kisa Gotami. She had just lost her son. The grieving mother was suffering from huge pain moving from one house to the other to find medicine to save her son.
She was then told to meet Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha listened to her problem and asked her to bring mustard seeds from a house with no history of deaths. The lady with a new hope started to look for a house where death has not touched once. The more she searched, the more she learned about deaths in the families in different houses. She was in utter despair and returned to Lord Buddha. As per The Sermon at Benares summary Class 10, she realized how selfish she was to find a cure for his son’s death when the entire world is withstanding the same pain. She sat beside a busy road and found the actual reason why Lord Buddha told her to find a house with no history of death. She understood that death is the ultimate truth and we have to embrace it.
According to the summary of The Sermon at Benares, sorrow and grief increase our pain. It becomes painful when we are unable to accept the truth.
FAQs on The Sermon at Benares Summary: Buddha’s Teachings Explained
1. What is the main story explained in 'The Sermon at Benares'?
This chapter explains the journey of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who becomes the Buddha. It focuses on his first sermon after achieving enlightenment. In this sermon, he teaches a grieving mother, Kisa Gotami, that death is a natural part of life and that true peace comes from accepting this universal truth.
2. Why is the city of Benares important in this chapter?
Benares, now known as Varanasi, is one of the holiest cities in India. It is significant in the story because this is the place where Buddha delivered his very first sermon after attaining enlightenment. The city's holy status adds importance and authority to the teachings described in the chapter.
3. What did Buddha teach about death and suffering in his sermon?
Buddha taught that death is inevitable and common to all living beings. He explained that clinging to the dead through excessive grief only causes more pain and suffering. True peace is found not by avoiding sorrow, but by understanding the nature of life and death and freeing oneself from selfish attachment.
4. Who was Kisa Gotami, and what does her story teach us?
Kisa Gotami was a young mother whose only son had died. In her deep grief, she went from house to house seeking medicine to revive him. Her story teaches the main lesson of the chapter: that personal loss is a universal experience. By realising that every family has faced death, she was able to understand Buddha's teachings about acceptance.
5. Why did Gautama Buddha leave his life as a prince?
As a young prince, Siddhartha Gautama was protected from all worldly sufferings. One day, he witnessed an old man, a sick man, a funeral procession, and a monk. These sights made him realise that life is full of sorrow and pain, which motivated him to leave his palace to seek enlightenment and find a way to end human suffering.
6. What is the deeper meaning or moral of 'The Sermon at Benares'?
The deeper moral of the story is that death is universal and sorrow is a natural part of life. However, selfish grief and refusing to accept loss only lead to greater suffering. The chapter teaches the importance of wisdom and acceptance to overcome personal pain and achieve true peace of mind.
7. How does the example of the mustard seeds help explain the main message?
The mustard seeds are a powerful symbol. Buddha asked Kisa Gotami to bring seeds from a house where no one had ever died, which was an impossible task. This forced her to discover for herself that every family has experienced loss. The seeds were not a magical cure but a teaching tool to help her understand the universality of death and accept her sorrow.
8. What is the difference between overcoming sorrow and simply not grieving?
The chapter suggests that grieving is a natural emotion. However, Buddha's teachings distinguish this from endless suffering. Overcoming sorrow means accepting the reality of loss and moving forward with wisdom. In contrast, being lost in lamentation is called 'selfish' because it focuses only on one's own pain. True peace comes from letting go of this attachment.
9. How can a person attain peace of mind, according to Buddha's teachings in the story?
According to the sermon, a person can attain peace of mind through these steps:
- First, one must understand that death is a natural and unavoidable part of life.
- Second, one should not weep or grieve without end, as this only increases pain and suffering.
- Finally, to achieve peace, one must draw out the “arrow” of lamentation and grief by accepting what cannot be changed.
