English Class 10 - X CBSE Chapter 10 - The Sermon at Benares Material

Introduction

The story 'The Sermon at Benares' highlights the early life of Gautam Buddha who left all his amenities and worldly pleasures behind and went on searching for salvation. It also mentions the story of Kisa Gotami, who tries to save his dead son in vain, knowing about the ultimate truth of life the wise people know.

Summary

Siddhartha Gautama

Siddhartha Gautama was born into a royal family, full of worldly pleasures and amenities. At 12 years of age, he was sent to a place far away from home to study and understand the sacred Hindu scriptures. On his return from this place, he got married to a princess and both of them continued living prestigious life. One day, Lord Buddha (the prince) was on the hunt when he met four men. Initially, he met the sick man, then an aged man followed by a funeral procession and a monk who was begging for alms. The sight of these people shocked him to such an extent that Siddhartha decided to seek enlightenment. After seven years of effort, he finally got enlightened under a peepal tree named Bodhi Tree. The Bodhi Tree means a tree of wisdom. Eventually, he started teaching and sharing his knowledge which gave him his new name, ‘Buddha.’ The Lord Buddha gave his first sermon at the holistic place, ‘Benaras.’ 

Kisa Gotami

Kisa Gotami had an only son who died and made her grief-ridden. She picked up her dead son and carried him to her neighbours, hoping to get medicine to cure her child. The people thought this to be an insane act and called her absent-minded (not in one’s sense) as the child she carried was dead. During this time, she came across a man who addressed her request and advised her to visit the Buddha.

Kisa Gotami immediately went on to meet the Buddha and cried, “Lord and Master, give me the medicine that will cure my boy.” On this statement by the lady, Buddha asked her to get some mustard seeds for him on the condition that the mustard seeds should be brought from the house where not a single person had lost a child, husband, parent, or even a friend.

The poor lady accepted the condition and started her search for a house that fits right in the state. Seeing her in grief, people used to try to help her out by offering mustard seeds, but she couldn’t find a single house that had not lost their dear ones.

This incident made her so hopeless and lost in her thoughts she went and sat down at the roadside, staring at the city’s flickering lights. To her notice, the flickering lights finally extinguished and spread the darkness everywhere. This made her think about her selfishness in grief and ultimately made her realize that death is common to all and that not a single person can escape it. 

Buddha, in his sayings, compared the ripe fruits with mortals and said that the ripe fruits have the risk of falling in the same way mortals are in fear of death. In Buddha’s words, sorrow increases man’s suffering and leads to physical torture. Thus, he advises people that an intelligent man who understands nature’s functioning should never get upset at the things that are happening as this is the only path towards happiness.

Whatsapp Channel -            Link

Instagram -                          Link Link2

Google Maps & Contact -    Link

Feedback Form -                 Link

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

English Class 10 - Class X CBSE Chapter 1 A Letter to God Material

 INTRODUCTION A Letter to God by G. Fuentes is a short story written in third-person, about a farmer named Lencho. When a hailstorm destroys his year’s harvest, he writes a letter to God asking for money and sends it to him through the post. A Letter to God is a humorous story about a man’s faith, the dependence it brings along, and the fine line between faith and ignorance that exists in the world. CHARACTERS 1. Lencho - He had a firm belief in God and was very innocent. He was very caring for his family and that is why he decides not to give up and find some way to help his family. 2. Postmaster - He was a nice, very helpful, and genuine man whose natural instinct was to help Lencho and therefore he collects money for him and even deducts some money from his own salary. WORD MEANINGS 1. Crest - top of a hill, top 2. Amiable - friendly and pleasant 3. Contentment - satisfaction 4. Exclaimed - cry out suddenly in surprise, strong emotion, or pain.  5. Regarded - consider or th...
Read more

English Class 10 - X CBSE Chapter 4 From the Diary of Anne Frank Material

INTRODUCTION This chapter is an excerpt from the ‘Diary of a Young Girl’ written by Anne Frank. It is an autobiography that was first published in 1947. In this chapter, the writer Anne Frank tells about her true companion - a diary. She writes everything about her life in her diary and considers it her true friend. At the time of the invasion of German over Holland, her family went into hiding. At that time she started to write in her diary. She spent her adolescent years hidden from the outside world, and her diary kept all her secrets. CHARACTERS 1. Anne Frank - The 13 years old Jewish girl who writes a diary while she is hiding in Amsterdam from the Nazis during World War II. 2. Margot Frank - Anne’s sister who is three years older than Anne. 3. Otto Frank - Anne’s father who is a Jewish businessman who left Germany after Hitler’s rise to power, hoping to find refuge in Holland. 4. Mrs. Frank - Anne’s mother who is the source of many conflicts with Anne during the two years that th...
Read more