NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 10 – The Sermon at Benares

The Sermon at Benares Extra Questions and Answers Class 10 English First Flight

 Extract Based Questions [3 Marks each]

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow
Question 1.
GAUTAMA Buddha (563 B.C.- 483 B.C.) began life as a prince named Siddhartha Gautama, in northern India. At twelve, he was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures and four years later he returned home to marry a princess. They had a son and lived for ten years as befitted royalty.
(a) Who was Gautama Buddha?
(b) What did Gautama Buddha study?
(c) Find the exact word from the extract whii means ‘people of royal family’. ‘
(d) When did Gautama Buddha marry?
Answer:
(a) Gautama Buddha was a prince born in North India.
(b) Gautama Buddha studied Hindu Sacred Scriptures.
(c) ‘Royalty’ from the extract means ‘people of royal family’.
(d) Gautam Buddha married after his schooling at the age of sixteen years.

Question 2.
At about the age of twenty-five, the Prince, heretofore shielded from the sufferings of the world, while out hunting chanced upon a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms. These sights so moved him that he at once went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he had witnessed.
(a) Why did Gautama Buddha go out to seek enlightenment?
(b) What did Gautama Buddha see while hunting?
(c) Find the exact word from the extract which means ‘a state of high spiritual knowledge’.
(d) Describe the thought of Gautam Buddha while he encountered with the different stages of life.
Answer:
(a) Gautama Buddha was highly moved by seeing the sufferings of man. So he went out to seek enlightenment.
(b) Gautama Buddha chanced upon a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms while hunting.
(c) ‘enlightenment’ from the extract means ‘a state of high spiritual knowledge’.
(d) Gautam Buddha was so upset and worried while encountering the different stages of life as a sickman, an aged man, a funeral and a monk begging for alms.

Question 3.
He wandered for seven years and finally sat down under a peepal tree, where he vowed to stay until enlightenment came. Enlightened after seven days, he renamed the tree the Bodhi Tree and began to teach and to share his new understandings. At that point he became known as the Buddha.
(a) What was the name of the peepal tree under which Buddha sat?
(b) What did Buddha do while sitting under the tree?
(c) Find the exact word from the extract which means ‘solemnly promise to do a specified thing’.
(d) After how many days Gautam Buddha got enlightenment?
Answer:
(a) The name of the peepal tree under which Buddha sat was Bodhi tree.
(b) Buddha began to teach and share his new understandings while sitting under the tree.
(c) ‘Vowed’ from the extract means ‘solemnly promise to do a specific thing’.
(d) Gautam Buddha got enlightenment after seven days of his vow that he would sit until enlightenment came.

Question 4.
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.      [CBSE 2014]
(a) Where did Buddha preach his first sermon?
(b) What does the sermon preached by Buddha reflect?
(c) ‘Find the exact word from the extract which means impossible to understand’.
(d) How Benares is described in the lesson?
Answer:
(a) Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares.
(b) It reflects Buddha’s wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering.
(c) ‘Inscrutable’ from the extract means ‘impossible to understand’.
(d) Benares is described in the lesson as the most holy of the dipping places on the river Ganges.

Question 5.
Poor Kisa Gotami now went from house to house, and the people pitied her and said, “Here is mustard-seed; take it!” But when she asked, “Did a son or daughter, a father or mother, die in your family?” they answered her, ‘Alas! the living are few, but the dead are many. Do not remind us of our deepest grief.” And there was no house but some beloved one had died in it.
(a) Why did Kisa Gotami travel from house to house?
(b) What did Kisa Gotami ask before taking the mustard seeds?
(c) Find the exact word from the extract which means ‘dearly loved’.
(d) What did the people reply Kisa Gotami when she asked about the death of a family member?
Answer:
(a) Kisa Gotami travelled from house to house to collect mustard seeds.
(b) Kisa Gotami asked everyone before taking the mustard seeds whether a family member had ever died in their family or not.
(c) ‘beloved’ from the extract means ‘dearly loved’.
(d) The people replied Kisa Gotami that there was no house but some beloved one had died in it and she should not remind them of their deepest grief.

Question 6.
“Not from weeping nor from grieving will anyone obtain peace of mind; on the contrary, his pain will be the greater and his body will suffer. He will make himself sick and pale, yet the dead are not saved by his lamentation. He who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, and complaint, and grief.”
(a) Who said these lines?
(b) How can a person seek peace?
(c) Find the exact word from the text which means ‘to express sadness about something’.
(d) What effect does the weeping or grieving have on us?
Answer:
(a) Buddha said these lines.
(b) The person who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, complaint and grief.
(c) ‘lamentation’ from the extract means ‘to express sadness about something.
(d) Weeping or grieving makes our pain greater than before. The person will make himself sick and pale.

Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each]

Question 1.
Why did Prince Siddhartha leave the palace and become a beggar?     [CBSE 2012]
Answer:
Once Prince Siddhartha, while hunting saw a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession and finally a monk begging for alms. Looking at this, he left the palace and became a beggar to search for enlightenment.

Question 2.
What do you know about the early life of Buddha?
Answer:
Gautama Buddha was born in a royal family. His childhood name was Siddhartha. At the age of 12, he was sent away for schooling in Hindu sacred scriptures and four years later he got married to a princess.

Question 3.
Where did Buddha preach his first sermon?
Answer:
Gautama Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Benares, which is regarded as the holiest of the bathing places on the river Ganges.

Question 4.
How did Kisa Gotami realise that life and death is a process?       [CBSE 2016]
Answer:
Kisa Gotami went from house to house but was unable to find one house where nobody had died. She was tired and hopeless and sat down at the wayside watching the lights of the city as they flickered up and were extinguished again. She realised that similar to the city lights human lives also flicker up for some time and are extinguished again.

Question 5.
What was the effect of the sufferings of the world on Buddha?
Answer:
At the age of 25, while hunting, one day Buddha saw a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession and finally a monk begging for alms. These moved him so much that he went out into the world to seek enlightenment.

Question 6.
According to Kisa Gotami what is the greatestgrief of life?       [CBSE 2014]
Answer:
According to Kisa Gotami, the greatest grief in life is the death of one’s loved ones and one’s inability to stop them from dying. Therefore, instead of lamenting on it, the wise should not grieve. Weeping will only increase the pain and disturb the peace of mind of a person

Question 7.
Why was Kisa Gotami sad? What did she do in her hour of grief?
Answer:
Kisa Gotami was sad over the death of her only son. In the hour of grief, she went door to door in order to find medicine for her son that could bring him to life.

Question 8.
What did the Buddha do after he had attained enlightenment?
Answer:
When Buddha Attained enlightenment, he started preaching and telling people about life and its meaning. He spread his preachings far and wide so that people

Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each]

Question 1.
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?      [CBSE 2013]
Answer:
After the death of Kisa Gotami’s only child, she became very sad. She carried her dead child to her neighbours in order to get medicine to bring him to life. Her neighbours thought that she had gone insane as she was unable to accept the fact that. It was then that someone suggested her to meet Gautama Buddha. When she met Gautama Buddha he gave her an exercise to do.She was asked to collect mustard seeds from a house where no one has ever died. She went from one house to another but was unable to find a single house where no one has died. This way she realised that death is a part of life and anyone who is born is bound to die one day. Thus, Buddha changed her understanding of death by this exercise. could come to terms with the truth.

Question 2.
Personal losses are a part and parcel of life. Instead of wailing on them, we should move on in life. This message of Gautama Buddha has become more relevant in modern times. Do you agree ? Why /why not?   [CBSE2015]
Answer:
Yes, I agree with the message that Gautama Buddha has given about life. In the modem times, people have a lot to explore and move with the world at the same pace. If people don’t understand the practicality of life, they will be under stress which would in turn affects, their personal and professional lives. People need to understand that everyone who is born will have to die one day. There is no use being sad or crying over the loss. People should remain calm and composed in such situations. They should face the truth and move on in life.

Question 3.
What did Buddha say about death and suffering?
Answer:
After enlightenment, Buddha started to spread his teachings about life, truth and the likes of it. He told that death and suffering are the part and parcel of life. None can avoid this truth. One has to meet one’s destined end one day. Whoever has come to the world, will die one day. In the hour of grief, one must remain calm and composed so that grief doesn’t overcome one. People who are wise, never complain or lament over their loss. They accept the truth and be blessed with it. So, the wisdom lies in the fact that people should not get distressed with pain, suffering and death.