The Sermon at Benares by Betty Renshaw from the book, Values and Voices, is Chapter 10 of Class 10 English textbook, First Flight. This chapter sheds insight on Lord Buddha’s preachings, which have profound implications for our lives. Here is a synopsis of the text in the form of CBSE English Notes for Class 10. CBSE Class 10 students may refer to the prose summary of The Sermon at Benares provided below. They may use the CBSE Class 10 English Prose Notes – The Sermon at Benares to study for their Board exams.
CBSE Class 10 English notes will assist students in studying the topic thoroughly and clearly.
These CBSE Class 10 English notes were written by subject experts who made the study material very basic, both in terms of language and format.
Gautama’s Childhood
In Northern India, Gautama Buddha was born as a prince and given the name Siddhartha Gautama. He was sent to a Hindu sacred scriptures school when he was twelve years old. He returned home four years later and married a princess. They had a child together. For ten years, he lived like a king.
Gautama Feels Sufferings of the World
Gautama was protected from all of the world’s sufferings. Gautama came across a sick man, an elderly man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms one day while on his way to hunt. At the time, he was only twenty-five years old. These events influenced Buddha’s thinking so much that he chose to abandon royal pleasures and decided to embark on a quest for enlightenment.
Gautama Seeks Enlightenments
Gautama travelled aimlessly for seven years and then he stayed under a peepal tree until he attained enlightenment. He became enlightened after seven days of wandering and renamed the tree the ‘Bodhi Tree’ (Tree of wisdom). He began to teach and share his newfound knowledge, earning the moniker Buddha. In the city of Benares, he preached his first sermon. It is the holiest of the Ganges River’s dipping spots. This Sermon reflects Buddha’s understanding of an unimaginable type of suffering.
Kisa Gotami’s Story
Kisa Gotami only had one son, who had passed away. She went door to door, carrying her dead son in her arms, asking for medicines for her child. She was said to have lost her senses. She eventually met a man who directed her to Lord Buddha, who might be able to help her with her problem. She approached Buddha and requested that he heal his son. Buddha requested that she bring a handful of mustard seeds from a home in which no one had lost a child, husband, parent, or friend.
Kisa Gotami searched from house to house for mustard seeds, but she couldn’t find one where no one had died. She sat down by the roadside, exhausted and hopeless. She soon realised that death was all around her and that no one was safe. She realised she had been self-centered.
Certainty of Death
Our lives are full of pain and suffering, according to Buddha. Every person who is born is doomed to die. There is no way to avoid death. The mortals are in danger of death, just as the ripe fruits are in danger of falling and the earthen vessels made by the potter are in danger of breaking.
Wise men and fools, all fall in the power of death. The wise are the only ones who do not complain and accept reality. Weeping and grieving will only increase the body’s pain and suffering. Someone who is composed will find peace of mind, be free of sorrow, and be blessed.
Overview of the Chapter
This chapter focuses on the Buddha’s wisdom from his first sermon in Benares. He received it after achieving enlightenment. In this sermon, the Buddha discusses the incident surrounding Kisa Gotorni’s son’s death. He said in the story that we should not be sad or saddened by the death of any of our loved ones. Everyone is subject to death, so no one is resistant to it. Only by overcoming grief can we be free of sorrows. Then we’ll be able to achieve peace.
Character Information
Gautama Buddha Buddhism was founded by Buddha. He was a spiritual teacher who had become enlightened after witnessing the suffering and greed of the world.
Kiso Gotami
She was a young mother who had lost her only child. She was a loving and caring mother, but she also became self centered and wanted her son back after he died.