Class 10 - Antonyms - 8. The Sermon at Benares

Read the paragraph and write the Antonyms of the words underlined. 

1. 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. 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. 

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Sent away – kept back / retained / held / stayed
Sacred – ordinary / common / unholy / profane / impure
Returned – departed / left / went away / exited / withdrew
Befitted – unsuited / unfit / improper / inappropriate / unsuitable
Shielded – exposed / unprotected / vulnerable / open / uncovered
Sufferings – happiness / joy / comfort / pleasure / relief
Aged – young / youthful / fresh / new / juvenile
Begging – giving / offering / donating / granting / presenting

2. 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.

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Preached – concealed / kept silent / suppressed / hid / withheld
Holy – unholy / profane / impure / wicked / sinful
Preserved – destroyed / lost / wasted / neglected / ruined
Reflects – hides / conceals / covers / obscures / masks
Wisdom – ignorance / foolishness / stupidity / senselessness / naivety
Suffering – happiness / joy / comfort / pleasure / bliss

3. Kisa Gotami had an only son, and he died. In her grief she carried the dead child to all her neighbours, asking them for medicine, and the people said, “She has lost her senses. The boy is dead.” At length, Kisa Gotami met a man who replied to her request, “I cannot give thee medicine for thy child, but I know a physician who can.”

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Grief – joy / happiness / delight / cheerfulness / pleasure
Dead – alive / living / breathing / active / existing
Medicine – poison / toxin / disease / harmful substance
Lost – found / discovered / gained / recovered / located
Request – refusal / denial / rejection / disapproval / command
Give – take / withhold / keep / refuse / deny

4. 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. 

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Weary – energetic / lively / fresh / active / rested
Hopeless – hopeful / confident / optimistic / positive / assured
Darkness – light / brightness / daylight / sunshine / radiance
Extinguished – lit / ignited / kindled / illuminated / burning
Fate – chance / freedom / choice / fortune / will

5. 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.

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Troubled – peaceful / calm / serene / happy / content
Brief – long / lasting / lengthy / endless / permanent
Pain – comfort / joy / pleasure / happiness / relief
Avoid – face / accept / encounter / confront / meet
Danger – safety / security / protection / shelter / guard
Death – life / birth / existence / survival / vitality

6. Of those who, overcome by death, depart from life, a father cannot save his son, nor kinsmen their relations. Mark! while relatives are looking on and lamenting deeply, one by one mortals are carried off, like an ox that is led to the slaughter. So the world is afflicted with death and decay, therefore the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world.

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Overcome – defeat / conquer / win / succeed / master
Save – harm / lose / endanger / destroy / waste
Lamenting – rejoicing / celebrating / cheering / laughing / delighting
Afflicted – healed / comforted / blessed / cured / helped
Grieve – rejoice / smile / celebrate / cheer / enjoy

7. 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. 

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Weeping – laughing / smiling / rejoicing / cheering / giggling
Grieving – celebrating / rejoicing / delighting / enjoying / smiling
Peace – conflict / war / chaos / disturbance / unrest
Suffer – heal / recover / improve / flourish / thrive
Lamentation – joy / happiness / celebration / laughter / delight

8. He who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, and complaint, and grief. He who has drawn out the arrow and has become composed will obtain peace of mind; he who has overcome all sorrow will become free from sorrow, and be blessed.

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Seeks – avoids / rejects / ignores / shuns / neglects
Complaint – praise / approval / compliment / satisfaction / consent
Composed – disturbed / restless / agitated / anxious / upset
Blessed – cursed / unfortunate / unlucky / doomed / miserable