The Sermon at Benares - Textual Comprehension

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 The Sermon at Benares

Reading Comprehension 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. 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. 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 (Tree of Wisdom) and began to teach and to share his new understandings. At that point he became known as the Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened). 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.

 

  1. What was Gautama Buddha’s original name before he attained enlightenment?

  2. Why did Siddhartha decide to leave his royal life and go out into the world?

  3. What was the tree called under which Siddhartha attained enlightenment?
    a) The Peepal Tree
    b) The Banyan Tree
    c) The Bodhi Tree

  4. Where did the Buddha preach his first sermon?
    a) At Lumbini
    b) At the city of Benares
    c) At Kapilavastu

  5. What does the name “Buddha” mean?
    a) The Great King
    b) The Awakened or the Enlightened
    c) The Wise Teacher

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Answers

  1. His original name was Siddhartha Gautama.

  2. He left his royal life to seek enlightenment after seeing sickness, old age, death, and a monk.

  3. a) The Peepal Tree

  4. b) At the city of Benares

  5. b) The Awakened or the Enlightened

Reading Comprehension 2

     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.”

      And the girl said, “Pray tell me, sir; who is it?” And the man replied, "Go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha.”

      Kisa Gotami repaired to the Buddha and cried, “Lord and Master, give me the medicine that will cure my boy.”

      The Buddha answered, “I want a handful of mustard-seed.” And when the girl in her joy promised to procure it, the Buddha added, “The mustard-seed must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child, husband, parent or friend.”

 

  1. Who was Kisa Gotami’s only child, and what happened to him?

  2. What condition did the Buddha give for bringing the mustard seed?

  3. To whom did the man send Kisa Gotami when she asked for medicine?
    a) To a local doctor
    b) To Sakyamuni, the Buddha
    c) To a village priest

  4. What did the Buddha ask Kisa Gotami to bring as medicine?
    a) A handful of mustard-seed
    b) Some herbs from the forest
    c) Holy water from the river

  5. How did the neighbours react when Kisa Gotami asked for medicine for her son?
    a) They felt sorry and tried to help
    b) They said she had lost her senses because the boy was dead
    c) They called the Buddha immediately

Answers

  1. Kisa Gotami had an only son who died.

  2. The mustard seed had to be taken from a house where no one had ever died.

  3. b) To Sakyamuni, the Buddha

  4. a) A handful of mustard-seed

  5. b) They said she had lost her senses because the boy was dead

Reading Comprehension 3

     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.

      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. And she thought to herself, “How selfish am I in my grief! Death is common to all; yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads him to immortality who has surrendered all selfishness.”

 

  1. What did people give Kisa Gotami when she went from house to house?

  2. What lesson did Kisa Gotami finally learn from her experience?

  3. What did the people say when Kisa Gotami asked if anyone had died in their family?
    a) They said no one had ever died
    b) They said the living are few, but the dead are many
    c) They refused to speak to her

  4. What did Kisa Gotami notice about the lights of the city as she sat by the wayside?
    a) They flickered and went out, like human lives
    b) They burned brightly all night
    c) They reminded her of her son’s eyes

  5. What did Kisa Gotami realize about overcoming sorrow?
    a) It is possible only by surrendering selfishness
    b) It can be done through wealth and power
    c) It is impossible for anyone

Answers

  1. People gave her mustard-seed but from houses where someone had died.

  2. She learned that death is common to all and one must overcome selfish grief.

  3. b) They said the living are few, but the dead are many

  4. a) They flickered and went out, like human lives

  5. a) It is possible only by surrendering selfishness

Reading Comprehension 4

     The Buddha said, ‘‘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. As all earthen vessels made by the potter end in being broken, so is the life of mortals. Both young and adult, both those who are fools and those who are wise, all fall into the power of death; all are subject to death.


 

  1. What did the Buddha say about the nature of human life?

  2. What comparison did the Buddha use to explain that death is certain for all?

  3. According to the Buddha, what happens after reaching old age?
    a) People become free from suffering
    b) Death follows inevitably
    c) Life becomes peaceful

  4. What example did the Buddha give using earthen vessels?
    a) All vessels made by the potter end up broken, just like human life
    b) Some vessels last forever, unlike human life
    c) The strongest vessels never break

  5. Who, according to the Buddha, are subject to death?
    a) Only the old and foolish
    b) Both the young and the wise, all living beings
    c) Only those who are unkind


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1. Because they know that death and decay are natural parts of life. 
2. He compares them to oxen being led to the slaughter. 
3. b) His pain increases and his body suffers
 4. b) Draw out the arrow of grief and complaint 
5. a) He becomes blessed and free from sorrow


Answers

  1. He said that the life of mortals is short, full of pain, and troubled.

  2. He compared mortals to ripe fruits that are always in danger of falling.

  3. b) Death follows inevitably

  4. a) All vessels made by the potter end up broken, just like human life

  5. b) Both the young and the wise, all living beings

Reading Comprehension 5

     “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.

      “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. 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.”


  1. According to the Buddha, why should the wise not grieve?

  2. What does the Buddha compare mortals being taken by death to?

  3. What happens to a person who keeps weeping and grieving?
    a) He finds peace and comfort
    b) His pain increases and his body suffers
    c) He forgets his sorrow quickly

  4. What should one do to find peace of mind?
    a) Continue crying for the dead
    b) Draw out the arrow of grief and complaint
    c) Ask others for help in mourning

  5. What happens to the person who has overcome sorrow?
    a) He becomes blessed and free from sorrow
    b) He becomes lonely
    c) He forgets the world

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1. Because they know that death and decay are natural parts of life. 
2. He compares them to oxen being led to the slaughter. 
3. b) His pain increases and his body suffers
 4. b) Draw out the arrow of grief and complaint 
5. a) He becomes blessed and free from sorrow

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