The Sermon At Benares

   

Betty Renshaw

The Sermon at Benares throws light upon the early life of Lord Buddha who was originally born as a prince in the royal family. On being exposed to the sufferings of the world which he was earlier shielded from, he left his prince hood and went in search of salvation thus leaving all the worldly pleasures behind. Upon attaining spiritual awakening, he gave his first sermon in the city of Benares hereby making a lady named Kisa Gotami realise that men are mortal and a wise person should not grieve at what is bound to happen for it only enhances pain and suffering.

Summary

Gautama Buddha was born to a North Indian royal family as a prince and was named Siddhartha Gautama. When he was twelve years old, he was sent to a faraway place to study Hindu sacred scriptures and upon returning four years later, he got married to a princess. Soon, they both had a son and they continued to live the royal life for about ten years. The royals were shielded from all the unpleasant experiences of the world until one day, on his way to hunt, the Prince met a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession and a monk begging for alms. These experiences acted as eye-openers for him and thus, he left all the royalty behind to seek a higher sense of spiritual knowledge. Upon attaining salvation, he began preaching. He gave his first sermon in the city of Benares. There was a lady named Kisa Gotami whose son had died. Suffering with unending pain, she went from house to house looking for a medicine to bring her son back to life. People started thinking that the lady had lost her senses. One day, she met a man who directed her towards Lord Buddha who could possibly have a solution for her problem. Buddha asked her to look for mustard seeds and the seeds must be procured from a house that had seen no death. Reinstated with hope, Kisa Gotami once again went on a search from house to house but to her dismay, she could not find mustard seeds from a house that would fulfill Buddha’s condition. Disheartened, she sat at the edge of the road thus realizing how selfish she had been. She became conscious to the fact that men were mortal and no one could escape the cycle of life. This was exactly what Buddha wanted her to understand. According to Lord Buddha, feelings of grief and sorrow only increases man’s pain and suffering thus, deteriorating his health. Therefore, a wise person fully aware about nature’s functioning must not grieve at something bound to happen and only then he can be happy and blessed.

 

Thinking about the Text

1. When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?

 Ans: When Kisa Gotami’s son dies, she goes from house to house, asking if she could get some medicine that would cure her child.No, she does not get it because her child was dead and no medicine could bring back his life.

 

2. Kisa Gotami again goes from house to house after she speaks with the Buddha. What does she ask for, the second time around? Does she get it? Why not?

Ans: When she meets the Buddha, he asks her to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one has lost a child, husband, parent or friend. She goes from one house to another, but could not get the mustard seeds as there was not a single house where no one has died in the family.

 

3. What does Kisa Gotami understand the second time that she failed to understand the first time? Was this what the Buddha wanted her to understand?

Ans: Kisa Gotami understands the truth of life that death is common to all and that she was being selfish in her grief. There was no house where some beloved had not died. By sending her to different houses, Buddha wanted her to realize the fragile nature of human life. He also wanted her to rise above worldly matters so that the departed soul could rest in peace.

 

4. Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?

Ans: Kisa Gotami understood that death is common to all and that she was being selfish in her grief. She understood this only the second time because it was then that she found that there was not a single house where some beloved had not died. First time round, she was only thinking about her grief and was therefore asking for a medicine that would cure her son. When she met the Buddha, he asked her to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. He did this purposely to make her realize that there was not a single house where no beloved had died, and that death is natural. When she went to all the houses the second time, she felt dejected that she could not get the mustard seeds. Then, when she sat and thought about it, she realized that the circle of life is such that who is born, must die. Death is common to all. This was what the Buddha had intended her to understand.

 

5. How do you usually understand the idea of ‘selfishness’? Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that she was being ‘selfish in her grief’?

Ans: Selfishness is preoccupation with I, me, and myself. Kisa Gotami was not in a position to think about other people’s grief. It is natural to feel sad over death of near and dear ones. But most people carry on their next responsibility of performing proper last rites of the dead. People seldom carry a dead body in the hope of some miracle happening to that. The family and the society always come together in hour of grief and sorrow. But Kisa Gotami was being 'selfish in her grief' and engrossed in her sorrow that she forgot to think about live members of her family and society.

 

Thinking about the Language

I. This text is written in an old-fashioned style, for it reports an incident more than two millennia old. Look for the following words and phrases in the text, and try to rephrase them in more current language, based on how you understand them.

Give thee medicine for thy child Pray tell me Kisa repaired to the Buddha there was no house but someone had died in it kinsmen Mark!

Ans: 1. Give you medicine for your child

2. Please tell me

3. Kisa went to the Buddha

4. There was no house where no one had died

5. Relatives

6. Listen

 

II. You know that we can combine sentences using words like and, or, but, yet and then. But sometimes no such word seems appropriate. In such a case was can use a semicolon (;) or a dash (−) to combine two clauses.

She has no interest in music; I doubt she will become a singer like her mother. The second clause here gives the speaker’s opinion on the first clause. Here is a sentence from the text that uses semicolons to combine clauses. Break up the sentence into three simple sentences. Can you then say which has a better rhythm when you read it, the single sentence using semicolons, or the three simple sentences? For there is not any means by which those who have been born can avoid dying; after reaching old age there is death; of such a nature are living beings.

Ans: The single sentence using semicolons has a better rhythm. This is because the three parts of the sentence are connected to each other in their meanings. The second clause gives further information on the first clause. The third clause is directly related to both the first and the second. Their meanings are better conveyed when they are joined by semicolons.

 

Message

Buddha gave his first sermon at Benares. It is the holiest of places on the bank of the Ganges. His first sermon reflects his wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering i.e. death. Here, the Buddha tells about the universality of death which is inevitable and can't be escaped.

 

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