The Sermon at Benares Summary

Gautama Buddha a Prince

Gautama Buddha (563 B.C.-483 B.C.) was a prince. His name was Siddhartha Gautama. At twelve he was
sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures. He returned after four years. He married a princess.
They had a son.
World sufferings make Gautama a beggar for enlightenment
Gautama Buddha had been shielded from the sufferings of the world. When he was twenty-five, he saw a
sick man. Then he saw an aged man, then a funeral procession. Finally, he saw a monk begging for alms.
These made him so sad that he himself became a beggar. Then he went out to seek spiritual knowledge.
Gautama Buddha gets spiritual knowledge
Gautama Buddha wandered for seven years. Finally he sat down under a fig tree. He vowed to stay until
spiritual knowledge came to him. He got it after seven days. He named the tree as the ‘Tree of Wisdom’.
He began to teach. Soon he became known as the Buddha.
Buddha’s first Sermon
The Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares. It is the most holy of the places on the Ganges. The
sermon has ten important points. This shows Buddha’s wisdom about the suffering. These are given
below :
1. Kisa Gotami had an only son. He died. She took the dead child to her neighbours to make him alive. She
asked for medicine. The people called her mad.
2. At last Kisa met a man. He told her that he had no medicine. But he knew a physician who could give
medicine for the same.
3. Kisa Gotami asked him to tell the man. He told her to go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha.
4. Kisa told the Buddha to give medicine to cure the boy.
5. The Buddha told her to bring him a handful of mustard seed. It must be from a house where no one has
died.
6. Kisa Gotami went from house to house. People gave her mustard-seed. She asked if no one died in the
house. They told her not to remind them of the deepest grief.
7. Kisa Gotami could not get the seed from such a house. At last, she sat tired and hopeless at the wayside.
Darkness soon fell. She saw the lights of the city. Soon the darkness of the night was everywhere. She
considered the fate of men. She thought that she was really selfish in her grief. Death was common to all.
Yet there lay a path. That led man to immortality if he surrendered all selfishness.
8. The Buddha told her that human life was brief and painful. No one could avoid dying. All those who
were born were to die one day. Young and adult all have to die like the vessels of a potter. They break
after being made.
9. All depart from life. A father cannot save his son. All relatives lament deeply when the dead is taken like
an ox for slaughter. So the world is affected by suffering due to death and decay. The
wise do not grieve as they know the truth.
10. No one will get peace of mind from weeping or from grieving. On the contrary his pain will be greater.
His body will suffer. The dead are not saved by expressing sorrow. He who is off the lamentation and
grief shall have peace of mind. One who has overcome sorrow will be free from sorrow and be blessed.
The Proposal Summary
Lomov is received in Chubukov’s house
It is Chubukov’s house. Lomov enters. Chubukov meets him. Chubukov is extremely happy to meet him.
He asks him to sit down. He also asks him where he is going in the evening dress.
Lomov tells him the purpose of his visit
Lomov tells him that he has come to see him with a request. He wants to say but gets excited. Chubukov
feels that he has come to borrow money. Lomov starts speaking. But he talks of this thing or that thing. At
last he says that he has come to ask Natalya’s hand. Chubukov is greatly excited to hear it as he is worried
about his daughter’s marriage.
Chubukov consents
Chubukov embraces and kisses Lomov for it. He says that he always wanted that. He is so happy that he
behaves idiotically. Lomov asks him if he should think that he gives his consent. Chubukov okays it. He
tells him that Natalya also is in love with him.
Lomov thinks of Natalya and his own life
Lomov trembles due to great excitement. He says that if he looks for an ideal love he would never get
married. He gets cold. However, he feels that Natalya is a good housekeeper. She is beautiful and well-
educated. He is already 35. He should lead a quiet and regular life. But he now has palpitations. He can’t
sleep. He starts jumping like a mad person.
Natalya and Lomov together
Natalya enters. She asks Lomov why he hasn’t come there for a long time. She tells him about the harvest.
She asks him why he is in the evening dress. She further asks if he is going to a ball.
Lomov starts talking of his land
Lomov tries to tell her the purpose behind the visit. But he is off the point. He tells that he has known her
family for long. He tells how he inherited his land and how he respects Natalya’s father. He also tells her
that his Oxen Meadows touch Natalya’s birchwoods. (But he never tells that he has come to propose to
her.)
Lomov explains the ownership
Hearing this Natalya gets serious. She tells him that Oxen Meadows are not Lomov’s but theirs. Lomov
clarifies that he is referring to Oxen Meadows. They are between her birchwoods and the Burnt Marsh.
Natalya says that they are theirs. Lomov refuses it. He says that his aunt’s grandmother gave those
Meadows to Natalya’s father’s grandfather. The peasants used the land for forty years. But they regarded
them their own.
Argument continues
Natalya refuses Lomov’s claim. She says that Oxen Meadows are theirs. Lomov says that he will show the
documents. But Natalya says that they had the land for nearly three hundred years. She can’t stand
unfairness though the Meadows are worth 300 roubles. Lomov states that the peasants of Natalya’s father’s
grandfather baked bricks for his aunt’s grandmother… . Both start fighting over the ownership. Lomov
offers to make a present of them to Natalya. But she also says that she can make a present of them to him.
Shouting starts
Natalya gets angry. She comes to a low level. She starts accusing Lomov. She says that they lent him their
threshing-machine. Lomov feels that Natalya has called him a landgrabber. He repeats that Oxen Meadows
are his. Natalya repeats they are theirs. They start shouting at each other.
Chubukov sides with Natalya
Chubukov enters. Natalya asks him to tell Lomov that Oxen Meadows are theirs. Lomov refuses this.
Chubukov clarifies that by shouting Lomov won’t prove the ownership. He accuses Lomov of speaking
disrespectfully as he is twice his age. Lomov adds that good neighbours don’t behave like that. At the same
time he calls Chubukov a landgrabber.
Abuses exchanged
Lomov threatens to take Chubukov to courts. They exchange abuses calling that Lomov’s grandfather was
a drunkard. His younger aunt Nastasya ran away with an architect. Lomov wants to say something. But he
feels that he is dying. He says so.
Accusations continue
Natalya calls Lomov ‘a rascal’. Chubukov calls him the Villain’ and ‘the scarecrow’. He calls him a
monster who has the courage to propose.
Chubukov tells the purpose behind Lomov’s visit
Hearing ‘propose’ Natalya asks what proposal. Chubukov tells her that Lomov had come to propose to her
for marriage. Hearing this she starts weeping. She calls Chubukov to bring him back at once. She is in
hysterics. He laments that it is a great burden to be a father of a grown up daughter.
Fighting over dogs
Lomov enters. He has a palpitating heart. Natalya begs to be excused. She tells him that the Meadows are
his. The talk now centres on dogs. Lomov tells Natalya that his best dog Guess cost him 125 roubles.
Natalya calls it too much as her father gave 85 roubles for his Squeezer. Squeezer is better than his dog.
Lomov refutes it. He states that his lower jaw is shorter than the upper. Natalya defends saying that their
Squeezer is of the finest pedigree.
Fighting continues
Both Lomov and Natalya start fighting over their dogs. Lomov calls his Guess better. Natalya calls hers
better. Lomov’s heart gets palpitating. He says that his heart is going to pieces. Chubukov enters. He asks
what the matter is. Chubukov also adds that Lomov’s dog Guess is old and short.
Personal accusations
Lomov cites some facts for his dog’s superiority. He cites the dog race with the Count’s dog. In that
Squeezer was left behind. Dogs ran but Squeezer ran after a sheep. Lomov speaks about the condition of
his heart. Natalya asks him what sort of hunter he is. He should go to the kitchen and not go after foxes.
Abuses hurled
Chubukov sides with Natalya. He adds that Lomov should sit at home. He changes the subject to avoid
losing his temper. Lomov and he exchange abuses calling one another ‘intriguer’, ‘pup’, ‘rat’ etc. Lomov
tells that Chubukov’s late wife beat him. He falls down.
Lomov’s physical condition
Natalya asks her father what has happened to Lomov. Chubukov also feels sick as he can’t breathe.
Chubukov asks what the matter is. Natalya says that Lomov is ‘dead’. At this Chubukov calls for water
and a doctor.
Chubukov as a father and his helplessness
Chubukov starts accusing himself. He calls himself the most unhappy of men. He demands for a knife or a
pistol. Lomov is reviving.
Chubukov calls them to marry
Lomov says he sees stars. He asks where he is. Chubukov asks him to hurry up and get married. Natalya is
also willing to marry him. Chubukov asks them to kiss each other. Lomov asks whom he should kiss. He
then says that he understands. Natalya is also happy. Chubukov feels that a weight has come off his
shoulders. He offers some champagne for this occasion.