PODAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Worksheet- Answer Scheme

Name: Std: X Date:
Subject: English Topic: Sermon at Benares

Q. Question Marks
No.
1. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that
follow.
(a) 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.
a. How is Benares described in the lesson? 1
a. the most holy of the dipping places on the river Ganges
b.the capital of India on the river Ganges
c. the most polluted of the dipping places on the river Ganges
d.the most populated of the dipping places on the river Ganges
the most holy of the dipping places on the river Ganges
b. Complete the statement. 1
The sermon preached by Buddha was about
_______________________.
inscrutable kind of suffering
c. According to Buddha, how can a person seek peace? 1
stop lamenting and complaining
d. Which people are referred to as “wise” by the Buddha in his 2
sermons?
Buddha preached in his sermons that everything that is
born will come to its end. Death is inevitable: both young
and adult or fools and wise are subject to death. But the
people who do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world
are called wise people. Wise people neither weep nor
grieve.

(b) 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.’
a. Why did Kisa Gotami travel from house to house? 1
i. to collect mustard seeds ii. to find some food
iii. to beg for some money iv. to find her missing son
b. Why did Kisa Gotami say, ‘How selfish am I in my grief!’ What did 2
she realise about the fate of mankind?
Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless. At last, the
darkness of the night reigned everywhere. She realised
that she had been very selfish in her grief as death spares
none. One who is born is destined to die sooner or later.

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 No grieving or lamenting would bring a dead man to life.
c. What did the people tell Kisa Gotami when she asked about the 1
death of their family members?
living are few, but the dead are many
d. What effect does the weeping or grieving have on us? 1
greater pain and suffering

2. Answer the following in 40-50 words. 3m

each
(a) What were the sights that moved and shocked Gautama?
Prince Gautama had been deliberately shielded from all the
sufferings of the world. One day he chanced upon a sick
man, then an aged man and then a funeral procession.
Finally, he saw a monk begging for alms. These sights
moved him. He went out into the world to seek the solution
of all these sufferings. He wanted to seek enlightenment.
(b) Describe the early life of Gautama Buddha.
Gautama Buddha began life as a prince. He was named
Siddhartha Gautama. He was sent away for schooling in
the Hindu sacred scriptures at twelve. When he returned
home, he was married to a princess. He lived in royal
luxury, shielded from the sufferings up to the age of
twenty-five.
(c) Can grieving and lamentation avoid death and decay in this world?
What did the Buddha say in this regard?
This world is afflicted with death and decay. Therefore, the
wise don’t grieve. No one will ever get peace of mind by
weeping or grieving. Weeping or grieving only makes a
person sick and pale. Only the person who has overcome
all sorrow will be free from sorrow. He will then be blessed.
(d) How did Siddhartha Gautama get enlightenment? Why did he
name the fig tree as the Bodhi tree?
Gautama wanted a final solution for the sufferings and
pains that afflicted the people of the world. He wandered
for seven years for seeking enlightenment. Finally, he sat
down under a fig tree. He vowed to stay there until
enlightenment came. Enlightened after seven days, he
renamed the fig tree. It was named as the Bodhi Tree or
Tree of Wisdom. He gave his first sermon at the city of
Benares on the River Ganges.

3. Answer the following in 100-120 words. 6m

each
(a) Life is full of trials and tribulations. Kisa Gotami also passes
through a period of grief in her life. How does she behave in those
circumstances?
After the death of Kisa Gotami’s only child, she became
very sad. She carried her dead child to her neighbours in
order to get medicine to bring him to life. Her neighbours
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 thought that she had gone insane as she was unable to
accept the fact. It was then that someone suggested her to
meet Gautama Buddha. When she met Gautama Buddha he
gave her an exercise to do. She was asked to collect
mustard seeds from a house where no one has ever died.
She went from one house to another but was unable to find
a single house where no one has died. This way she
realised that death is a part of life and anyone who is born
is bound to die one day. Thus, Buddha changed her
understanding of death by this exercise. This helped her
could come to terms with the truth.
(b) Personal losses are a part and parcel of life. Instead of wailing on
them, we should move on in life. This message of Gautama
Buddha has become more relevant in modern times. Do you
agree? Why /why not?
Yes, I agree with the message that Gautama Buddha has
given about life. In the modem times, people have a lot to
explore and move with the world at the same pace. If
people don’t understand the practicality of life, they will
be under stress which would in turn affects, their personal
and professional lives. People need to understand that
everyone who is born will have to die one day. There is no
use being sad or crying over the loss. People should
remain calm and composed in such situations. They should
face the truth and move on in life.
(c) How do you usually understand the idea of selfishness? Do you
agree with Kisa Gotami that she was ‘selfish’ in her grief? Is it
natural for people to be selfish at times?
‘Selfishness’ means when a person does something only
for his own benefit or thinks only about himself/ herself.
Kisa Gotami was selfish in wanting her dead son to be
alive. It was a mother’s love which had blinded her. She
was wrong in wanting that. She could not see the reality of
life. It is perfectly natural for anyone to be selfish at times.
When this desire becomes harmful to others or the
demands become unrealistic, it is wrong. A little bit of
selfishness is there in generally everyone and it is natural
to be so.

4. Choose the correct option 1m

each
1. Where did Buddha preach his first sermon?
a. Haridwar b. Benares
c. Chennai d. Patliputra
2. What was Buddha’s reaction when he saw the sick man?
a. He started crying. b. He got angry and started
shouting.
c. He got upset and worried. d. He remained unaffected
3. After wandering for seven years, Gautama Buddha sat under .
a. tin roof b. shed
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 c. a tree d. an umbrella
4. What did Buddha do while sitting under a tree?
a. shared his new b. distributed food
understanding
c. talked and slept d. enjoyed the shade and the
nature
5. The sermon preached by Buddha reflects his:
a. liking for human kind b. intelligence
c. wisdom about the d. feelings for his family he
sufferings of life left behind
6. What did the people ask Kisa Gotami not to remind them of?
a. Old memories b. grief
c. ancestors d. wealth
7. When can a person seek peace?
a. when he stops complaining b. when he stops grieving
c. when he stops lamenting d. when he stops arguing
8. According to Buddha, a ripe fruit is in danger of:
a. falling b. rotting
c. eaten by birds d. being plucked
9. The life of mortals in this world is:
a. troubled, painful, brief b. happy and brief
c. long and painful d. pleasant, wealthy, long
10. What did the flickering lights remind Kisa of?
a. Human life is full of misery. b. Death is common to all.
c. Selfishness is a common trait. d. Death relieves people of all
misery.

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