First Flight – Chapter 8: The Sermon at Benares

About the Author: This chapter is an excerpt from the book "The Gospel of Buddha" compiled by Paul Carus, an American author and scholar.

Summary: The chapter describes the journey of Gautama Buddha from prince to enlightened teacher. Siddhartha Gautama was born a prince and was shielded from the sufferings of the world. At the age of 25, he saw an old man, a sick man, a dead body, and a monk. These sights led him to renounce his royal life and seek enlightenment. After years of wandering and meditation, he attained enlightenment under a Bodhi tree. He then delivered his first sermon at Benares (Varanasi). In the sermon, he taught that death is inevitable and that grieving over the dead is foolish. He used the story of Kisa Gotami, a young woman who lost her only son and was told by the Buddha to bring mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. She realized that death is common to all, and her sorrow was lifted. The Buddha's message is that we should not grieve for what is lost because sorrow only increases pain.

Answer: Kisa Gotami was looking for medicine to bring her dead son back to life. She went from house to house asking for medicine that would cure her son.

Answer: She was not able to get the medicine because there was no medicine to bring a dead person back to life. Everyone told her that she was asking for the impossible.

Answer: The Buddha gave Kisa Gotami the message that death is inevitable and that no one is immortal. He taught her that grieving over the dead only increases pain and that we should accept death as a natural part of life.

Answer: The Buddha's 'Sermon at Benares' is about the inevitability of death and the futility of grieving over it. The central idea is that death is a natural and universal truth that affects all living beings. The Buddha teaches that grieving only brings more sorrow and does not help the dead. Instead, we should accept death with peace and wisdom. Those who have understood the nature of life and death will not grieve. The sermon conveys that life is temporary, and we must learn to let go of attachment to avoid suffering.

Answer: Kisa Gotami learned the truth of the Buddha's sermon through her own experience. The Buddha told her to bring mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. When she went from house to house, she could not find a single house where death had not occurred. She realized that death is common to all human beings. No family is spared from the sorrow of losing a loved one. This realization made her understand that her grief was not unique, and she accepted the universal truth of death. She then returned to the Buddha and had gained wisdom.

Answer: The Buddha asked Kisa Gotami to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. He gave her this task to make her realize that death is universal. By searching for a house without death, she would understand that every family has experienced the loss of a loved one. This would help her accept that her son's death was not unique and that grieving over it was pointless. The task was a way to teach her wisdom through her own experience.

Answer:
(i) The priest sprinkled holy water on the devotees.
(ii) He renounced his wealth and became a monk.
(iii) The enlightened teacher guided his students towards wisdom.
(iv) The missionary preached about love and compassion.
(v) The ancient gods were believed to be immortal.
(vi) She could not hide her sorrow after losing her pet.

Enlightenment: the state of having perfect knowledge or spiritual understanding
Renounced: formally gave up or rejected
Wandering: moving from place to place without a fixed plan
Meditation: the practice of focusing the mind for spiritual purposes
Sermon: a religious speech or discourse
Bodhi tree: the tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment
Inevitable: certain to happen; unavoidable
Grieving: feeling deep sorrow, especially for someone who has died
Futile: pointless; having no useful result
Nirvana: a state of perfect peace and freedom from suffering
Compassion: sympathetic concern for the sufferings of others
Transient: lasting only for a short time; temporary

Answer:
(i) Buddha says that the life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief.
(ii) The message is that death is unavoidable. No one who is born can escape death. Therefore, we should accept death as a natural part of life and not grieve excessively.
(iii) 'Mortals' means human beings who are subject to death.

Answer:
(i) Kisa Gotami understood that death is common to all human beings.
(ii) She came to this understanding by trying to find a house where no one had died. She could not find such a house, which made her realize that death touches every family.
(iii) This reveals that the Buddha's teaching method was not to give direct answers but to make the person discover the truth for themselves through experience and reflection.

Answer: Gautama Buddha (then Prince Siddhartha) was shielded from the sufferings of the world by his father. However, during his trips outside the palace, he saw four sights that changed his life: an old man, a sick man, a dead body, and a monk. These sights made him realize that life is full of suffering, disease, and death. He renounced his royal life to seek the truth about human existence and find a way to overcome suffering. He sought enlightenment and a path to end the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (nirvana).

Answer: The story of Kisa Gotami teaches us that grief is a natural human emotion, but excessive grieving is futile. Death is inevitable and universal. No family is spared from the sorrow of losing a loved one. Instead of clinging to the dead and increasing our own suffering, we should accept death with wisdom and peace. The story also teaches us to have compassion for others who are grieving. It reminds us that life is temporary, and we should learn to let go of attachments to avoid prolonged suffering.

Answer: Kisa Gotami's search for mustard seeds played a crucial role in her spiritual awakening. The Buddha did not give her a direct answer. Instead, he gave her a task that required her to discover the truth on her own. As she went from house to house, she realized that death is universal – every family had lost someone. This realization made her understand that her grief was not unique and that death is an unavoidable part of life. This wisdom helped her accept her son's death and find peace. Her journey from grief to understanding is the essence of the Buddha's teaching.