First Flight Chapter 10 The Sermon At Benares

1. He stands for Siddhartha Gautama.
2. He studied the sacred Hindu scriptures for four years.
3. ‘As befitted royalty’ means that they lived as a king and queen should.

1. The prince refers to Siddhartha Gautama, who was a prince in one of the northern kingdoms.
2. At this time of his life, he happened to see pain and suffering in the world. He saw a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms.
3. The phrase means ‘found unexpectedly.

1. These sights refer to the scenes of pain and suffering Buddha saw in his life. He saw a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms.
2. He was really moved to see these sights and thus decided to give up his life of pleasures and became a beggar.
3.  Enlightenment.

1. He was enlightened about the true meaning of pain and suffering.
2. He sat under fig tree which he renamed as ‘Bo Tree’ for meditation.
3. The phrase means ‘become aware of’.

1. Kisa suffered on account of the death of her only son.
2. She was not willing to accept the fact that her son had died. In her madness she carried the dead body of her son from house to house asking medicine which could cure her son.
3. At length.

1. Buddha asked for a handful of mustard seed from a family where no one had ever died. He did so to make her realize the fact that death and sufferings are universal.
2. She was happy because she could get mustard seeds from any house easily. At that time she was not aware of sufferings in the world. She only thought about herself.
3. Obtain.

1. Kisa became weary and hopeless because for the whole day she was wandering from house to house trying to get a handful of mustard-seed from a house where no one had ever died.
2. At the end of the day, she sat down on the wayside watching the lights dying out and she noticed the darkness that was slowly enveloping the whole area.
3. Despondency.

1. According to Buddha the human life on this earth is short, troubled and combined with pain.
2. The humans can’t escape death. All those who are born must die one day.
3. Stay away from.

1. No, neither a father nor a kinsman can stop the death of any human. It is a natural process. It can’t be stopped.
2. The humans are carried off like an ox that is led to the slaughter.
3. Slaughter.

1. The wise people do not grieve when there is a death because they know it is the law of nature and none can prevent death taking place.
2. Our weeping and grieving can not have any benefit. On the contrary it will make a person sick and pale.
3. Expression of grief. 

Following the Buddha's instructions, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house asking for a handful of mustard seeds. She is unable to find a house where no one had ever died. So, she became weary and hopeless. 

When we are concerned excessively with ourselves without having a regard for others, we tend to be selfish.
Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless after she was unable to get a handful of mustard that could save her son. Sitting at the wayside all alone and seeing the darkness engulfing the place, she realised the truth about the destiny of human beings. She had understood that death is common to all and no one can escape it. She also realized that she was being selfish in her grief. She had inflicted pain on others by reminding them of their grief. She had been thinking about just her son and her grief. 

Siddhartha Gautama was a prince of a northern Indian state. He was sent away for schooling at the age of twelve. He studied sacred Hindu scriptures for four years. Then he married a princess and had a son. He lived his life royally for ten years.

Siddhartha lived and enjoyed his life till he was twenty five. While on a hunting expedition, Siddhartha encountered a series of events that moved him. He came across a sick man by chance. Then he saw an aged man, a funeral procession and at last a monk begging for alms. As Siddhartha had been shielded from the sufferings of the world till then, all these sights moved him greatly.

Siddhartha had come across the sufferings of the world for the first time that moved him greatly. He decided to seek enlightenment regarding the sorrows he had witnessed. To do that honestly and devotedly, he went out into the world.

Discomposed by the sufferings of the people, Siddhartha went out into the world to seek enlightenment. Wandering for seven years, he finally sat under a fig tree and waited till the enlightenment came. His seven days long meditation yielded him Enlightenment. He renamed that tree as the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom) and began to teach and to share his new understandings. Then he came to be known as the Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened).

The Buddha attained Enlightenment after meditating for seven days under a fig tree. As he got wisdom under that tree, he called it the Bodhi tree. He had understood the truth of human life. He decided to share his understandings and preachings with people so that he can make them free from their sorrows. 

Benares is considered to be the most holy place on the banks of the sacred River Ganges. Many people come here to get rid of their sorrows and sufferings and to repent for their sins. As the Buddha wanted to lessen their sorrows and sufferings, he chose to preach his first Sermon at Benares.

When Kisa Gotami’s son dies, she goes from house to house being despondent and asking people for medicine that can bring her son back to life. The people remark that she has lost her senses because the boy is dead. No one could help her because nothing can revive the dead.

The Buddha was aware of Kisa Gotami’s grief. He wanted her to the see truth of life and death and accept the destiny of human being. He asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had ever died to show her that death is common to all. Accordingly, she could not find any house where nobody has died. She realized that being selfish in her grief, she reminded all of them about their deepest grief. Apparently, she accepted the truth that death is common to all.

Kisa Gotami went from house to house asking for a handful of mustard seeds as instructed by the Buddha. She could not find a house where no one had ever died. So, she became weary and hopeless.

Being weary and hopeless, Kisa Gotami sat on the wayside watching the lights of the city. She observed that they flared up and were went off again. watching them, she was considering the fate of the mankind. She found man’s life similar to the lights of the city as both flickered up, illuminated the world for sometime and then were extinguished to light up again. So she made a comparison.

Kisa Gotami eventually realized that death is common to all and human beings are subjected to mortality.

(i) As ripe fruits are early in danger of falling, the mortals when born are always in danger of death. So, the two are similar.

(ii) The earthen vessels made by the potter end in being broken. Similarly, the mortals’ life is shaped. Life ends with the death of the mortals.

The Buddha preached that grieving never hepls anyone achieve the peace of mind. His body suffers and his pains increases. He weeps and tortures himself but his lamentation can't revive the dead.

Wise people are well aware of the terms of the world and the inevitability of death. They know that everything that has taken birth must die. Our lamentation can not lessen or check the sufferings or death. So they do not grieve over the sufferings or the dead.

The Buddha delivered his first Sermon at Benares. He preached his understanding and wisdom about the inscrutable kind of sufferings that people undergo when they experience the deaths of their near and dear ones. He preached not to grieve but, to be peaceful and free from sorrow.

To obtain peace of mind, one should raise himself above the pains of the world by getting rid of the feelings of complaint, and grief. If one decides to clear away all the pain and suffering from the body, he will feel tranquility. Eventually, he will obtain peace of mind. 

How to Cope With the Death of a Loved One

The death of a loved one can be painful but what makes it even worse is its unexpected arrival. In such a situation, one must realize that death is a reality and no one can escape it. It reigns supreme over the life of the mortals. Death is common to all and is the essential and ultimate destination of life. All the grief, sorrow and sufferings and lamentations are simply futile as these cannot save the dying ones nor bring the dead back to life. So instead of lamenting, one should understand the truth of life and death. It will give us peace of mind. We will be free from sorrow and then move on the path of immortality.

A sermon may be defined as a discourse for the purpose of religious instruction while lecture is discourse for the purose of instruction on any general topic and talk can be a formal as well as an informal discourse delivered to an audience. No, it can't be used in a negative way or joke. 

• afflicted with - grievously affected especially by a disease
• be composed - in a state of peace and serenity
• desolation - the state of being desolated or ruined
• lamentation - the act of expressing sorrow
• procure - to get something by some action or effort
• be subject to - the state of being in a situation when one experiences the authority or power of specific circumstances

Yes, The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching. The sermon at benares was delivered by Gautam Buddha.

1. “my darling”, “my beauty”, “my precious”, “my angel”, “my beloved” ( Chubukov addressing Lomov)
2. “And how may you be getting on?” (Here, Lomov is asking Chubukov about his well-being)
3. How do you do, Ivan Vassilevitch?( Natalya is asking Lomov about his well being)
4. I see, Natalya Stepanovna, that you consider me either blind or a fool. (Lomov to Natalya, Names are not addressed in every dialogue in a conversation in Contemporary English)
5. You will remember that on the Marusinsky hunt my Guess ran neck-and-neck with the Count’s dog, while your Squeezer was left a whole verst behind. (Lomov to Chubukov, the use of expression -neck and neck)

1. Kisa Gotami was devastated by the death of her only son. When, Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where people had not lost a loved one to’ death, her futile search for such a house made her realise the bitter truth that everything in this world is subject to death. She eventually realised that life and death is a normal process.
2. Maddie wrote a note to Peggy to make her stop making fun of Wanda. But she tore it because she thought that it could annoy Peggy and she could make fun of Maddie instead.
3. Horace lived a happy and peaceful life. That is why he has been called good and respectable. But he was not completely honest as he used to rob a safe every year. He did that only once a year in order to satisfy his hobby of buying expensive books.
4. The space probe landed in a public library. The crew was shocked because the place looked very strange as they had no idea about books. They thought the library to be some kind of a storage bam.
5. The most fascinating thing that Valli saw on the street was the bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town.