The Sermon At Benares

So students, good morning to all of you! Today we are going to study a very beautiful and meaningful chapter from your English textbook. This is Chapter 8 from the book First Flight, and it is titled "The Sermon at Benares". Now before we begin reading the chapter, let me welcome you all to this lesson and tell you that we are going to cover every single part of this chapter together. I want you to listen carefully because by the end of this lesson, you should be able to answer any question that comes from this chapter. So let's begin, shall we?

First of all, let me tell you something about the background of this chapter. This chapter is based on the life of Gautama Buddha, who was a prince named Siddhartha Gautama. He was born around 563 B.C. in northern India. Now students, imagine this - a prince who had everything in life - wealth, comfort, a beautiful palace, a loving wife, and a son. He lived like royalty for ten years. But at around the age of twenty-five, something happened that changed his life completely. While he was out hunting one day, he came across four sights that shook him to his core. He saw a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms. Can you imagine what went through his mind? He had never seen suffering before because his father had protected him from all worldly pains. But now, seeing these sights, he realized that life is full of suffering, and he decided to leave his palace, his family, everything, to seek enlightenment - that is, to find the truth about life and death and suffering.

He wandered for seven long years, students. Seven years! He sat under a peepal tree and vowed not to move until he found enlightenment. And after seven days, he achieved what he was seeking. He became the Buddha, which means "the Awakened" or "the Enlightened One". He renamed that peepal tree the Bodhi Tree, the Tree of Wisdom, and he began teaching others about what he had learned.

Now, the most important thing for you to remember is that the Buddha gave his first sermon at Benares, which is one of the holiest cities on the River Ganges. Benares is famous for its ghats, those steps that lead down to the river where people come to bathe - these are called "dipping places" in the chapter. And that sermon has been preserved for us. The chapter we are reading today reflects the Buddha's wisdom about one particular kind of suffering - the suffering that comes from death, from losing our loved ones.

Now let's move to the story itself. The chapter tells us about a woman named Kisa Gotami. She had an only son, and she loved him dearly. But one day, her son died. Can you imagine the grief she must have felt? She was heartbroken, completely shattered. In her desperation, she carried the dead child to all her neighbors, asking them for medicine that would cure her boy. Can medicine bring back the dead, students? Of course not. But when we are in grief, we often do irrational things, don't we? The people in her neighborhood thought she had lost her senses. They said, "She has lost her mind. The boy is dead."

Then, students, she met a man who told her about the Buddha. He said, "I cannot give you medicine for your child, but I know a physician who can." Now think about this - the man is referring to the Buddha as a physician. What kind of physician is the Buddha? He is a physician of the soul, a healer of grief. So Kisa Gotami went to the Buddha and cried, "Lord and Master, give me the medicine that will cure my boy."

Now here is where the Buddha's wisdom comes in. He didn't say no, and he didn't say yes directly. Instead, he gave her a task. He said, "I want a handful of mustard-seed." Kisa Gotami was overjoyed - she thought she could get the medicine now. But the Buddha added a condition: "The mustard-seed must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child, husband, parent or friend."

Now students, think about this carefully. Is there any house in the world where no one has ever died? Where no one has lost a child, a husband, a parent, or a friend? The answer is no. Every house has known death. Every family has experienced loss. This is what the Buddha wanted Kisa Gotami to understand.

So she went from house to house, and the people pitied her and gave her mustard-seed. But when she asked them about death in their families, they all said the same thing: "Alas! The living are few, but the dead are many. Do not remind us of our deepest grief." There was no house where someone had not died. This is what the chapter means when it says "there was no house but some beloved one had died in it." The word "but" here means "that did not" - so it means there was no house that did not have someone die in it. Every single house had experienced death.

Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless. She sat down at the wayside, watching the lights of the city as they flickered up and were extinguished. And then she realized something profound. She thought, "How selfish am I in my grief! Death is common to all; yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads him to immortality who has surrendered all selfishness."

Now students, let me explain this. She realized that her grief was selfish. Why? Because she was only thinking about her own loss, her own pain. But death is something that happens to everyone. Everyone loses someone they love. It is the common lot of all human beings. She understood that in this world full of sorrow and death, there is a way to find peace - by giving up selfishness, by understanding that death is natural, that it comes to everyone.

Now let's look at what the Buddha actually said in his sermon. He said, "The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain." Now "mortals" means human beings - those who are bound to die. He is telling us that life is full of trouble, it is short, and it is filled with pain. He says, "For there is not any means by which those that have been born can avoid dying; after reaching old age there is death; of such a nature are living beings." This is a very important line, students. It means that once we are born, we cannot avoid death. Whether we are young or old, whether we are wise or foolish, we will all die. This is the nature of living beings.

He gives beautiful analogies. He says, "As ripe fruits are early in danger of falling, so mortals when born are always in danger of death." Just as a ripe fruit is about to fall from the tree, so too are mortals always in danger of death from the moment they are born. And he says, "As all earthen vessels made by the potter end in being broken, so is the life of mortals." Just as clay pots made by a potter will eventually break, so too will human life come to an end. Both young and adult, both fools and wise people - all fall into the power of death. All are subject to death.

Then the Buddha says something very powerful: "Of those who, overcome by death, depart from life, a father cannot save his son, nor kinsmen their relations." Even a father cannot save his son from death. Even relatives cannot save each other. Death is the great equalizer. He says, "Mark!" - this is an old-fashioned way of saying "Listen carefully!" or "Pay attention!" - "while relatives are looking on and lamenting deeply, one by one mortals are carried off, like an ox that is led to the slaughter." This is a vivid image, students. People are led to death like an animal led to be slaughtered, even while their relatives watch and weep.

Then comes the most important part of the sermon. The Buddha says, "So the world is afflicted with death and decay, therefore the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world." The world is full of death and decay. This is the reality. But the wise people do not grieve because they understand this reality. They know the terms of the world - they know how life works.

Now the Buddha gives practical advice. He says, "Not from weeping nor from grieving will anyone obtain peace of mind; on the contrary, his pain will be the greater and his body will suffer." If you weep and grieve endlessly, you will not find peace. Instead, your pain will increase, and your body will suffer too. "He will make himself sick and pale, yet the dead are not saved by his lamentation." You will become sick and pale from grief, but the person who died will not come back because of your crying.

Then he gives the solution: "He who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, and complaint, and grief." If you want peace, you must remove the arrows of sorrow, complaint, and grief from your heart. "He who has drawn out the arrow and has become composed will obtain peace of mind; he who has overcome all sorrow will become free from sorrow, and be blessed." When you remove that arrow and become calm, you will find peace. When you overcome sorrow, you will be free from sorrow and will be blessed.

Now students, let's look at the questions in "Thinking about the Text" and answer them one by one.

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

When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house asking for medicine that will cure her dead child. She is so grief-stricken that she doesn't realize her child is dead and cannot be brought back by any medicine. No, she does not get the medicine because there is no medicine that can bring the dead back to life. It is impossible.

Question 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?

The second time, the Buddha asks her to get a handful of mustard-seed from a house where no one has ever lost a child, husband, parent, or friend. She goes from house to house asking for mustard-seed, but when she asks if anyone has died in their family, she finds that every house has experienced death. She does not get the mustard-seed from such a house because no such house exists. Every family has known loss.

Question 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?

The second time, Kisa Gotami understands that death is universal. It happens to everyone. Every family experiences loss. She realized that she was being selfish in her grief because she was only thinking about her own pain, forgetting that everyone loses loved ones. Yes, this is exactly what the Buddha wanted her to understand. He wanted her to realize that grief is a universal experience, not something unique to her, and that by understanding this, she could find peace.

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

I think Kisa Gotami understood it the second time because the Buddha made her go through the experience herself. The first time, she was blinded by her own grief and couldn't think rationally. But when she went from house to house looking for mustard-seed, she actually saw and heard about the grief of others. She saw that everyone has lost someone they love. This direct experience changed her understanding. The Buddha didn't just tell her not to grieve - he made her discover the truth herself. This is the teaching method of the Buddha. He didn't give answers; he made people find their own answers. And this changed her from a grieving, desperate woman to someone who understood the nature of life and death.

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

Now students, this is a question for you to think about. What do we mean by selfishness? Usually, we think of selfishness as thinking only about ourselves, wanting things only for ourselves, not caring about others. In grief, when we are so lost in our own pain that we forget about others, that can be considered selfish. Kisa Gotami was so focused on her own loss that she didn't think about the fact that everyone loses loved ones. She was only thinking about her own sorrow. So yes, in a way, her grief was selfish - not because she wanted something for herself, but because she was so absorbed in her own pain that she couldn't see the larger truth about life. However, we should also be understanding - when someone loses a loved one, it's natural to feel deep grief. The Buddha is not saying we should not grieve at all. He is saying we should not let grief consume us to the point where we make ourselves sick and cannot find peace.

Now let's move to "Thinking about the Language" section. This is important for your language skills.

Part I: The text uses old-fashioned language. Let me help you understand these phrases and rephrase them in more current language.

"give thee medicine for thy child" - This is in old English. "Thee" means "you" and "thy" means "your". So it would be "give you medicine for your child" in modern English.

"Pray tell me" - "Pray" here is an old way of saying "please" or "I beg you". So it means "Please tell me" or "Tell me, I beg you".

"Kisa repaired to the Buddha" - "Repaired" here is a stylistic use meaning "went to". So it means "Kisa went to the Buddha".

"there was no house but someone had died in it" - The word "but" means "that did not". So this means "there was no house in which someone had not died" - in other words, every house had someone die in it.

"kinsmen" - This is an old word for relatives or family members.

"Mark!" - This means "Listen carefully!" or "Pay attention!"

Now Part II: This is about using semicolons to combine clauses. Let me show you the sentence from the text:

"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."

Now let's break this into three simple sentences:

1. For there is not any means by which those who have been born can avoid dying. 2. After reaching old age there is death. 3. Of such a nature are living beings.

Now, which has better rhythm when you read it? Students, when we read the original sentence with semicolons, it has a certain flow and rhythm. It sounds like a continuous thought, like a flowing river. The three simple sentences also work, but they feel more choppy, more broken. The semicolons connect the ideas smoothly, showing that these three ideas are related - they are all part of one important point about the nature of living beings. So the original sentence with semicolons probably has better rhythm. It flows better when read aloud, which is important for a sermon or a speech. This is something for you to try in your own writing too - using semicolons can create a nice flow when you want to connect related ideas.

Now let's move to the "Speaking" activity. This is about comparing the Buddha's sermon with modern texts about grief. The chapter gives you two modern texts about dealing with grief.

The first text is "A Guide to Coping with the Death of a Loved One." It talks about how grief affects people - the feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, anxiety, loneliness, fatigue, and disbelief. It gives practical advice on how to help others who are grieving - reach out, be patient, let them know you care.

The second text is "Good Grief" by Amitai Etzioni. He talks about his personal experience of losing his wife and then his son. He disagrees with the idea that there are fixed stages of grief that everyone must go through. He says there is no "right" way to grieve. He found solace in focusing on what his family could do for each other - staying busy, calling each other, taking care of each other.

Now the question is: Do the Buddha's ideas and way of teaching continue to hold meaning for us? Or have we found better ways to deal with grief?

Students, let's think about this. The Buddha's main ideas were: 1. Death is universal - it happens to everyone. 2. Grief is natural, but excessive grieving doesn't help. 3. We should understand the nature of the world and find peace. 4. We should not let grief make us sick or consume us.

Now, do modern ideas contradict this? Not really. The modern texts also acknowledge that grief is natural and that we need to find ways to cope. The Buddha's method of teaching - making Kisa Gotami discover the truth herself - is actually quite modern. It's like experiential learning. The Buddha didn't lecture her; he guided her to find her own answers.

However, modern psychology also emphasizes the importance of expressing grief, of talking about it, of getting support from others. The Buddha says not to grieve excessively, but he doesn't say to suppress grief entirely. The key is balance.

I think the Buddha's ideas still hold great meaning for us. His message that death is universal helps us accept the inevitable. His advice not to let grief consume us is valuable. At the same time, the modern texts remind us that we need support from others, that we need to express our feelings, and that everyone grieves differently. So perhaps we can combine the wisdom of the Buddha with modern understanding to help people deal with grief better.

Now let's look at the "Writing" activity. You have to write about one of these topics: 1. Teaching someone to understand a new or difficult idea 2. Helping each other to get over difficult times 3. Thinking about oneself as unique, or as one among billions of others

This is for you to write at home. Think about the ideas in the text that are relevant to these topics. For example, for the first topic, the Buddha's method of teaching Kisa Gotami is a perfect example. He didn't just tell her the answer; he made her discover it herself. For the second topic, think about how the people in Kisa Gotami's neighborhood related to her, and how we can help others in grief. For the third topic, think about the Buddha's message that all mortals are subject to death - we are all the same in this regard, we are all part of humanity.

Now students, we have one more important section to cover - the poem "For Anne Gregory" by William Butler Yeats. This poem is given at the end of the chapter, and we should understand it as well.

The poem is a conversation between a young man and a young woman. They are arguing about love. The young man says that young men will fall in love with the young woman because of her beautiful yellow hair - he compares it to "great honey-coloured ramparts at your ear." He says that young men are thrown into despair by her golden hair. But he says they love her for her yellow hair, not for herself alone.

The young woman replies that she can get a hair dye and change her hair to any colour - brown, black, or carrot. Then young men might love her for herself alone, not for her yellow hair.

Then the young man says he heard an old religious man say that only God can love someone for themselves alone, not for their yellow hair.

Now let's answer the questions about the poem.

Question 1: What does the young man mean by "great honey-coloured /Ramparts at your ear?" Why does he say that young men are "thrown into despair" by them?

The young man is describing the young woman's yellow hair. He calls it "ramparts" - which are like high walls around a castle - because her hair frames her face and is so striking, so beautiful, that it seems like a fortress. "At your ear" means the hair that falls near her ears. He says young men are thrown into despair by this because her beauty is so overwhelming that they fall desperately in love with her, but they love her for her looks, not for who she really is.

Question 2: What colour is the young woman's hair? What does she say she can change it to? Why would she want to do so?

The young woman's hair is yellow - golden yellow. She says she can change it to brown, black, or carrot (which is orange-red). She would want to do this because she wants to be loved for herself alone, not for her physical appearance. She wants someone to love her for who she is inside, not for her hair colour.

Question 3: Objects have qualities which make them desirable to others. Can you think of some objects and say what qualities make one object more desirable than another?

This is a discussion question, students. Think about phones, cars, clothes, etc. For example, a phone might be desirable because of its camera quality, its battery life, its brand, its look. A car might be desirable because of its speed, its comfort, its safety features, its mileage. A dress might be desirable because of its design, its colour, its fabric, its price. When selling something, you emphasize the qualities that would appeal to buyers.

Question 4: What about people? Do we love others because we like their qualities, whether physical or mental? Or is it possible to love someone "for themselves alone"? Are some people 'more lovable' than others?

This is a deep question for discussion. Think about different kinds of love: - A parent's love for a newborn baby - the baby has no qualities yet, but the parent loves the baby unconditionally. - A parent's love for a child who is mentally or physically challenged - this love is not based on the child's qualities. - A parent's love for a clever child or a prodigy - is this love based on the child's intelligence? - Our love for a film star, a sportsperson, or a politician - do we love them for themselves or for their talents and fame? - Our love for a friend or sibling - is this based on their qualities or on who they are? - Our love for a pet - does the pet love us for our qualities, or do we love the pet unconditionally?

Question 5: Is it possible to separate the dancer from the dance? Can we separate the person from how they look, sound, walk?

This is another deep question. Think about how you or a friend or family member has changed over the years. Has your relationship changed? If someone changes physically - gets older, loses their looks - do we love them less? If someone changes their personality, do we love them differently? Yeats is asking whether we can ever truly love someone for themselves alone, separate from all their physical attributes and qualities.

Now students, we have covered the entire chapter. Let me give you a quick summary of what we learned today.

In this chapter, we learned about Gautama Buddha and his first sermon at Benares. We read the story of Kisa Gotami, who lost her only son and was so grief-stricken that she went from house to house asking for medicine to bring him back. The Buddha gave her a task - to get mustard-seed from a house where no one had ever died. She discovered that every house has experienced death, and she realized that her grief was selfish because death is universal. The Buddha's sermon teaches us that life is full of suffering and death is inevitable, but the wise do not grieve because they understand this truth. We learned that excessive grief only harms us and doesn't bring back the dead. We also compared the Buddha's teachings with modern ideas about grief and found that his wisdom is still relevant. Finally, we read the poem by Yeats about love and discussed whether we can love someone for themselves alone, separate from their physical qualities.

Students, I hope this lesson has helped you understand the chapter thoroughly. Remember, the key message of this chapter is that death is a part of life, and while we will inevitably lose loved ones, we should not let grief consume us. We should find peace by understanding the nature of life and by caring for each other. Thank you for listening attentively. Have a great day, and make sure you revise what we learned today!