If you are revising for your Class 10 board exams, these the sermon at benares class 10 notes will guide you through Gautama Buddha’s first teaching, Kisa Gotami’s journey from grief to wisdom, and the chapter’s core message about the universality of death. The chapter is part of the First Flight textbook for the current academic session.
Class 10 English Notes hub connects you to the rest of your prose and poetry revision.
Why Benares? The Setting of Buddha’s First Sermon
Before understanding the sermon, you need to know who the Buddha was and why the city of Benares matters in the context of his life. The chapter opens with the biography of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha. (NCERT, p. 1)
Siddhartha lived a sheltered royal life. While out hunting, he chanced upon four sights: a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk. These encounters exposed him to human suffering, prompting him to leave his royal life and seek enlightenment.
He wandered for seven years and finally sat under a peepal tree, vowing to stay until he found answers. After seven days, he attained enlightenment, renamed the tree the Bodhi Tree, and began teaching. (NCERT, p. 1)
The Buddha delivered his first sermon at Benares, the holiest of the dipping places on the River Ganges. This sermon addresses the nature of death and the futility of prolonged grief.
The image below depicts the Buddha beneath the Bodhi tree, representing the moment he attained the wisdom that equipped him to deliver this sermon.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sermon | A religious or moral talk. |
| Dipping places | Places for bathing, specifically along the holy River Ganges. |
| Bodhi Tree | The peepal tree renamed by the Buddha, meaning ‘Tree of Wisdom’. |
Kisa Gotami’s Journey: From Madness to Wisdom
The heart of this chapter is Kisa Gotami’s transformation. Her story is the practical demonstration of the Buddha’s teaching. Here is the structured summary of her journey:
The illustration below shows a figure expressing deep sorrow, representing Kisa Gotami’s initial state of grief and desperation when her only son died.
- Grief and Denial: Kisa Gotami’s only son died. In her denial, she carried the dead child to all her neighbours, asking for medicine to cure him. The people concluded she had lost her senses. (NCERT, p. 1)
- The Guide: A man told her he could not give medicine, but he knew a physician who could. When she asked who, he directed her to Sakyamuni, the Buddha. (NCERT, p. 1)
- The Mustard-Seed Condition: She went to the Buddha and asked for medicine. He asked for a handful of mustard-seed, adding one condition: it must come from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent, or friend. (NCERT, p. 1)
- The House-to-House Search: People offered her mustard-seed, but when she asked if anyone had died in their family, they all replied, “Alas! the living are few, but the dead are many.” There was no house untouched by death. (NCERT, p. 2)
- The Flickering Lights: Weary and hopeless, she sat watching the city lights flicker up and extinguish. She realised human lives do the same. She reflected, “How selfish am I in my grief! Death is common to all.” (NCERT, p. 2)
- Realisation: She understood that her personal grief blinded her to the universal reality of death. She accepted her son’s death, submitting all selfishness to find peace.
Theme Analysis: Death, Grief, and the Path to Peace
The chapter carries layered themes about mortality and acceptance. The Buddha did not simply give Kisa Gotami a command; he used analogies to show why his teaching holds true.
| Theme | What the chapter says | Evidence from text |
|---|---|---|
| Death is universal and inescapable | Everyone who is born will die; death cannot be prevented by anyone. | The Buddha compares mortals to ripe fruits and earthen vessels that inevitably break. (NCERT, p. 2) |
| Prolonged grief brings no peace | Weeping only increases pain and harms the body; it does not bring the dead back. | “Not from weeping nor from grieving will anyone obtain peace of mind.” (NCERT, p. 3) |
| Selfishness in grief blinds us | Focusing only on one’s own loss ignores the shared reality of human suffering. | Kisa Gotami realises, “How selfish am I in my grief!” (NCERT, p. 2) |
The Buddha uses analogies like falling fruits, broken pots, and an ox led to slaughter deliberately. This is a teaching method. Instead of lecturing Kisa Gotami, he uses comparisons from daily life so she can arrive at the truth herself. This experiential learning makes the wisdom stick, which is why the mustard-seed task mattered.
Character Sketches: Kisa Gotami and Gautama Buddha
Kisa Gotami
Kisa Gotami is a grieving mother who begins as irrational and desperate. She carries her dead son door to door asking for medicine, showing her inability to accept reality. However, she is capable of transformation. When sent to find a mustard seed from a house untouched by death, she discovers the universal nature of loss.
Her arc from blind grief to wisdom is the story. Her transformation is complete when she admits, “How selfish am I in my grief!”
Gautama Buddha
The Buddha is a compassionate but pragmatic teacher. He does not directly lecture Kisa Gotami about death when she first approaches him. Instead, he gives her a task: to bring mustard seed from a house where no one has ever died. This practical lesson forces her to discover the truth experientially.
His sermon uses clear analogies to teach that “the wise do not grieve.”
Literary Devices: Analogies That Teach
The Buddha’s sermon relies heavily on comparisons to explain abstract truths. Here are the specific literary devices used, with exact quoted lines.
| Device | Quoted line | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | “As ripe fruits are early in danger of falling, so mortals when born are always in danger of death.” | Compares human mortality to ripe fruit ready to fall, showing death is natural and imminent. |
| Simile | “one by one mortals are carried off, like an ox that is led to the slaughter.” | Shows the helpless nature of mortals before the certainty of death. |
| Metaphor | “He who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, and complaint, and grief.” | Grief is pictured as a physical arrow lodged in the mind; it must be actively pulled out to find peace. |
| Analogy | “As all earthen vessels made by the potter end in being broken, so is the life of mortals.” | Every life ends, just as every clay pot eventually breaks. |
Important Quotes and What They Mean
Use these exam-ready quotations to support your answers.
| Quote | Speaker | Simple meaning |
|---|---|---|
| “The living are few, but the dead are many.” | Neighbours to Kisa Gotami | Every household has lost someone; death is more common than life. |
| “Death is common to all.” | Kisa Gotami | No one escapes death; it is a universal reality. |
| “Not from weeping nor from grieving will anyone obtain peace of mind.” | The Buddha | Prolonged grief brings no relief, only more suffering. |
| “He who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation.” | The Buddha | One must actively remove grief to find peace. |
Old-Fashioned Language in the Chapter
As part of your Class 10 Notes revision, use this table to map the archaic words the textbook flags. The formal style signals the text’s ancient origin. (NCERT, p. 4)
| Archaic word/phrase | Modern meaning |
|---|---|
| thee / thy | you / your |
| Pray tell me | Please tell me |
| repaired to | went to |
| kinsmen | relatives / family members |
| Mark! | Listen! / Pay attention! |
Key Vocabulary from the Chapter
These words appear in the NCERT activity box and are essential for writing accurate answers.
| Term | Meaning | Use in the chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Sermon | A religious or moral talk. | The Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares. |
| Desolation | Deep emptiness and sorrow. | Kisa Gotami sits in the “valley of desolation.” |
| Lamentation | Expression of grief. | Relatives look on “lamenting deeply.” |
| Afflicted | Affected by suffering or pain. | The world is afflicted with death and decay. |
| Mortals | Those bound to die. | The life of mortals is troubled and brief. |
| Inscrutable | Something which cannot be understood. | The sermon reflects wisdom on one inscrutable suffering. |
| Enlightenment | A state of high spiritual knowledge. | Siddhartha sought enlightenment to understand sorrow. |
Textbook Exercise Questions: What to Focus On
The Thinking about the Text section (NCERT, p. 3) tests whether you understand the shift in Kisa Gotami’s mindset. Here is what your answers should contain:
- Q1 (Medicine Search): She asks for medicine to cure her dead son. She fails because the boy is already dead; medicine cannot revive him.
- Q2 (Mustard-Seed Search): She asks for mustard-seed from a house where no one has died. She fails because every house has Experienced a death.
- Q3 (Second Realisation): She understands that death is universal and inevitable. Yes, this is exactly what the Buddha wanted her to realise.
- Q4 (Why the Second Time): The Buddha changed her understanding through a practical experience rather than a direct lecture.
- Q5 (Selfishness): Kisa Gotami’s grief was selfish because she focused only on her own loss, ignoring that death is the universal fate of all. A full-marks answer should quote her self-realisation.
Common Mistakes Students Make in This Chapter
Avoid these errors to secure your marks. Check your answers against the corrections below.
| Mistake | Correct rule | How to check your answer |
|---|---|---|
| Writing she asked Buddha to revive her son. | She asked for medicine to cure him; she did not yet understand he could not be revived. | Ensure your phrasing shows her denial of death, not a request for resurrection. |
| Writing Buddha refused to help her. | Buddha helped her by giving a task that taught the truth about death; he did not refuse. | State that the mustard-seed task was a teaching method. |
| Writing the sermon was about meditation. | The sermon was about the universality of death and the futility of grieving. | Mention ‘death’ and ‘grief’ as the core themes. |
| Confusing ‘enlightenment’ with education. | Enlightenment is high spiritual knowledge, not schooling. | Use the exact learned definition, not a synonym like ‘teaching’. |
| Writing the mustard seed had to be special. | The seed had to come from a house where no one had ever died. | Emphasise that the condition was about the household, not the seed itself. |
Exam Notes: How This Chapter Is Tested
Here are observed patterns on how literature questions from this chapter are framed:
- Character-sketch questions: Examiners reward evidence of Kisa Gotami’s transformation. Citing the moment she watches the city lights flicker and extinguish is the turning point that earns marks.
- Short-answer questions: “Why did Buddha send her to get mustard seed?” is a common query. The mark is awarded for explaining that the task was a teaching method, not a literal remedy.
- Theme answers: Students who quote one line from the sermon (e.g., “the wise do not grieve”) and explain it score higher than those who only paraphrase.
- Value-based questions: These often ask what lesson the chapter teaches. Your answer should centre on the acceptance of death as universal, not on religious doctrine.
Comparison: Buddha’s Sermon vs Modern Grief Counselling
NCERT provides two supplementary texts on grief: “A Guide to Coping” and “Good Grief” (NCERT, pp. 4-5). Comparing them with the Buddha’s sermon reveals an interesting synthesis.
The textbook illustration below shows two individuals experiencing grief, reflecting the modern view that grief is a personal emotion.
| Aspect | Buddha’s Sermon | Modern Grief Texts |
|---|---|---|
| View of grief | Natural but should be overcome through understanding. | Natural and personal; there is no ‘right’ way. |
| Process | One realisation leading to acceptance. | Etzioni’s text rejects fixed stages; focus on what we do for others. |
| Advice to the grieving | Seek wisdom and accept death’s universality. | Reach out, share feelings, and be patient. |
| Closure | Found by surrendering selfishness. | Found by living for others and accepting the loss. |
Both agree grief is universal, but Buddha frames acceptance as a spiritual insight, while modern texts frame it as a personal process.
Buddhist Wisdom in Tagore and Gibran
NCERT supplements this chapter with poetic extracts that align with the Buddha’s message about death and sorrow (NCERT, pp. 6-7). These are excellent for value-based answers.
Rabindranath Tagore reframes death as a transition rather than an end. In his poem, he writes that a death is “the putting out of the lamp because the dawn has come.” Just as you extinguish a lamp when the sun rises, death is not an extinction but a natural transition.
This aligns with the Buddha’s teaching that death is a natural part of life.
The image below illustrates Tagore’s metaphor of the lamp being extinguished at dawn.
Kahlil Gibran says joy and sorrow are inseparable. He notes, “Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.” The deeper sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. This complements the Buddha’s lesson: understanding sorrow is the path to true peace.
Quick Revision: The Chapter in Ten Points
Here is a scannable recap for the night before your exam:
- Buddha was Prince Siddhartha who renounced royal life after seeing suffering.
- He attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree and preached his first sermon at Benares.
- Kisa Gotami’s only son died; she carried his body seeking medicine.
- A man directed her to the Buddha.
- Buddha asked for mustard seed from a house where no one had died.
- Every house had lost someone; she realised death is universal.
- Watching the flickering city lights, she understood human lives flicker up and are extinguished.
- She realised her grief was selfish.
- Buddha’s sermon: death is certain for all; grieving does not bring peace.
- One must “draw out the arrow of lamentation” to find peace.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Sermon at Benares
Why is the chapter called ‘The Sermon at Benares’?
Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares, the holiest of the dipping places on the Ganges. The chapter contains that sermon’s teaching on death.
What did Kisa Gotami understand the second time that she failed to understand the first time?
The first time, she did not grasp that her son was truly dead. The second time, she understood that death is universal and happens to every family.
Why did the Buddha ask Kisa Gotami to bring mustard seed instead of advising her directly?
He wanted her to discover the truth experientially. Sending her house to house was a teaching method that made her realise the universality of death herself.
What is the meaning of ‘the arrow of lamentation’ in the Buddha’s sermon?
It is a metaphor comparing grief to a physical arrow lodged in the mind. The Buddha says one must actively remove this arrow to attain peace.
What does the chapter teach about selfishness in grief?
It teaches that focusing only on one’s own loss is selfish because death is the shared fate of all mortals. Accepting this brings peace.
How is the Buddha’s view of grief different from modern grief counselling?
The Buddha frames acceptance as a spiritual insight into life’s universal nature. Modern texts frame grief as a personal process without a fixed ‘right’ way.
For the official source text, you can refer to the NCERT First Flight textbook page for Chapter 8. You can also explore our main CBSE Notes hub for more revision material.
Reference: NCERT Class 10 English textbook, chapter The Sermon at Benares.
Explore Class 10 English Notes
- Class 10 English Notes
- Class 10 CBSE Notes
- CBSE Notes for Classes 1 to 12
- Previous: The Necklace
- Next: The Proposal
Related chapters:
- A Letter to God notes
- A Triumph of Surgery notes
- Nelson Mandela notes