CBSE Class 10 First Flight Book Chapter 8 The Sermon at Benares Question Answers from previous years question papers (2019-2024)
The Sermon at Benares Previous Year Questions with Answers – Question Answers from Previous years Board Exam Question papers provide valuable insights into how chapters are typically presented in exams. They are essential for preparing for the CBSE Board Exams, serving as a valuable resource.They can reveal the types of questions commonly asked and highlight the key concepts that require more attention. In this post, we have shared Previous Year Questions for Class 10 English Chapter 8, “The Sermon at Benares”.
Questions which came in 2024 Board Exam
Q1. What message might the Buddha’s story hold for those who are in positions of power and privilege? [2024, 40-50 words]
Ans. The story imparts the message that death is the ultimate truth and is common to all irrespective of power and privilege. Every human is a mortal and all power, wealth and relatives are left behind.
Q2. You have been chosen to address the student gathering from the nearby schools, to speak on “How to Deal with Loss — Personal or Material”. Prepare the speech draft in not more than 120 words, with reference to the commonality of themes in John Benyman’s.
‘The Ball Poem’ and ‘A Sermon at Benaras’.
You may begin this way.
Good Morning everyone. Today, I’d like to discuss two pieces of literature that offer a powerful insight into how we can learn to deal with loss.
You may end in this way —
To conclude, I’d like to say that —
Thank you. [2024, 120 words]
Ans. Good morning everyone.
Today, I’d like to discuss two pieces of literature that offer a powerful insight into how we can learn to deal with loss. John Berryman’s poems, “The Ball Poem” and “A Sermon at Benares,” both explore themes of loss, whether it’s the loss of innocence, loved ones, or material things.
The young boy loses his ball and watches as it bounces and lands into the stream. He stands frozen because he cannot accept the separation from his possession. The poet comments that slowly, the boy will learn to accept loses and would cope up with the grief.
Kisa Gotami cannot bear the death of her son. When she fails to find a house that has not suffered the pain of losing a beloved to death, she realizes that she had been selfish in her love. Thus, she accepts the temporal nature of human life. She accepts the loss of her son and comes out of the sadness.
To conclude, I’d like to say that embracing these lessons can help us navigate our own losses with courage and wisdom.
Thank you.
Q3. Grief or sadness is an emotion natural to all types of loss or significant change. You have been asked to present an analysis of the approaches of Lencho and Kisa Gotami in dealing with their respective losses. Write this presentation draft including your insights, and comparing the approaches of both.
You may begin like this : One acknowledges that Lencho had unwavering faith in God whereas Kisa Gotami in her grief, believed that her son ………..however ……… .
(Reference — A Letter to God and The Sermon at Benares) [2024, 100-120 words]
Ans. One acknowledges that Lencho had unwavering faith in God, whereas Kisa Gotami in her grief believed that her son could be brought back to life, however, finally, she realized the ultimate truth of life. Both Lencho and Kisa experience loss and grief but their loses are of different kinds. The loss of crop faced by Lencho can be made good with financial help. However, Kisa’s loss is the loss of her son which is irreparable.
We also see that Lencho’s positive attitude and faith in God gave him courage. Despite not having any food for the entire year, he believed that God would help them and so, he wrote a letter to God for help. This shows him to be impractical because no one writes a letter to God seeking help, on the other hand, prayer is the mode to communicate with God. Lencho’s blind faith makes him overlook the help extended by the post office workers who act like messengers of God. He thinks that God has sent him the money.
Kisa Gotami is unable to bear her son’s untimely demise and carries the lifeless body looking for a cure to bring it back to life. However, when she is not able to find a household that has not lost a beloved, she realizes the truth behind humans being mortals and finds herself to be selfish in her love for her child. Thus, she accepts death as the truth of life.
Both approaches, though different in their methods and outcomes, highlight the complex and multifaceted nature of human response to loss.
Questions from the Chapter in 2023 Board Exams
Q1. What does the Buddha say about the world? [2023, 40-50 words]
Ans. According to Buddha the world is affected by suffering, death and decay.
Q2. What does Kisa Gotami ask for when she goes from house to house after she speaks with Buddha? Does she get it? Why? Why not? [2023, 40-50 words]
Ans. Kisa asks for Mustard seeds from such a house that has not lost a beloved. She is not able to find such a house because there is no such household that has not suffered the pain of losing a beloved to death.
Q3. Kisa Gotami went from door to door when her son died. What was the result? [2023, 40-50 words]
Ans. Kisa was looking for a cure for her son and her quest led her to Gautama Buddha. Buddha asked her to get mustard seeds from such a house that had not lost a beloved to death. Thus, she went from one house to another but failed to find such a house that had not suffered the pain of losing a beloved. Thus, Kisa realized that death is the ultimate truth and she accepted her son’s death.
Q4. What did Siddhartha Gautama come across by chance when he was about twenty-five years old? [2023, 40-50 words]
Ans. While out hunting, he chanced upon a sick man, then an aged man, then a funeral procession, and finally a monk begging for alms.
Q5. What did Kisa Gotami do after the death of her only son? [2023, 40-50 words]
Ans. After the death of her only son, Kisa Gotami was overwhelmed with sorrow. Unable to come to terms with this devastating loss, she found herself unable to think clearly. In a state of desperation and grief, she wandered through her neighborhood, holding her lifeless child, and requested everyone whom she met to provide her with some medicine that could bring her child back to life.
Q6. Through the story of Kisa Gotami, what did the Buddha try to preach to the common man? [2023, 100-120 words]
Ans. Buddha reiterated the ultimate truth of life – death. He wanted to inform the disciples that humans are mortals and death is the final truth. Kisa was a woman whose son died but she could not bear the truth and sought a medicine to bring him to life. People guided her to go to Buddha for a cure and he asked her to fetch mustard seeds from such a household that had not lost a beloved. When Kisa was unsuccessful at finding such a household, she realized that death and loss of a beloved was the ultimate truth. Thus she accepted her son’s death and came over the grief and sadness.
Q7. ‘As ripe fruits are in danger of falling early, so mortals when born are always in danger of death’. With this statement of the Buddha find out the moral values that Kisa Gotami learnt after the death of her child. [2023, 100-120 words]
Ans. Kisa Gotami was devastated when she lost her child and resisted accepting death. Buddha demonstrated to her through the aforementioned statement how pain is a universal trait of all living things and how death is unavoidable. No one is untouched. The wisest person, then, knows not to weep. By acknowledging the fleeting nature of life, one can achieve mental peace. This will enable one to conquer sadness and live a blessed life.
Q8. Why did Kisa Gotami meet the Buddha? How did Buddha change her life? [2023, 100-120 words]
Ans. Kisa’a son, her only child was lifeless and she roamed around the neighbourhood in search of a medicine. She was sent to the Buddha and she sought a remedy for her son. Buddha asked Kisa to get a handful of mustard seeds. The condition was that they should be from such a household that had not lost a beloved to death. When Kisa was unable to find such a household, she became aware of the ultimate truth that humans are mortals. Thus, she realized that she had been selfish in her grief. All humans are in danger of death and death is common to all. Thus, this lesson by Buddha helped Kisa accept her son’s demise and accept that no one can escape death.
Questions which came in 2022 Board Exam
Q1. How, according to Buddha, can one obtain peace of mind? [2022, 30-40 words]
Ans. Acceptance of the truth of life that humans are mortals and death is inevitable gives us peace of mind.
Q2. Grief is often seen as a measure of love. Justify your response to Buddha’s sermon. [2022, 30-40 words]
Ans. Buddha’s sermon does not undermine a mother’s love. I concur with the philosophy of life that Gautama Buddha has presented. People today have a lot to discover and move at the same pace as the rest of the world. People will experience stress if they don’t grasp the realities of life, which will negatively impact both their personal and professional lives. Humans must realise that everyone who is born will eventually have to pass away. Being depressed or crying over the loss serves no purpose. In such circumstances, people should maintain their composure and serenity. They ought to accept the facts and continue living.
Q3. “These sights so moved him that he at once went out into the world to seek enlightenment.” What were the sights that moved ‘him’? [2022, 30-40 words]
Ans. Prince Siddhartha felt very upset to see so much grief and sorrow in the world. He was so touched by seeing a sick person, an elderly person, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms that he made the decision to give up the world and pursue enlightenment.
Q4. Kisa Gotami admitted that she was being selfish in grief. Do you agree? Why/Why not? [2022, 30-40 words]
Ans. Selfishness means to think of one’s own interests, needs, and sufferings only, without any concern for others. Kisa was so deeply grieved by the death of her son that she did not realize the suffering undergone by others. It was a mother’s love that had blinded her. She could not see the reality of life but it is natural for anyone to be selfish at such times.
Q5. Why did Kisa Gotami become weary and hopeless? [2022, 30-40 words]
Ans. Kisa Gautami was deeply saddened by the death of her only son. She went to Buddha with her son, seeking a remedy to bring him back to life. Buddha asked her to get a handful of mustard seeds. He added a condition that the mustard seeds be from a house where no child, husband, parent or friend has died. Kisa Gotami went from house to house. She asked for mustard seeds but when she asked, “Has a son or daughter, father or mother died in your family?” There was no house in which no person had died. So Gautami was weary and hopeless.
Q6. How does Buddha bring about a different perspective in Kisa Gotami’s understanding of life? [2022, 120 words]
Ans. Kisa is seeking a cure for her lifeless son and is guided to the Buddha. Gautama realizes that the mother is not able to accept the death of her only child. Kisa seeks a medicine to bring her son to life. Gautama asks her to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house that has not lost a loved one. Kisa goes from door to door but is unable to find such a house that has not undergone the pain of losing a beloved to death. Thus, she realizes that death is the ultimate truth and feels that she had been selfish in her love for her son. Kisa accepted the truth and stopped grieving. She learned that a person who remains composed on the death of a kin obtains peace of mind. In such a way, Buddha brought about a different but meaningful perspective in Kisa Gotami’s understanding of life.
Questions that appeared in 2020 Board Exams
Q1. Describe the journey of Sidhartha Gautama becoming the Buddha. [2020, 100-150 words]
Ans. Buddha was born as Prince Sidhartha and lived the royal life till the age of twenty-five. On seeing painful sights, he left the comfort of princely life, his wife and son, and went in search of knowledge. After wandering for several years, he meditated under a peepal tree in Bodh Gaya, Bihar where he got enlightenment. This gave him the name of ‘Buddha’ or the enlighted one. Then he went to Sarnath and taught people. For the rest of his life, he travelled and preached. He spoke of ‘Tanha’, ‘Karma’ etc and died at Kushinagar.
Q2. What lesson did Kisa Gotami learn the second time that she had failed to learn the first time? [2020, 100-150 words]
OR
How did the Buddha make Kisa Gotami realise the reality of death? [2020, 100-150 words]
Ans. Kisa Gotami carried her lifeless son and went from door to door seeking a remedy to bring him back to life. Someone directed her to Sakyamuni who asked her to get a handful of mustard seeds from a house that had not lost a beloved to death. Kisa failed to procure the seeds because there was no such household that had not suffered the pain and grief of losing a kin. Thus, it dawned upon Kisa that she had been selfish in her love for her son. She understood that life was like a flickering light, we all are mortals and that death is the ultimate truth. This was the lesson that she could not understand the first time and Buddha wanted to teach her.
Q3. What lesson on death and suffering did the Buddha teach Kisa Gotami in the chapter, ‘The Sermon At Benares’? [2020, 100-150 words]
Ans. The lesson on death and suffering that Buddha taught Kisa Gotami through an activity is that death and suffering are common to all. He said that there was no way by which one could avoid death or suffering. He taught her that the life of mortals i.e., humans is troubled, brief and full of pain; the only way to obtain peace of mind is by giving up sorrow, complaints and grief. Surrendering all selfishness is the way by which one could attend immortality in this world. He taught her to look beyond her own grief and instead of directly telling it to her, he made her realise it herself.
2019 Exam Question and Answers from the chapter
Q1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
At twelve, he was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures and four years later he returned home to marry a princess. They had a son and lived for ten years as befitted royalty. [2019]
(a) Who does ‘he’ stand for?
Ans. ‘He’ stands for Gautam Buddha.
(b) What did ‘he’ study for four years?
Ans. ‘He’ studied Hindu sacred scriptures for four years.
(c) What does the phrase, ‘as befitted royalty’ mean?
Ans. It means that it was done in a way that was suitable for the royal people.
(d) What happened after ten years?
Ans. After ten years, Siddhartha renounced the world and royalty. The sorrows that he saw made him seek enlightenment.
Q2. How did Kisa Gotami realise that life and death is a normal process? [2019, 30-40 words]
Ans. When Kisa could not find a single household that had not experienced the pain of losing a beloved to death, she realised that life and death is a normal process. She thought that she had been selfish in her grief whereas death is common to all.
Q3. Why did Gotami go to the Buddha? What lesson did he teach her? [2019, 100-120 words]
Ans. Kisa wanted to bring her dead son to life. She sought help from every person whom she came across. Finally, she sought Buddha’s help. Gautama Buddha taught her that death is the ultimate truth and we are mortal beings.
Also see:
The Sermon at Benares Important Questions, NCERT Solutions, Extra Questions
The Sermon at Benares Summary, Explanation
The Sermon at Benares Character Sketches