The Sermon at Benares - Short Answers

 Short Answer Questions

1. Who was Gautama Buddha, and what was his early life like?

Gautama Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama, a prince in northern India. He was educated in Hindu sacred scriptures, married a princess, and lived a royal life. At twenty-five, he sought enlightenment after encountering suffering.

2. What event led Gautama Buddha to seek enlightenment?

Gautama Buddha was moved to seek enlightenment after seeing a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms. These sights revealed the reality of suffering to him.

3. What did Kisa Gotami seek from her neighbors, and what was their response?

Kisa Gotami sought medicine for her dead child from her neighbors. They responded by saying she had lost her senses because the boy was dead, and they couldn't help her.

4. Who did Kisa Gotami meet, and what advice did he give her?

Kisa Gotami met a man who advised her to go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha, for help. He suggested that the Buddha could provide the medicine she needed for her dead child.

5. What did the Buddha ask Kisa Gotami to bring him?

The Buddha asked Kisa Gotami to bring him a handful of mustard seed from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent, or friend.

6. What did Kisa Gotami discover during her search for the mustard seed?

Kisa Gotami discovered that there was no house where someone had not experienced death. Every family she visited had lost a loved one, highlighting the universality of death.

7. How did Kisa Gotami's perspective change after her search?

Kisa Gotami realized that her grief was selfish and that death is a common experience for everyone. She understood that life is fleeting and that selflessness leads to immortality.

8. What lesson did the Buddha impart about the nature of life and death?

The Buddha taught that life is troubled and brief, and death is inevitable for all. He emphasized that grieving and lamentation do not bring peace, and one should overcome sorrow to find peace of mind.

9. According to the Buddha, what should one do to obtain peace of mind?

To obtain peace of mind, one should draw out the arrow of lamentation, complaint, and grief. By overcoming sorrow and becoming composed, a person can be free from sorrow and be blessed.

10. What metaphor does the Buddha use to describe the certainty of death?

The Buddha uses the metaphor of ripe fruits being in danger of falling and earthen vessels being broken to describe the inevitability of death for all living beings.