CBSE Important Questions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 8: The Sermon at Benares focuses on the key themes, messages, and teachings of Lord Buddha. This chapter highlights the concept of suffering, impermanence, and the path to enlightenment.
By solving these important questions, students can gain a deeper understanding of the lesson’s moral values and philosophical insights. These questions also help in improving comprehension and preparing effectively for exams.
CBSE Important Questions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 8 Overview
The Sermon at Benares is an excerpt that highlights the teachings of Lord Buddha. The chapter narrates the story of Gautama Buddha’s journey from being a prince to becoming an enlightened teacher. It focuses on his first sermon at Benares, where he explains the inevitability of death and suffering.
Through the story of Kisa Gotami, who grieves the loss of her only son, Buddha teaches the lesson of detachment and the impermanence of life. The sermon emphasizes that sorrow is universal and can only be overcome by wisdom, self-awareness, and following the path of righteousness.
CBSE Important Questions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 8 The Sermon at Benares
Here are the important questions for CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 8 - The Sermon at Benares:
1. a. When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it?
b. Kisa Gotami again goes from house to house after she speaks with the Buddha. What does she ask for then? Does she get it? Why or why not?
c. Why was Kisa Gotami sad? What did she do in her hour of grief?
Ans.
a. After the death of her only son, Kisa Gotami was overcome with grief. She carried the dead body of her son in her arms and went from door to door asking for medicine to cure her child, but nobody could provide any medicine for there is no such medicine available which can bring a dead person back to life.
b. Gautama Buddha asks Kisa to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where death had never knocked at the door. Kisa Gotami went from door to door, but couldn’t find a single house where death had not taken a beloved one away. She could not get it as death is inevitable and anyone who is born is bound to die one day.
c. Kisa Gotami was sad because son had died. In her hour of grief, she went from house to house in search of medicine to cure him. She had lost her senses and became selfish in wanting her son back. Then a man suggested her to go to the Buddha as he was the only one who could help her.
2. Who was Gautama Buddha? When and where was he born?
Ans. Gautama Buddha, formally named Siddhartha Gautama by his parents, was a Prince. He was born in 563 B.C - 483 B.C in North India.
He had been shielded from the sufferings of the world. He attained enlightenment at the age of 32 under a fig tree and named the tree the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom) where he began to teach and to share his new understandings.
3. Mention the incident which prompted Prince Siddhartha to become a beggar.
Ans. At the age of twenty-five, he came across a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession and a monk asking for alms. This was his first encounter with the harsh realities of life. This incident moved him so much that he became a beggar and went in search of spiritual knowledge.
4. How did Buddha teach Kisa Gotami the truth of life?
Ans. The Buddha taught Kisa Gotami the truth of life by asking her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where people had not lost a loved one to death. Kisa Gotami’s futile search made her realize the truth of life, and one can attain peace only by accepting the truth.
5. What did the Buddha do after he had attained enlightenment? Why?
Ans. The Buddha saw sorrow and pain around him and left his house to seek the truth of life. After wandering for seven years, he finally sat under a fig tree and meditated until he obtained enlightenment'.
After he achieved enlightenment, he renamed the tree the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom) and began to teach and to share his new understandings. At that point, he came to be known as the Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened).
6. Why did the Buddha choose Benares to preach his first sermon?
Ans. The Buddha chose to preach his first Sermon in Benares as the city of Benares is regarded as the holiest of the dipping places on the River Ganges. His sermon had been preserved. It reflected the Buddha's wisdom on one inscrutable kind of suffering.
7. What did the Buddha want Kisa Gotami to understand?
Ans. The Buddha wanted Kisa Gotarni to understand that death is the truth of life and is inevitable. Death is common to all and no one can avoid dying. No one can save their relatives. That's why wise people do not grieve as they know the terms of the world and have accepted reality.
8. In The Sermon at Benares, Buddha preached that death is inevitable and we need to overcome the suffering and pain that follows. How should one cope with the death of a loved one?
Ans. Losing someone or something you love or care about is very sad and painful. The more significant the loss the more grief grips us. Death is always unwelcomed. The sorrow is all the more, when death is unexpected.
We still must realize that we are all mortals and death is certain. However, much one grieves and laments, one cannot bring the dead back to life. All the riches of the world cannot make dead man. So, one should accept the inevitability of the phenomenon of death. One should move forward in life and loss with strength.
9. Describe the journey of Siddhartha Gautama becoming the Buddha.
Ans. Gautam Buddha was a prince. His parents had named him Siddhartha. He had been shielded from the sufferings of the world. At the age of twenty five he saw a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms. These sights moved him so much that he at once went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows he had witnessed.
He wandered for seven years and finally sat down under a fig tree, where he received enlightenment after seven days. He renamed the tree as the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom). He himself came to be known as the Buddha (The Awakened or the Enlightened). The Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Benares, the most holy dipping places on the River Ganges. The Sermon was preserved. It reflects the Buddha's wisdom about one inscrutable kind of suffering.
10. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: Kisa Gotami had an only son, and he died. In her grief she carried the dead child to all her neighbours, asking them for medicine, and the people said. "She has lost her senses, The boy is dead." As last, Kisa Gotami met a man who replied to her request" I cannot give thee medicine for thy child, but I know a physician who can.' And the girl said. 'Pray tell me, sir, who is it?” And the man replied, "Go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha."
a. What did she do in her grief? b. Who responded to her request? c. Which word in the passage means the same as ‘deep sorrow? d. Did Buddha cure her son? Ans. a. In grief she carried the dead child to all her neighbours.
b. An old man responded to her request.
c. The word is grief.
d. No, he didn't cure her son bat made her realize that death is inevitable.
Benefits of Solving CBSE Important Questions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 8
Better Understanding of the Chapter – Practicing important questions helps students grasp the key themes, messages, and moral lessons of The Sermon at Benares.
Exam Preparation – These questions cover all significant aspects of the chapter, making revision easier and ensuring readiness for exams.
Improved Answer Writing Skills – Answering different types of questions enhances students’ ability to write structured and well-explained answers.
Concept Clarity – Important questions focus on core ideas like life, death, suffering, and detachment, reinforcing students’ understanding of Buddhist teachings.
Time Management – Regular practice allows students to manage time effectively during exams, improving their speed and accuracy.
Boosts Confidence – Solving these questions gives students confidence in their preparation and reduces exam-related stress.
