The Sermon at Benares — RBSE Class 10 English (First Flight)
A mother, mad with grief, carries her dead child from door to door begging for a medicine to bring him back. The Buddha does not deny her pain — he sends her on a strange errand that teaches her, and us, the hardest truth of all: death comes to everyone, and no life escapes it. This chapter is that timeless lesson in acceptance.
1. Who was the Buddha?
Gautama Buddha (born Siddhartha Gautama, c. 563 BCE) was an Indian prince who was shielded from all suffering by his father. At twelve he was sent for schooling; at about twenty-five, seeing for the first time a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a wandering monk, he was shaken by the reality of suffering and death. He left his palace, wife and son to seek "enlightenment" — an understanding of suffering.
After wandering for seven years, he meditated under a peepal (fig) tree at Bodh Gaya until, on the seventh day, he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha ("the Awakened One" / "the Enlightened One"). He then went to Benares (Varanasi), where he preached his first sermon.
2. The story of Kisa Gotami
A woman named Kisa Gotami lost her only son and, wild with grief, carried the dead child from house to house asking for medicine to bring him back to life. People thought she had lost her senses. At last a man directed her to the Buddha.
The Buddha told her he could help — but she must first fetch him a handful of mustard seeds. However, there was one condition: the seeds must come from a house "where no one — no son or daughter, parent or servant — has ever died."
3. The lesson she learns
Kisa Gotami went from house to house. People readily offered her the mustard seeds — but in every single house, someone had died. "The living are few, but the dead are many," she was told again and again. She could not find a single home untouched by death.
Slowly the truth dawned on her: she was being selfish in her grief — death is common to all. No one escapes it. Comforted by this understanding, she gave up her hopeless search, buried her child, and returned to the Buddha, who taught her:
The world is afflicted with death and decay; the wise do not grieve, knowing the nature of the world. Weeping and grieving cannot bring back the dead; instead they only bring more pain and harm to the body. One who overcomes sorrow and gives up grief will find peace of mind and be blessed.
4. Themes
- Death is inevitable and universal — no one, however powerful or beloved, escapes it.
- Acceptance brings peace — grief cannot undo death; wisdom lies in accepting the nature of life.
- Overcoming sorrow — clinging to grief only harms us; letting go brings calm and blessing.
- Compassion and the sharing of suffering — realising that others suffer too eases our own pain.
5. Closing thought
The Buddha's genius in this sermon is not to argue Kisa Gotami out of her grief, but to let her discover the truth herself through the mustard-seed errand. When she sees that every home has known death, her private sorrow becomes part of a shared human condition, and that recognition brings her peace. The message is gentle but unflinching: we cannot escape death, but we can escape being destroyed by grief — by accepting the nature of the world and letting sorrow go.
For the RBSE board, remember the key events of the Buddha's life (the four sights, leaving the palace, enlightenment under the tree, the sermon at Benares), the story of Kisa Gotami and the mustard seeds, and the teaching that death is universal and that peace comes from accepting it. Value-based questions on grief, acceptance and wisdom are common.
