Page 3 - LN3- MODULE-SERMON AT BENARES

Summary

Sermon is a religious talk delivered by a prophet or Saint. Here we have the journey of
Goutam Buddha from prince hood to his saintly life. He left the palace at the age of 25, after
seeing the sufferings of the world, to seek enlightenment. He wandered for seven years, here
and there, and under a peepal tree at Bodhgaya he got it. His first sermon was delivered at
Benaras as it was considered to be the holiest place because of the river Ganga.

He thinks that he who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, complaint and
grief. He who has drawn out the arrow has become composed, and will obtain peace of
mind; he who has overcome all such circumstances will be free from sorrow and be blessed.

Kisa Gautami
Kisa Gautami was grieving over the death of her son. She moved from door to door and at
last came to Buddha. She made him a humble request to make her son alive. Buddha said he
would do but he asked a handful of mustard seeds. He further commanded it must be taken
from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend.

She went from house to house but was unable to find one where nobody had died. She was
tired and hopeless and sat down at the wayside watching the light of the city as they
flickered up. And she realised that these lives flicker up for some time and are extinguished
again.

This way she was taught that the lives of mortals in this world are troubled and brief and
there is no means by which one can avoid deaths. As all earthen vessels made by the potter
are being broken, so is the life of mortals. Death is inevitable.

THE SERMON AT BENARES- SUMMARY
Gautama Buddha was born to a North Indian royal family as a prince and was
named Siddhartha Gautama. When he was twelve years old, he was sent to a
faraway place to study Hindu sacred scriptures and upon returning four years
later, he got married to a princess. Soon, they both had a son and they
continued to live the royal life for about ten years. The royals were shielded
from all the unpleasant experiences of the world until one day, on his way to

hunt, the Prince met a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession and a monk
begging for alms. These experiences acted as eye-openers for him and thus, he
left all the royalty behind to seek a higher sense of spiritual knowledge. Upon
attaining salvation, he began preaching. He gave his first sermon in the city of
Benares. There was a lady named Kisa Gotami whose son had died. Suffering
with unending pain, she went from house to house looking for a medicine to
bring her son back to life. People started thinking that the lady had lost her
senses. One day, she met a man who directed her towards Lord Buddha who
could possibly have a solution for her problem. Buddha asked her to look for
mustard seeds and the seeds must be procured from a house that had seen no