Question Bank — First Flight 8 — The Sermon at Benares

Section A — MCQs (10 questions, 1 mark each)

1. What did Kisa Gotami first ask the Buddha for?
   a) A handful of mustard seed
   b) Medicine to cure her dead son
   c) Peace of mind
   d) Immortality

2. The Buddha asked Kisa Gotami to bring mustard seeds from a house where
   a) no one had ever died
   b) no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend
   c) everyone was immortal
   d) people were free from grief

3. Assertion (A): Kisa Gotami understood the universality of death only after visiting many houses.
   Reason (R): Every house she visited had lost someone, showing death is common to all.
   a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
   b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
   c) A is true but R is false.
   d) A is false but R is true.

4. According to the Buddha, mortals are compared to
   a) earthen vessels made by a potter
   b) ripe fruits that fall
   c) both (a) and (b)
   d) neither (a) nor (b)

5. The young man in the poem “For Anne Gregory” says young men love Anne for her
   a) kind nature
   b) yellow hair
   c) wealth
   d) wisdom

6. Assertion (A): The Buddha taught that grief cannot bring the dead back.
   Reason (R): Lamentation only increases pain and makes the body suffer.
   a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
   b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
   c) A is true but R is false.
   d) A is false but R is true.

7. What does the young woman in the poem offer to do to make young men love her for herself alone?
   a) Become more intelligent
   b) Dye her hair brown, black or carrot
   c) Wear different clothes
   d) Leave her wealth

8. The Buddha says wise people do not grieve because they
   a) know the terms of the world
   b) have no feelings
   c) can bring the dead back
   d) live forever

9. In the poem, the old religious man declares that only ______ can love a person for herself alone.
   a) a young man
   b) God
   c) a poet
   d) a parent

10. Kisa Gotami’s final realisation was that
    a) she was selfish in her grief
    b) death is common to all
    c) both (a) and (b)
    d) neither (a) nor (b)

Section B — Reference to Context (3 extracts, 4 marks each)

Extract 1

“Poor Kisa Gotami now went from house to house, and the people pitied her and said, ‘Here is mustard-seed; take it!’ But when she asked, ‘Did a son or daughter, a father or mother, die in your family?’ they answered her, ‘Alas! the living are few, but the dead are many.’”

(i) Who is the speaker of the words “Here is mustard-seed; take it!”?
(ii) Why did people pity Kisa Gotami?
(iii) Identify the literary device used in “the living are few, but the dead are many.”
(iv) What inference can be drawn about death from this extract?

Extract 2

“The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain. For there is not any means by which those that have been born can avoid dying; after reaching old age there is death; of such a nature are living beings.”

(i) Who delivered this sermon and to whom?
(ii) What does the Buddha mean by “mortals”?
(iii) Name the literary device used in the comparison of mortals with ripe fruits.
(iv) What does this extract teach about human life?

Extract 3

“Never shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear,
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.”

(i) Who is the speaker and who is being addressed?
(ii) What does “great honey-coloured ramparts” refer to?
(iii) Identify the literary device in “ramparts at your ear.”
(iv) What does the speaker believe about love in this stanza?

Section C — Short Answer (5 questions, 3 marks each)

1. Why did Kisa Gotami go from house to house the first time? Why did she fail?
2. What lesson did the Buddha want Kisa Gotami to learn through the mustard-seed condition?
3. How does the Buddha describe the fate of all mortals?
4. Why does the young man in the poem say no one can love Anne for herself alone?
5. What change occurs in Kisa Gotami’s thinking after she sits by the wayside at night?

Section D — Long Answer (2 questions, 6 marks each)

1. Write a character sketch of Kisa Gotami, highlighting how her understanding of life and death changes in the story.
2. “Death is common to all; yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads him to immortality who has surrendered all selfishness.” Explain this idea with reference to the Buddha’s sermon.

Section E — Language and Writing (2 questions, 4 marks each)

1. Rewrite the following sentences in modern English (from the unit):
   (a) “Give thee medicine for thy child.”
   (b) “Kisa repaired to the Buddha.”
   (c) “There was no house but some beloved one had died in it.”

2. Imagine you are Kisa Gotami after meeting the Buddha. Write a short diary entry (80–100 words) describing what you understood about grief and selfishness.