class 10 English - Very Important & Question Anwers

Short Answer Type Questions (2-3 Marks)

Word limit: 30-40 words

Q1. Why did Prince Siddhartha Gautama leave his palace and renounce his royalty?

Ans: While out hunting, the Prince encountered a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms. These sights of suffering moved him so deeply that he left his luxurious life to seek “enlightenment” concerning the sorrows of the world.

Q2. What did Kisa Gotami ask for from her neighbors? Why did they think she had lost her mind?

Ans: After her only son died, Kisa Gotami went from house to house asking for medicine to bring him back to life. Neighbors thought she had lost her senses because it is impossible to revive a dead person.

Q3. What task did Buddha give to Kisa Gotami? What was the condition?

Ans: Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard seeds. The condition was that the seeds must be taken from a house where no one—be it a child, husband, parent, or friend—had ever died.

Q4. What did Kisa Gotami realize when she sat by the wayside watching the city lights?

Ans: She noticed the lights flickering and then extinguishing. She realized that human lives are just like those lights—they flicker for a while and are then extinguished. She understood that she was selfish in her grief, as death is common to all.

Q5. According to Buddha, how can a person seek peace of mind?

Ans: Peace of mind cannot be obtained through grieving or lamentation. On the contrary, grieving increases pain and makes the body suffer. One can only find peace by drawing out the “arrow” of lamentation, complaint, and grief.

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Long Answer Type Questions (5 Marks)

Word limit: 100-120 words

Q1. Describe the spiritual journey of Siddhartha Gautama from a Prince to the Buddha.

Ans: Prince Siddhartha lived a shielded life of luxury until the age of twenty-five. His encounter with the “four sights” (sickness, age, death, and a monk) acted as a turning point. He realized that the world is full of suffering. He left his wife, son, and kingdom to wander for seven years in search of truth. Finally, he sat under a Peepal tree and vowed to stay until he attained wisdom. After seven days, he achieved “Enlightenment” and began to teach his new understandings. He renamed the tree the ‘Bodhi Tree’ (Tree of Wisdom) and became known as the Buddha (The Awakened One). His first sermon at Benares was the first step in sharing this wisdom with humanity.

Q2. Why did Buddha choose the story of the ‘mustard seeds’ to teach Kisa Gotami?

Ans: Buddha knew that mere words would not convince a grieving mother. By asking her to find mustard seeds from a house untouched by death, he made her experience the truth herself. As Kisa Gotami went from door to door, she found that every family had lost a loved one. This practical exercise made her realize that she was not alone in her sorrow. It shifted her focus from her personal loss to the universal reality of mortality. Buddha’s method was compassionate and psychological; he helped her discover the truth rather than just telling it to her.

Q3. “Death is common to all; yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads him to immortality.” Explain the meaning of this statement.

Ans: This statement summarizes the core of Buddha’s sermon. The “valley of desolation” refers to the world where everyone is subject to death. Just as ripe fruits are in danger of falling and earthen vessels made by a potter eventually break, all living beings must die. However, “immortality” here does not mean living forever in a physical body. It refers to a state of mind where one has surrendered all selfishness and attachments. By accepting the truth of death and overcoming the ego, a person attains a spiritual peace that is eternal and beyond the cycle of suffering.

Q4. Contrast the behavior of Kisa Gotami before and after meeting the Buddha.

Ans: Before meeting the Buddha, Kisa Gotami was “blinded” by her grief. She was desperate, illogical (seeking medicine for a dead child), and perceived herself as the only victim of fate. She was in a state of deep “lamentation.” After following Buddha’s instructions and witnessing the universality of death, she became “awakened.” She realized her selfishness and stopped grieving. She returned to the Buddha not with a request for a miracle, but with a heart ready for spiritual guidance. Her transformation represents the shift from ignorance and attachment to wisdom and acceptance.

Q5. What are the various comparisons Buddha uses to explain the nature of life and death?

Ans: Buddha uses several simple yet powerful metaphors:

• Ripe Fruits: Just as ripe fruits are in early danger of falling, so mortals are always in danger of death.

• Earthen Vessels: Just as every vessel made by a potter ends in being broken, so is the life of mortals.

• Flickering Lights: Kisa Gotami observes that lives are like city lights that flicker and go out.

• The Ox to Slaughter: He mentions that as an ox is led to the slaughter, so is the life of every living being. Through these comparisons, Buddha emphasizes that death is a natural, inevitable, and unavoidable conclusion to life, and therefore, it is useless to grieve over it.