Chapters
The Sermon at Benares |For Anne Gregory
1- The Sermon at Benares
Summary
Gautama Buddha, born as Siddhartha Gautama around 563 B.C. in northern India, began his life as a prince. At twelve, he studied the sacred Hindu scriptures, and by sixteen, he married a princess, living a luxurious life for about ten years. Around the age of twenty-five, Siddhartha, previously sheltered from the harsh realities of the world, encountered a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession, and a monk while hunting. These encounters deeply affected him, leading him to leave his royal life in search of enlightenment about the suffering he had witnessed.
For seven years, he wandered, seeking wisdom, until he finally sat under a peepal tree, vowing not to rise until he achieved enlightenment. After seven days, he reached enlightenment, renaming the tree the Bodhi Tree, or the Tree of Wisdom. He then began teaching and sharing his newfound understanding, becoming known as the Buddha, or the Enlightened One.
NCERT Class 10 English | Ch-8| The Sermon at Benares |For Anne Gregory
One of Buddha’s teachings is illustrated through the story of Kisa Gotami, a grieving mother whose only son had died. In her sorrow, she sought medicine to revive him, but her neighbors, recognizing her despair, could only offer sympathy. Eventually, she was directed to Buddha, who told her to bring mustard seeds from a household that had not experienced death. However, as she searched, Kisa Gotami realized that every home had lost a loved one, teaching her that death is a universal experience.
Through this, the Buddha imparted a lesson on the nature of life: all living beings are subject to death, just as ripe fruits are destined to fall. He explained that mourning and lamentation cannot bring back the dead, but instead, lead to more suffering. True peace comes from accepting the impermanence of life and freeing oneself from grief and sorrow. Buddha's wisdom emphasized that understanding the inevitability of death can lead to inner peace and liberation from suffering.
For Anne Gregory -Summary
This poem, titled "For Anne Gregory" by W.B. Yeats, explores themes of love, beauty, and the nature of human attraction. It reflects on the idea that people often value others based on superficial qualities rather than for their true selves.
Explanation:
Stanza 1: The poem begins with a young man expressing despair because he is captivated by the "great honey-coloured ramparts" (a metaphor for golden hair) of a woman’s ear. The young man admits that his love is not for the woman's true self but rather for her striking physical feature, her yellow hair.
Stanza 2: The woman responds by saying she can easily change her hair color to brown, black, or even carrot (red). By doing this, she suggests that young men might then love her for who she truly is, rather than being infatuated with her physical appearance. Her words hint at the notion that external beauty can be altered, but the desire to be loved for one's inner self remains.
Stanza 3: The speaker (likely the poet or an elder) recalls hearing an old religious man declare that only God can love someone for their true self, beyond physical attributes like yellow hair. This statement emphasizes the idea that human love is often conditional and influenced by outward appearances, while divine love is unconditional and based on the essence of a person.
Themes:
Superficial Attraction: The poem suggests that human love is often based on external beauty, represented by the woman's yellow hair, rather than on inner qualities.
Identity and Self-Worth: The woman’s response highlights the tension between how she is perceived by others and her desire to be valued for her true self.
Divine Love vs. Human Love: The final stanza contrasts human love, which is often shallow, with the idea of divine love, which sees and loves the true essence of a person.
In summary, "For Anne Gregory" reflects on the nature of love, questioning whether people can truly be loved for who they are rather than for their physical attributes. The poem ends on a somewhat bittersweet note, suggesting that only a higher, divine love can see beyond the surface.
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