Question 6 (i) - CBSE Class 10 Sample Paper for 2022 Boards [Term 2] - English - Solutions to CBSE Sample Paper - English Class 10 - English Class 10

Answer ANY SIX questions in 30-40 words each

What is the significance of the Buddha’s request for a handful of mustard seeds and the addition of a condition to it?

Answer

• Kisa Gautami had approached Gautam Buddha grieving the death of her son . This was when Buddha requested her to get a handful of mustard seeds. She was happy because she thought she could get mustard seeds from any house she knocked at.
• Buddha reiterated and added a condition stating that he wanted a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend.
• When her efforts were futile, it made her realize that death was universal and inevitable. She realized that suffering was a part and parcel of human life and you need to overcome the suffering and pain that follows. She learnt an important lesson from this experience that death comes to every family.
• Buddha taught her that no amount of weeping and pleading can bring the dead back to life. He explains that this was why wise men don't grieve, because they understand the universal nature of death and like a fruit from a tree meets its end, so shall the life of mortals.