Gotami understand the second time that she failed to understand the first time? Was this what the Buddha wanted her to understand? . Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time?
In what way did the Buddha change her understanding? . How do you usually understand the idea of ‘selfishness’? Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that she was being ‘selfish in her grief ’?
I. This text is written in an old-fashioned style, for it reports an incident more than two millennia old. Look for the following words and phrases in the text, and try to rephrase them in more current language, based on how you understand them. give thee medicine for thy child Pray tell me Kisa repaired to the Buddha there was no house but someone had died in it kinsmen Mark !
II. You know that we can combine sentences using words like and , or , but, yet and then . But sometimes no such word seems appropriate. In such a case we can use a semicolon (;) or a dash (—) to combine two clauses.
She has no interest in music; I doubt she will become a singer like her mother. The second clause here gives the speaker’s opinion on the first clause. Here is a sentence from the text that uses semicolons to combine clauses. Break up the sentence into three simple sentences.
Can you then say which has a better rhythm when you read it, the single sentence using semicolons, or the three simple sentences? For there is not any means by which those who have been born can avoid dying; after reaching old age there is death; of such a nature are living beings. The Buddha’s sermon is over years old. Given below are two recent texts on the topic of grief.
Read the texts, comparing them with each other and with the Buddha’s sermon. Do you think the Buddha’s ideas and way of teaching continue to hold meaning for us? Or have we found better ways to deal with grief? Discuss this in groups