Sermon at Benares

• A sermon can be different from a lecture or a talk
• Sermon:

  • A religious or moral talk
• The word "sermon" can also be used in a negative way or as a joke
• Meanings of words and phrases:

  • Afflicted with: affected by suffering, disease or pain
  • Be composed: to be calm and at peace
  • Desolation: an area which is filled with deep sorrow
  • Lamentation: expression of sorrow
  • Procure: to obtain
  • Be subject to: to be under the influence of something
• Sermon on the Mount:

  • Delivered by Gautama Buddha (563 B.C. – 483 B.C.)
• Gautama Buddha:

  • Began life as a prince named Siddhartha Gautama in northern India
  • Chanced upon a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession, and a monk begging for alms, which led him to seek enlightenment
  • Sat under a peepal tree and vowed to stay until enlightenment came
  • Renamed the tree the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom) after becoming enlightened
  • Preached his first sermon at the city of Benares on the River Ganges
• Kisa Gotami:

  • Had an only son who died
  • Asked the Buddha for medicine to cure her son
  • Was asked to procure mustard seed from a house where no one had lost a loved one
  • Realized the commonality of death and the need to overcome selfishness
• Buddha's teachings:

  • Mortals in this world are troubled, brief, and combined with pain
  • All living beings are subject to death
  • Wise individuals do not grieve, knowing the terms of the world
  • Seeking peace involves overcoming sorrow and selfishness
• Grief is an emotion natural to all types of loss or significant change
• Feelings and behaviours commonly experienced after the death of a loved one include:

  • Sadness (not necessarily manifested by crying)
  • Anger (frustration at not being able to prevent the death)
  • Guilt and self-reproach
  • Anxiety (fear of not being able to care for oneself)
  • Loneliness (reminders throughout the day of the absence of the loved one)
  • Fatigue
  • Disbelief (particularly in sudden deaths)
• Ways to help others experiencing grief:

  • Reach out to others, but understand some may not want help
  • Be patient and let the grieving person know you care and are there to support them
• There is no set form for grief, and no 'right' way to express it

  • It is wrong to expect a systematic progression through stages of grief
  • Focus on what can be done for one another as a source of consolation