The ideas and questions mentioned in the chapter are the following:
Questions:
1. Is there a life after death?
2. What was Buddha trying to teach Kisagotami?
3. How did the beggar convince sages to share food with them?
Ideas:
4. One should follow the principle of ahimsa.
5. One should renounce worldly pleasure in search of the truth.
Discussion:
1. What was Buddha trying to teach Kisagotami?
Explanation: Kisagotami had lost her son, so she was taken to Buddha. He requested Kisagotami to get mustard seeds from a house where no one had died. She found no such house, as someone – a son, daughter, father, grandfather, or grandmother had died in all of those houses. Buddha wanted to convey to her that death is a part of the cycle of life and that nothing can be done to avoid it. One must not lose hope after losing a loved one. This teaching is very important even today.
2. How did the beggar convince sages to share food with them?
Explanation: The sages worshiped the universal soul. The sages shared food with the beggar as he proved that he, too, was part of the universal soul. This shows that we must respect every living being as we are all a part of the universal soul or Brahman.
3. One should renounce worldly pleasure in search of the truth.
Explanation: Both Jainism and Buddhism teach that in the search for the truth, one must reject all worldly pleasures and material wealth. Buddha believed that life is full of suffering and unhappiness because of our desires.