The Sermon at Benaras

What does she ask for the second time? 

   Upon seeing the Buddha and taking his advice, she goes from house to house asking for mustard seeds. The Buddha's condition was that the mustard seeds could only be procured from families having no deaths. Therefore, she failed the second time too. 

Briefly describe the life of Buddha before enlightenment and after enlightenment. 

   Buddha was born in North India as a prince named Siddhartha Gautama. When he was 12 years old, he went for schooling in Hindu sacred scriptures. He came back to the palace when he was 16 years old and married a princess. They were blessed with a son and then he lived happily for 10 years as befitted royalty. When he was about 25, he once went for hunting. On the way, he saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession, and finally a monk beggin for alms. He was filled with sorrow, he renouned everything and went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sufferings he had witnessed. 

   He wandered for 7 years and sat under a peepal tree till he achieved enlightenment. He renamed the peepal tree as the 'Bodhi tree'. He began to teach and share with people, his new understandings. He gave his first sermon at Benaras.