NCERT · Class 10 · English · First Flight: The Sermon at BenaresHow does grief affect a person, and how can one overcome it according to the Buddha?

According to Gautama Buddha, grief and sorrow have a severely detrimental effect on a person's physical and mental well-being. When an individual gives in to excessive grief and lamentation over the loss of a loved one, their body becomes sick, pale, and weak, and they lose their peace of mind. Furthermore, weeping and mourning neither bring the dead back to life nor provide any solace; instead, it only multiplies the person's pain, suffering, and distress. To overcome grief, the Buddha teaches that one must accept the universal reality of death and human mortality with calmness and composure. By rooting out the arrow of lamentation, complaint, and grief, and by attaining inner peace of mind through wisdom and spiritual understanding, a person becomes free from sorrow and attains ultimate blessedness and peace.