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Bodhi-sattva - "Am I too subject to the same inexorable law about death? Is death unavoidable?"
Charioteer - "Deva! It is so. It cannot be avoided." With an air of indifference, the Bodhi-sattva said, "I have no more intention to proceed. Turn the chariot and take me back to the palace."
The king learnt all this. He was struck with deep anxiety. Check-posts were extended upto one yojana beyond city precincts, and strict orders were issued to the guards to be particularly vigilant. Meanwhile, all sorts of pleasures were provided for the diversion of the prince.
One day, the Bodhi-sattva was again on his way to the garden. The gods placed a monk on the road. The Bodhi - sattva saw the strange man who had a tonsured head and who had saffron clothes on. On seeing him, the Bodhisattva Said,
"Saumya! Who is this fellow? He has no cover of hair on his head and he puts on a different cloth."
Charioteer - "Deva ! He is renounced."
Bodhi-sattva - "Saumya! Why does a man get renounced."
Elaborating the objectives of a renounced person, the charioteer said,
"Deva ! This he does to practise virtue, to attain bliss, to perform good deeds, to acquire merit, to observe non-injury, and to have compassion for all. For these, he has renounced."
The Bodhi-sattva directed the charioteer to go near the monk. He observed him most closely, and asked him many. questions. He enquired about the merits of monkhood. He felt an attraction for the life of a monk. This time, he did not return to the palace at once, but proceeded to the garden.
(Elderly Buddhist monks who can freely recite Digha Nikāya, called Dīgha-bhāņa ka, are of the view that the
