All men are subject to sickness, the poor as well as the rich, the ignorant and the wise. All having bodies may become diseased."
And Siddhattha thought, "How vain are the pleasures of life."
A little further on they met four men carrying a corpse. Siddhattha, beholding for the first time a lifeless body, inquired: "What is this they carry? There are streamers and garlands of flowers, but the men are overwhelmed with grief."
Channa replied: "This is a dead man; life has gone from him; his lips are stilled; those who loved him will bury him."
"Is this the only dead man, or are there others in the world who are dead?"
"All over the world men die," answered Channa. "All who begin life must pass away. There is no escape from death."
At these words Siddhattha exclaimed: "O worldly men! How vain is your delusion! Your body will become dust, yet how thoughtlessly you live your lives!"
Observing the deep impression these sights had made on Siddhattha, Channa drove back to the city. As they passed by the palaces of the nobility, Kisa Gotami, a young princess and niece of the king, seeing Siddhattha, exclaimed:
"Happy the father that begot thee, happy the mother that nursed thee, happy the wife that calls thee husband!"
Hearing this greeting, the prince replied:
