[35] Then, bhikkhus, King Bandhumā summoned the charioteer and said this: "My dear charioteer, did the prince enjoy himself in the park grounds? My dear charioteer, was the prince pleased with the park grounds?" "No, sire, the prince did not enjoy himself in the park grounds; no, sire, the prince was not pleased with the park grounds." "But, my dear charioteer, what did the prince see while going out to the park grounds?"
"Sire, while going out to the park grounds the prince saw a man afflicted, suffering, gravely ill, lying fallen in his own urine and excrement, being lifted up by some and laid down by others. Having seen him, he said this to me: 'My dear charioteer, what has happened to this man? His eyes are not like those of other men; his head is not like that of other men.' 'That, sire, is what is called a sick man.' 'But, my dear charioteer, why is he called a sick man?' 'That, sire, is called a sick man; perhaps he may recover from that affliction.' 'But, my dear charioteer, am I too subject to sickness, not passed beyond sickness?' 'Both you, sire, and we—all of us are subject to sickness, not passed beyond sickness.' 'Well then, my dear charioteer, enough of the park grounds for today; turn back from here to the inner palace.' 'Yes, sire,' I replied to Prince Vipassī, and I turned back from there to the inner palace. Sire, the prince, having gone to the inner palace, suffers and is dejected, brooding: 'Shame, it seems, sirs, upon this thing called birth (jāti), since for one who is born, aging (jarā) will appear, sickness will appear.'"
Then, bhikkhus, this occurred to King Bandhumā: "May Prince Vipassī not fail to rule the kingdom! May Prince Vipassī not go forth from the home life into homelessness! May the words of the brahmin soothsayers not come true!"
Then, bhikkhus, King Bandhumā provided Prince Vipassī with the five strands of sensual pleasure (pañca kāmaguṇā) to an even greater degree, in such a way that Prince Vipassī would rule the kingdom, in such a way that Prince Vipassī would not go forth from the home life into homelessness, in such a way that the words of the brahmin soothsayers would prove false. And there, bhikkhus, Prince Vipassī, supplied and endowed with the five strands of sensual pleasure, amused himself …
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.