[2064]
"Indeed, this word of yours is true;
as you say, O sage (isi), so it is.
But I have sensual pleasures (kāmā) in no small measure,
and these are hard for one such as I to relinquish, O bhikkhu.
Just as an elephant sunk in the midst of a mire
cannot by itself manage to reach dry ground,
so I, sunk in the mire of sensuality,
do not follow the path (magga) of a bhikkhu.
Just as a mother and a father instruct their son,
thinking, 'How may he be happy?'
so too, venerable sir, instruct me,
that when I have passed away I may long be happy."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.