On his return to the palace he was still very dissatisfied and was now thhinking more often. The king seeing him so changed became very sad. But once again the prince asked for his permission to go out of the palace to see more life in the city. The king agreed as it was of no use trying to stop his son. This time, wearing the clothes of noblemen the prince and Channa went out from the palace walking in many parts of Kapilavatthu. Then he saw a few people coming along the street crying while four men at the back were carrying a plank on which a very thin man lay flat and still. He was like a stone, never saying a word. Then the people went a little farther, rested the person down a pile of wood and set the wood on fire. The man did not move as the flames were burning the wood from all sides.
"What is this Channa? Why does that man lie there so still allowing these people to burn him up?" "he does not know anything. He is dead," replied channa. "Dead! Channa, Is this called death? And everyone has to be dead like that man?"
"yes, my dear prince, all living things must die someday. No one can stop death from coming," replied Channa. The prince was shocked and surprised and he could not say anything more. He thought that it was a terrible thing that such a thing called death should come to everybody, even kings, and sons of kings. Was there no way to stop it? He went home in silence and began to think in his own room in the palace the whole day. He was very sorry and sad and said. "everybody in the world must same day die; no one has found out how to stop it. O, there must be a way to stop it. I must find it out and help the whole world."
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