佛祖統紀 2.41

2.41

四十三年（辛未）太子白王將遊園林。前後導從出城東門。時淨居天化作老人。頭白背傴。見已還宮。愁思不樂。念言老至如電。我豈獨免。云何世人而不怖畏。他日復從城南門出。淨居天化作病人。身瘦腹大不能自持。太子念言。如此病苦云何不畏。即回車入宮。少時復從城西門出。淨居天化為死人。四人輿行室家哭送。太子語臣優陀夷曰。世間乃復有此死苦。云何於中而行放逸。即勅回車。最後出城北門。淨居天化作比丘。法服持鉢手執錫杖。太子問是何人。答言。我是比丘。修學聖道永得無為。言已騰虛空去。太子牽馬還宮。而自念言。我先見有老病死苦。常恐為此所逼。今見比丘。開悟我情示解脫路。即思惟方便欲求出家（因果經○按瑞應經云。十四歲遊四門○本行經云。太子問何人。答曰。我佛弟子沙門也。問何名沙門。答曰。三界兮擾擾。六趣兮昏昏。識心達本源。故號為沙門）。

Forty-third year (xinwei): The Prince informed the King that he was going to tour the parks and groves. Escorted before and behind, he exited through the eastern gate of the city. At that time, a Śuddhāvāsa deity transformed into an old man with white hair and a bent back. Seeing him, the Prince returned to the palace, sorrowful and joyless, reflecting: 'Old age arrives like lightning; how could I alone escape it? Why are the people of the world not terrified of it?' On another day, he exited again through the southern gate of the city. A Śuddhāvāsa deity transformed into a sick man, emaciated of body with a distended belly, unable to support himself. The Prince reflected: 'Why are people not terrified of such suffering of illness?' He immediately turned his carriage back into the palace. A short while later, he exited through the western gate of the city. A Śuddhāvāsa deity transformed into a dead man, carried by four men while his family wailed and escorted him. The Prince said to his minister Udāyin: 'The world actually contains this suffering of death; why does one indulge in heedlessness amidst it?' He immediately ordered the carriage turned back. Finally, he exited through the northern gate of the city. A Śuddhāvāsa deity transformed into a monk, wearing Dharma robes, holding an alms-bowl, and grasping a khakkhara staff. The Prince asked who he was. He answered: 'I am a monk, cultivating the holy path and forever attaining the unconditioned.' Having spoken, he ascended into the sky and departed. The Prince led his horse back to the palace and thought to himself: 'I previously saw the sufferings of old age, illness, and death, and always feared being oppressed by them. Now seeing this monk has awakened my mind and shown me the path of liberation.' He then contemplated expedient means, desiring to leave the household life (Sūtra on Cause and Effect. According to the Ruiying jing, he toured the four gates at age fourteen. The Benxing jing states: The Prince asked who he was. He replied, 'I am a disciple of the Buddha, a śramaṇa.' The Prince asked, 'What is meant by a śramaṇa?' He replied: 'The three realms are turbulent; the six destinies are benighted. Understanding the mind and penetrating the original source, one is therefore called a śramaṇa.').