[WFB Lecture Hall]The Life of the Buddha 16 - 佛圖網

Seeing the prince unmoved by the maids, Yodhāyī, as a friend, told the prince that love between the opposite sexes was the greatest joy in youth. He urged the prince to approach women for his status and fame.

The prince replied seriously. He was troubled by life's impermanence and people's suffering. He said the pleasure of female beauty came with old age, illness, and death, and was short - lived. Indulging in desires was like being a beast, and those charmed by women didn't see the danger. The prince stressed that yielding to desires was attachment, not a wise choice. The world was full of suffering, and the threat of impermanence was near. He couldn't drown in desires. These words made Yodhāyī ashamed.