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11. Devadatta: The Universal
Evil Tendency of Man |
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Shin Yatomi
SGI-USA
Study department leader
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In
the Lotus Sutra, Devadatta, the historical personage,
is used to typify what is, in fact, a universal
tendency within people. The ambition and the passion
for honor and wealth that drove Devadatta to his
ads of evil lurk in our lives as well, an inherent
part of human nature.
One cannot judge people on the basis of their words
alone. It is unfortunate that in the history of
mankind, appeals for greater purity and fidelity
to higher principles should so often be employed
by hypocritical people as tools to mislead others
and advance their own schemes.
We must develop keen insight and wisdom to see through
the essence of those who have become slaves to their
own Devadatta nature, without being confused by
their superficial appearance. |
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The Buddha and Devadatta are like
a form and its shadow---in lifetime after lifetime, they
are never separated. ??If there exists a votary of the
Lotus Sutra, then the three types of enemies are bound
to exist as well.(WND, p.278)
Devadatta, according to a Buddhist scripture, is said
to have fallen alive into the hell of incessant suffering
for his grave offenses. He was one of
the nobles of the Shakya tribe who were converted at the
time of Shakyamuni's visit to Kapilavastu. He was a cousin
of Shakyamuni and a brother of the famous disciple Ananda.
He was converted when he was still in his twenties, as
was Ananda; both were about thirty years younger than
Shakyamuni. Far from being a troublemaker, he was instrumental,
along with the other young nobles of the Shakya clan,
in instilling vigor into the Buddhist Order, called the
Sangha, which originally consisted of both clergy and
laity on the basis of equality.The first indications of
his treachery came to light immediately after Shakyamuni's
visit to Kosambi. At this time, Devadatta, who had previously
been guileless and single-minded in his religious practice,
began to be consumed by thoughts of wealth and fame. Filled
with dreams of winning the leadership of the order away
from Shakyamuni, he began by approaching Ajatashatru,
the son of King Bimbisara of Magadha. A devout follower
and patron of Shakyamuni, King Bimbisara donated the Bamboo
Grove Monastery.
Devadatta knew that Prince Ajatashatru was jealous of
the prestige his father enjoyed and disgruntled because
his father would not relinquish the throne to him, and
Devadatta skillfully played upon the prince's discontent
and frustration until he had gained the young man's confidence.
The prince in turn presented various gifts to Devadatta,
causing the other members of the order to be envious.
Shakyamuni thereupon admonished his disciples for their
pettiness, reminding them that the passion for fame and
wealth is fundamentally counter to the Buddhist spirit
and practice, and prophesying that the prince's gifts
and honors would eventually be the ruin of Devadatta.
Shakyamuni saw through Devadatta's ambitions. At first
merely envious of the wide-spread adulation that Shakyamuni
enjoyed from the people around him, Devadatta had become
increasingly jealous of Shakyamuni and was convinced that
he himself should toke over the leadership of the order.
In fact, he even went so far to ask Shakyamuni in the
presence of the other disciples to retire and place the
Sangha in his charge. Shakyamuni reproached him stiffly,
saying that this was out of the question; he would not
entrust the leadership of the order even to such outstanding
disciples such as Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, much less
to a person like Devadatta.
This was a great blow to the pride of the ambitious Devadatta.
He was especially hurt because Shakyamuni had told him
that Shariputra and Maudgalyayana were like lazing torches,
whereas his own mediocre intelligence shed even less light
than a night lamp. Having thus failed to acquire the position
he coveted, he seems to have lost all sense of reason
and human decency, and began to hatch various schemes
to do away with Shakyamuni and destroy his order.
Devadatta first goaded Ajatashatru into overthrowing his
father Bimbisara and ascending the throne in his stead.
With the new king of Magadha now solidly behind him, Devadatta
made several attempts on Shakyamuni's life and tried to
persecute his order. Devadatta's gravest offense, however,
is said to have been his attempt to create disunity in
the Buddhist Order.
Consumed with jealousy and anger toward Shakyamuni, Devadatta
began his scheme to destroy the order with the so-called
Five Practices, a set of rules that he requested the members
of the order to adopt. These rules dictated that (1) the
monks should live in remote places away from villages
or towns; (2) the members of the order should live only
on alms and refuse offerings and invitations; (3) the
members should wear only robes mode of rags and not donated
robes; (4) they should sit under trees and should not
be allowed to enter houses; and (5) they should not eat
the flesh of animals or fish.
As the proposals indicate, Devadatta, his earlier schemes
having foiled, was attempting to create dissension within
the order by pretending to be in favor of for greater
austerities than had been practiced heretofore and by
urging the members of the order to support his suggestions.
It was, in a sense, a very clever plot. Instead of criticizing
Shakyamuni's teaching itself, Devadatta pretended to have
a more strict attitude in Buddhist practice in order to
confuse the other members of the order.
As Devadatta had foreseen, Shakyamuni abruptly dismissed
the proposals. Devadatta, outraged, then called upon the
other members of the order to support him. Not realizing
Oevadatta's true intention and deceived by the principles
of purity and austerity that he upheld, about five hundred
newly ordained members left the order and followed Devadatta
to Gayasisa. This was the first schism to occur in the
history of the Sangha.
Furthermore, advocating the strict austerities on one
hand, Devadatta is said to have committed evildoing in
conspiracy with Purana Kassopa, one of the six non-Buddhist
teachers, who denied causality and rejected all concepts
of morality. The unprincipled nature of Devadatta, blinded
by his jealousy and anger,would justify anything to achieve
his goal—the destruction of the Sangha. Even his
high-sounding principles were just a means to achieve
this.
By cleverly exploiting psychological weaknesses, Devadatta
brought about a temporary schism within the order. Shakyamuni,
however, dispatched his most trusted disciples, Shariputra
and Maudgalyayana, to preach to the dissidents. The five
hundred monks, seeing through Devadatta's pretensions,
soon returned to the fold. According to legend, when Devadatta
learned of this he was so enraged that he coughed up blood
and died not long after.
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What lessons can be learned
from the story of Devadatta and how do they apply
to your daily life? |
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Have you experienced a moment
where you recognized the Devadatta nature within
your own life? If so, how did you challenge it? |
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The moral of this episode would seem to be that ambitious
people, by proclaiming high-sounding principles and appearing
to be pure in faith than those around them, are capable
of deceiving and leading others astray. It points up more
than ever the truism that one cannot judge people on the
basis of their words alone. It is unfortunate that in
the history of mankind, appeals for greater purity and
fidelity to higher principles should so often be employed
by hypocritical people as tools to mislead others and
advance their own schemes.
In the Lotus Sutra, Devadatta, the historical personage,
is used to typify what is, in fact, a universal tendency
within people. The ambition and the passion for honor
and wealth that drove Devadatta to his ads of evil lurk
in our lives as well, an inherent part of human nature.
Therefore, we must develop keen insight and wisdom to
see through the essence of those who have become slaves
to their own Devadatta nature, without being confused
by their superficial appearance. And, just like Shariputra
and Maudgalyayana, we must take courageous adion, if necessary,
to stop such evil from misleading sincere members and
destroying our precious “Sangha of SGI.
At the same time, it is important to note that blinded
by ambition, we too are in danger of losing self-control
and a proper sense of perspective, and may even attempt
to satisfy our desires through deceit or evildoing. But
the Lotus Sutra teaches us that we are certain to achieve
Buddhahood if we can learn to reflect and understand our
own natures and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to faith
in true Buddhism.
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(from Seikyo Times, July,
1991)
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