觀無量壽佛經疏 2.29

2.29

“As for ‘Unborn Enmity’: this was because Devadatta aroused a malicious and jealous mind, and so revealed these past evil conditions before the prince. How did a jealous mind give rise to these evil conditions? Devadatta had an evil nature and was a fierce man; although he had gone forth from home, he was constantly jealous of the Buddha’s fame and material offerings. Now, the father king was the Buddha’s dānapati, and on one occasion he brought many offerings to present to the Tathāgata—namely gold, silver, the seven treasures, famous garments of superior cloth, and foods and fruits of a hundred flavors. Each and every kind filled five hundred carts. With fragrant flowers, instrumental music, and hundreds of thousands of people praising and circumambulating, they were sent to the Buddha’s assembly and given to the Buddha and the Saṃgha. When Devadatta saw this, his jealousy grew even fiercer, and he went to Śāriputra to request to learn physical supernormal powers. The Venerable said to him: ‘Worthy one, just practice the four foundations of mindfulness; there is no need to learn physical supernormal powers.’ Since his request was not granted, he went to other Venerables to seek it, up to the five hundred disciples, but none of them would teach him; all instructed him to practice the four foundations of mindfulness. His requests having failed, he finally went to Ānanda to learn. He said to Ānanda: ‘You are my younger brother; I wish to learn supernormal powers. Teach me step by step in sequence.’ Now, although Ānanda had attained the first fruit, he had not yet realized knowledge of others’ minds, and did not know that his elder brother was secretly learning supernormal powers in order to hatch an evil plot against the Buddha. Ānanda then called him to a quiet place and taught him in sequence: sitting cross-legged and upright, he first taught him to use the mind to lift the body with the visualization that it seemed to move, visualizing it leaving the ground by one fen, one inch, then one foot, one zhang, until reaching the house, making the visualization that it was empty and unobstructed, visualizing passing straight up into the sky, and then recollecting the mind to bring it down to the original seat. Next, he used the body to lift the mind: at first leaving the ground by one fen, one inch, and so forth, just as in the previous method; lifting the mind with the body, lifting the body with the mind, also in accordance [with the method], and having reached the upper sky, recollecting the body to bring it down to the original seat. Next, he visualized lifting body and mind together, again identical to the previous method, one fen, one inch, and so forth, cycling through and beginning again. Next, he visualized body and mind entering into all material, obstructive realms, making the visualization that they were unobstructed. Next, he visualized all forms such as mountains, rivers, and the great earth entering his own body, like empty space without obstruction, seeing no material characteristics. Next, he visualized his own body either becoming huge, filling empty space, sitting and lying at will, or sitting or lying down, moving the sun and moon with his hand, or making a small body entering into a speck of dust—all visualized as unobstructed. Ānanda taught him in sequence in this way. When Devadatta had received the method, he went separately to a quiet place, focused his mind single-pointedly for seven days and seven nights, and attained physical supernormal powers, completely achieving total mastery. Having attained supernormal powers, he went before the prince’s palace and displayed great miraculous transformations in mid-air: emitting fire from the upper body and water from the lower body, or emitting water from the left side and fire from the right, appearing as a huge body or a small body, sitting or lying in mid-air at will and with mastery. When the prince saw this, he asked his attendants: ‘Who is this person?’ The attendants answered the prince: ‘This is the Venerable Devadatta.’ Hearing this, the prince was overjoyed; he raised his hand and called out: ‘Why does the Venerable not come down?’ Having seen him call, Devadatta transformed into an infant and came straight onto the prince’s lap. The prince held him, kissed his mouth, and fondled him, and spat into his mouth, which the infant then swallowed. In a moment, he returned to his original form. Seeing Devadatta’s various miraculous transformations, the prince revered him all the more. Seeing that the prince’s mind was reverent, [Devadatta] then spoke of the father king’s circumstances of making offerings: five hundred of each kind, loaded onto carts and carried to the Buddha’s dwelling to present to the Buddha and the Saṃgha. The prince heard this and immediately said to the Venerable: ‘This disciple can also prepare five hundred carts of each kind to offer to the Venerable and bestow upon the Saṃgha; could it be inferior to that?’ Devadatta said: ‘This intention of the prince is excellent.’ From this time on, [Devadatta] obtained vast offerings, and his mind grew increasingly arrogant. It is like striking a vicious dog’s nose with a stick, which only increases the dog’s viciousness; this was just the same. The prince now struck the nose of Devadatta’s greedy dog-mind with the stick of material gain, causing his evil to flare up all the more. Because of this, he broke the Saṃgha and changed the Buddha’s Dharma and vinaya so that his precepts and instructions differed. Waiting for a time when the Buddha was preaching the Dharma broadly to the assembly of ordinary people and sages, he came into the assembly and demanded from the Buddha: ‘Entrust all the disciples and all the treasuries of Dharma to me. The World-Honoured One is advanced in years; you should retire to a quiet retreat and care for yourself.’ When the entire great assembly heard these words from Devadatta, they were stunned and looked at one another, profoundly astonished. At that time, the World-Honoured One spoke to Devadatta before the great assembly: ‘Even to Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and others, who are great generals of the Dharma, I have not entrusted the Buddhadharma; how much less to you, a foolish man who swallows spit!’ When Devadatta heard the Buddha humiliate him before the assembly, it was like a poisoned arrow entering his heart, and he gave rise to an even more crazed malice. Using this circumstance, he went to the prince’s dwelling to hatch an evil plot together with him. When the prince saw the Venerable, he respectfully inquired: ‘The Venerable’s complexion today is haggard, unlike in the past.’ Devadatta replied: ‘My haggardness today is entirely on account of the prince.’ The prince respectfully asked: ‘What concern does the Venerable have on my account?’ Devadatta then replied: ‘Does the prince know? The World-Honoured One is old and can no longer bear his duties; he should be eliminated, and I will become the Buddha myself. The father king is old and should also be eliminated, so that the prince may take the throne himself. A new king and a new Buddha governing and transforming—would that not be delightful?’ Hearing this, the prince was extremely enraged: ‘Do not speak like this!’ [Devadatta] spoke again: ‘Prince, do not be angry. The father king has no grace or kindness toward you at all. When you were about to be born, the father king ordered the queen consort to give birth atop a hundred-foot tower directly over the courtyard, hoping that you would fall to the ground and be killed; it was solely due to the power of the prince’s merit that the life-faculty was not severed, only injuring the little finger. If you do not believe it, look at your little finger yourself—that is proof enough.’ When the prince heard these words, he questioned him again closely: ‘Is that really so?’ Devadatta answered: ‘If this were not true, would I have come purposely to utter idle talk?’ Because of these words, he placed faith in and adopted Devadatta’s plan of evil views; hence it is said: ‘following the instruction of Devadatta, the evil friend.’”