經律異相 21.17

21.17

Devadatta went to the Bhagavat, bowed his head to the feet, stood to one side, and addressed the Buddha, saying, "I observe that the Tathāgata's complexion has altered, his faculties are fully matured, his years have passed youth and vigour, and he is decaying toward old age. I wish only that the Bhagavat would sequester himself in a quiet chamber to take pleasure in dhyāna. May you entrust the assembly of the fourfold community to me. I shall teach and guide them with precepts, no differently from the Buddha, and supply the four requisites at all times without deficiency." The Buddha said, "Silence, foolish man! You do not consider future calamity. I would not even entrust them to the monks Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana; how much less could I entrust the holy assembly to an idle, wicked person like you?" Jealousy arose within Devadatta, and hearing the Bhagavat's words, his anger redoubled: "Today the Tathāgata praises the monks Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, yet despises and disparages me, his lesser disciple. I must seek an opportunity to destroy master and disciple, so that the sentient beings of this realm will neither see his form nor hear his voice." Thereupon the monk Devadatta rose from his seat, bowed to the feet, and withdrew. Wandering everywhere with clever talk and deceitful words, he deluded laypeople and lured dozens, everywhere encouraging one another. To state the essence: the Buddha was surrounded by the great assembly, expounding the Dharma. Then Devadatta told his disciples, "Do not listen to what Gautama preaches; it does not accord with the true Dharma. I have profound scriptures and sublime doctrines, each and every one, which I will teach you." He merely sought an expedient means, wishing to split the holy assembly. The Buddha said, "Stop, stop, Devadatta! Take care not to harbor the thought of splitting and throwing the holy assembly into confusion! Afterwards you will suffer retribution in full, and the pain will be unbearable." Devadatta was obstinate and would not reform, though he knew the Buddha's intent was righteous. The Buddha, observing past causal conditions and karmic retributions, knew it could not be turned back. Devadatta led five hundred disciples, and the Tathāgata also led five hundred disciples, together traveling by Mount Ratnakūṭa. The Bodhisattva's followers were magnanimous, benevolent, gentle, and peaceful; he taught them with the true Dharma, and they observed the prohibitions, their coming and going, advancing and stopping, never violating proper order. Devadatta's assembly spoke coarse and harsh words; whenever they spoke, anger flared up, and they conversed with disciples as if quarreling with enemies. Disgusted and weary, the disciples all abandoned him together and went to the Bodhisattva. He furthermore proclaimed of himself, "I have a thousand disciples, complete in all virtues, far surpassing the world—who could match me?" Devadatta was enraged, and he made a vow: "This man today lures away my disciples and ruins my followers! Even if he attains Buddhahood, I will ruin his disciples and followers, no differently from now!" The Tathāgata observed and knew that Devadatta would certainly split the holy assembly, beyond any doubt. The Tathāgata then arose from his seat, left the assembly, and departed. There are five matters by which one knows the saṅgha cannot be split and thrown into confusion: first, before the Tathāgata's eyes, because the Tathāgata's majestic spiritual power does not abandon his original vow; second, after the Tathāgata's parinirvāṇa, if someone claims, 'I have now attained Buddhahood and achieved the supreme, correct enlightenment,' one should ask him, 'Where were you when Śākyamuni Buddha was in the world?'; third, when there is no unprecedented evil; fourth, when monks do not contend for material gain; fifth, when disciples endowed with wisdom and spiritual power are in harmony. The Tathāgata, observing with the knowledge of past lives, knew with certainty that Devadatta would split and throw the saṅgha into confusion. The Tathāgata then left and departed. Devadatta remained behind, expounding the Dharma to the assembly: "If any sentient being serves me as the honoured one and accepts my teaching and precepts, they should practice the five dharmas (these five dharmas are not recorded here due to their extensive text). All monks who cultivate these five dharmas will swiftly attain liberation, exhaust defilements, and become undefiled. Why rely on Gautama's eightfold straight path?" He said to Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, "I have gained great benefit, becoming the honoured one of the three realms, like the Tathāgata." He told Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, "I suffer from back pain and wish to sleep for a short while. You two preach the Dharma to the holy assembly." Devadatta lay on his right side, wishing to fall asleep. A god pressed upon Devadatta, so his left side lay on the ground, and the god pressed on him again; he spoke deceitful words, snoring loudly, and a foul stench drifted far. Maudgalyāyana, using the power of spiritual travel, flew into the air and performed eighteen transformations, sitting, lying down, walking, emerging, and sinking at will. Śāriputra addressed the gathered assembly: "The spiritual power and virtue of the Tathāgata's body are immeasurable, endowed with all-knowledge; his reach into the past is infinite, and his reach into the future is boundless. As for the Tathāgata's Dharma, one gains the reward of the present Dharma—joyful and unconditioned. It is what the wise cultivate and study, not what the foolish practice. As for the Tathāgata's holy assembly, they have all accomplished the five-part Dharmakāya, worthy of reverence and honour, service and offerings, serving as a superior field of merit for sentient beings." Then the monks each thought: "We were foolish and deluded, not recognizing the true and correct, abandoning the fruit for the blossom, discarding the root to chase the branches. Now seeing what the two worthies have preached, it is rare in the world! Wouldn't it be joyful if we were rather to leave this Devadatta and go to the Tathāgata's assembly?" Śāriputra knew their thoughts and immediately arose from his seat; the five hundred monks all followed him, and Maudgalyāyana followed along behind them as they departed. The monk Kokālika kicked Devadatta with his right foot and said, "Wicked Devadatta, why are you indulging in sleep? Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana have taken all your disciples away!" Devadatta awoke, deeply grieved and distressed. (From the Sūtra on Devadatta Inquiring of the Buddha's Complexion; the Mahīśāsaka-vinaya is largely the same.)