法苑珠林 49.56

49.56

As stated in the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra: The Buddha's disciple Devadatta was the Buddha's paternal cousin. Leaving household life to study the Path, he memorized sixty thousand aggregates of Dharma and practiced vigorously for full thirteen years. Later, for the sake of offerings, he came to the Buddha's place to seek to learn supernormal powers. The Buddha told Gautama, "Contemplate the impermanence of the five aggregates; you may attain the Path and also attain supernormal powers." But he would not teach him the method for acquiring powers. Going out, he sought it from Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and on up to five hundred arhats, but none would teach him, saying, "You should contemplate the impermanence of the five aggregates; you can attain the Path and you can attain powers." At that time, Ānanda had not yet attained the knowledge of others' minds, and according to what the Buddha had said, he transmitted it to Devadatta. Having learned the method for powers, Devadatta entered the mountains and soon attained the five supernormal powers. Having attained the five supernormal powers, he thought to himself, "Who shall be my dānapati? Prince Ajātaśatru possesses the marks of a great king; I wish to be close to him." He went to the heavens to fetch divine food, returned to Uttarakuru to take naturally growing non-glutinous rice, and went into the Jambu forest to fetch jambu fruit, giving them to Prince Ajātaśatru. Or he transformed his body into an elephant-jewel or horse-jewel to confuse his mind, or appeared as an infant in various transformed states to sway his mind. The prince was bewildered in mind, and in the pear orchard he built a great monastery, providing the four kinds of offerings along with various mixed offerings, lacking nothing, to supply Devadatta. Day after day he led all the ministers in personally delivering five hundred cauldrons of soup and cakes. Devadatta obtained great offerings, yet his disciples were few. He thought to himself, "I have thirty marks, falling short of the Buddha by very little; it is merely that my disciples have not assembled. If surrounded by the seven assemblies, how would I differ from the Buddha?" Having reflected thus, he conceived the mind to break the saṃgha and gained five hundred disciples. Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana taught through preaching the Dharma, and the saṃgha was reconciled again. At that time Devadatta gave rise to an evil mind and pushed down a mountain to crush the Buddha. The Vajradhara hurled a vajra scepter from afar; shattered stones flew out and injured the Buddha's toe. The bhikṣuṇī Utpalavarṇā scolded him, and he struck the nun with his fist; her eyes popped out and she died on the spot. Having committed three of the inversionary sins, he became close to evil heretical teachers like the non-Buddhist Pūraṇa, severing all roots of good with no remorse in his heart. Furthermore, he placed virulent poison under his fingernails, intending to use the pretext of bowing to the Buddha to strike and harm the Buddha. Intending to go, but before he arrived, in the city of Rājagṛha the earth spontaneously cracked open, a fiery chariot came to meet him, and he entered hell alive. Devadatta possessed thirty marks on his body, yet could not endure and subdue his mind; for the sake of the benefit of offerings, he committed grave sins and entered hell alive. Furthermore, the Nirvāṇa-sūtra states: Sunakkhatta the monk, though he recited the twelve divisions of scriptures and attained the four dhyānas, did not even understand the meaning of a single verse, a single phrase, or a single character. Becoming intimate with evil companions, he fell away from the four dhyānas. Having fallen away from the four dhyānas, he gave rise to evil wrong views and spoke thus: "There is no Buddha, no Dharma, and no nirvāṇa. The śramaṇa Gautama is merely skilled in knowing physiognomy, and therefore is able to know others' minds." At that time the Tathāgata went with Kāśyapa to Sunakkhatta's place. Sunakkhatta the monk saw me coming from afar; having seen me, he immediately gave rise to an evil mind. On account of this evil mind, his living body sank down into the Avīci hell.