1. Now Devadatta on that day, which was Uposatha day, arose from his seat, and
gave out voting-tickets 1, saying, 'We went, Sirs, to the Samana Gotama and
asked for the Five Points, saying--(etc., as above in VII, 3, 14 and 15). These
the Samana Gotama will not allow; but we live in accordance therewith. Whosoever
of the venerable ones approves of the Five Things, let him take a ticket.'
Now at that time there were five hundred Bhikkhus, Vesâliyans, and belonging to
the Vaggian clan 2, who had but recently joined the Order, and were ignorant of
what he had in hand 3. These took the voting-tickets, believing [the Five Points
to be according to] the Dhamma, and the Vinaya, and the teaching of the Master.
And Devadatta, having thus created a division in the Samgha, went out to the
hill Gayâ-sîsa, taking those five hundred Bhikkhus with him.
Then Sâriputta and Moggallâna went to the Blessed One, and bowed down before
him, and took their seats on one side. And when they were so seated, Sâriputta
said to the Blessed One: 'Devadatta,
p. 257
[paragraph continues] Lord, has gone forth to Gayâ-sîsa, taking five hundred
Bhikkhus with him.'
'Verily, Sâriputta and Moggallâna, there must be a feeling of kindness towards
those young Bhikkhus among you both. Go therefore, both of you, before they have
fallen into entire destruction.'
'Even so, Lord,' said Sâriputta and Moggallâna, in assent to the Blessed One.
And rising from their seats, they bowed down before him, and keeping him on
their right hand as they passed him, they set out for Gayâ-sîsa.
Then at that time a certain Bhikkhu, standing not far from the Blessed One,
began to weep. And the Blessed One said to him: 'Why, O Bhikkhu, dost thou
weep?'
'Those, Lord, who are the Blessed One's chief disciples, Sâriputta and
Moggallâna, even they have gone to Devadatta's side, approving the Dhamma of
Devadatta.'
That, O Bhikkhu, would be impossible, that Sâriputta and Moggallâna should
approve his teaching. They are gone only to gain those Bhikkhus over again 1:
2. Now at that time Devadatta, surrounded by a great number of adherents, was
seated, preaching the Dhamma. And when he saw from afar Sâriputta and Moggallâna
coming towards him, he said to the Bhikkhus: 'See, O Bhikkhus, how well preached
must be my doctrine, in that even the two chief disciples of the Samana
Gotama--Sâriputta
p. 258
and Moggallâna--are coming to join me, being pleased with my Dhamma.'
When he had thus spoken Kokâlika said to Devadatta: 'O venerable Devadatta,
trust not Sâriputta and Moggallâna, for they are inclined towards evil, and
under the influence of evil desires.'
'Nay, my friend, let us bid them welcome since they take pleasure in my teaching
(Dhamma).'
And Devadatta invited Sâriputta to share his own seat, saying, 'Come, friend
Sâriputta. Sit thou here!'
'Nay (there is no need of that),' said Sâriputta; and taking another seat, he
sat down on one side. And Devadatta instructed and incited and aroused and
gladdened the Bhikkhus far into the night with religious discourse; and then
made request to Sâriputta, saying, 'The assembly, friend Sâriputta, is still
alert and sleepless. Will you, friend Sâriputta, be so good as to think of some
religious discourse to address to the Bhikkhus 1? My back is tired, and I would
stretch myself a little.'
'Even so, friend,' said the venerable Sâriputta, in assent to Devadatta. And
Devadatta spread his waist-cloth folded in four on the ground, and lay down on
his right side. And in a moment even sleep overcame him who was tired, and had
lost his presence of mind and his self-consciousness 2.
3. Then the venerable Sâriputta taught and exhorted the Bhikkhus in a religious
discourse touching the marvels of preaching, and the venerable
p. 259
[paragraph continues] Moggallâna taught and exhorted the Bhikkhus in a religious
discourse touching the marvels of Iddhi. And whilst they were being so taught
and exhorted those Bhikkhus obtained the pure and spotless Eye of the Truth
1--(that is, the knowledge that) whatsoever has a beginning, in that is inherent
also the necessity of dissolution. Then the venerable Sâriputta addressed the
Bhikkhus, and said: 'Let us go, my friends, to the Blessed One's side. Whosoever
approves of his doctrine (Dhamma), let him come.'
And Sâriputta and Moggallâna went back to the Veluvana, taking those five
hundred Bhikkhus with them. But Kokâlika awoke Devadatta, and said: 'Arise,
friend Devadatta! Your Bhikkhus have been led away by Sâriputta and Moggallâna.
Did I not tell you, Devadatta, not to trust Sâriputta and Moggallâna, in that
they were inclined towards evil, and were under the influence of evil desires?'
Then hot blood came forth from Devadatta's mouth 2.
4. But Sâriputta and Moggallâna went to the place where the Blessed One was, and
bowed down before him, and took their seats on one side. And when they were so
seated, Sâriputta said to the Blessed One:
'It were well, Lord, that Bhikkhus who have turned aside to schism should be
received afresh into the higher grade of the Order.'
'Nay, Sâriputta, let not the reordination of schismatical
p. 260
[paragraph continues] Bhikkhus seem good to thee. But rather cause such Bhikkhus
to confess that they have committed a thullakkaya offence. And how, Sâriputta,
did Devadatta treat you?'
'When Devadatta, Lord, had instructed and aroused and incited and gladdened the
Bhikkhus far into the night with religious discourse, he then 'made request to
me, saying, "The assembly, friend Sâriputta, is still alert and sleepless. Will
you, friend Sâriputta, think of some religious discourse to address to the
Bhikkhus? My back is tired, and I would stretch myself a little." This, Lord,
was the way in which Devadatta behaved to me.'
5. Then the Blessed One addressed the Bhikkhus, and said: 'Once upon a time, O
Bhikkhus, there was a great pond in a forest region. Some elephants dwelt beside
it; and they, plunging into the pond, plucked with their trunks the edible
stalks of the lotus plants, washed them till they were quite clean 1, masticated
them 2 without any dirt, and so eat them up. And that produced in them both
beauty and strength, and by reason thereof they neither went down into death,
nor into any sorrow like unto death. Now among those great elephants, O
Bhikkhus, there were young elephant calves, who also, in imitation of those
others, plunged into that pond, and plucked with their trunks the edible stalks
of the lotus plants; but they did not wash them till they were clean, but
masticated them, dirt and all, and so eat them up. And that produced in them
p. 261
neither beauty nor strength; and by reason thereof they went down into death,
and into sorrows like unto death. Just so, O Bhikkhus, will Devadatta die who,
poor creature, is emulating me.
'Like the elephant calf who eateth mud in imitation, of the great beast 1
That shakes the earth, and eats the lotus plant, and watches through the night
among the waters 2--
So will he, poor creature, die that emulateth me.'
6. 'A Bhikkhu who is possessed of eight qualifications is worthy, O Bhikkhus, to
do the work of an emissary. And what are the eight? The Bhikkhu, O Bhikkhus,
must be able to hear and to make others listen, able to learn, able to bear in
mind, able to discern and to make others discern, skilful to deal with friends
and foes, and no maker of quarrels. These are the eight qualifications of which
when a Bhikkhu is possessed, he is worthy, O Bhikkhus, to do the work of an
emissary.
'Sâriputta, O Bhikkhus, being possessed of eight qualifications, is worthy to do
the work of an emissary. What are the eight (&c., as in last paragraph)?
'He who on entering a company that is violent of speech, p. 262
Fears not, forgoes no word, disguises not his message,
Is unambiguous in what he says, and being questioned angers not,
Of such is surely the Bhikkhu worthy to go on a mission 1.'
7. 'Devadatta, O Bhikkhus, being overcome, his mind being taken up by eight evil
conditions 2, is irretrievably (doomed to) remain for a Kalpa in states of
suffering and woe 3. And what are the eight? He is overcome, his mind is taken
up by gain, by want of gain, by fame, by want of fame, by honour, by want of
honour, by his having wicked desires, and by his having wicked friends. These, O
Bhikkhus, are the eight evil conditions by which Devadatta being overcome, and
his mind being taken up, he is irretrievably(doomed to) remain for a Kalpa in
states of suffering and woe.
'It would be well, O Bhikkhus, that Bhikkhus should continue in complete
ascendancy over any gain or loss, any fame or the reverse, any honour or
p. 263
dishonour, any evil longing or evil friendship, that may accrue to them. And for
what reason 1? For as much, O Bhikkhus, that bad influences (âsavas) arise, full
of vexation and distress 2, to one who is not continuing in complete ascendancy
over each of these eight things, but to one, who is so continuing, such
influences arise not. This is the reason, O Bhikkhus, why it would be well (&c.,
as before). Let us then, O Bhikkhus, continue in complete ascendancy over any
gain or loss, any fame or the reverse, any honour or dishonour, any evil longing
or evil friendship, that may accrue to us. And thus, O Bhikkhus, should you
train yourselves.
There are three evil conditions, O Bhikkhus, by which Devadatta being overcome,
and his mind being taken up, he is irretrievably doomed to remain for a Kalpa in
states of suffering and woe. And what are the three? His having wicked desires,
and his having wicked friends, and his having come to a stop on his way (to
Nirvâna or Arahatship) because he had already attained to some lesser thing 3.
These are the three (&c., as before).'
p. 264
8. "Verily! let no wicked desire whatever arise within you!
Know rather from this what is the outcome thereof.
Known was he as wise, reputed to be trained;
Aglow with glory did Devadatta stand' (thus have I heard).
He gave himself to vanity, to attacking 1 the Tathâgata:
He fell into the Avîki hell, guarded fourfold and terrible 2.
The injurer of the good, of the man who does no wrong,
Him sin pervades, the man of cruel heart, and void of love.
Though one should think the ocean to befoul with but one poison pot,
Yet could he not befoul it, for awful 3 is the sea, and great;
Just so though one should injure the Tathâgata by words,--
p. 265
That perfect one, that peaceful heart,--against him the words would not avail.
Let the wise Bhikkhu make a friend of, and resort to him
By following whose way he will come to the end of griefs!"
Footnotes
256:1 It may be noticed that Devadatta here takes upon himself the office of a
salâka-gâhâpako without having been appointed to it in the manner required by
the rule laid down in Kullavagga IV, 9 and 10. On the process to be followed
when voting with tickets, see IV, 4, 26.
256:2 So it is the Vaggians from Vesâlî who are represented, below XII, 1, 1, to
have put forward those Ten Points which gave rise to the Council and the schism
at Vesâlî a hundred years after the Buddha's death.
256:3 Apakataññuno.
257:1 Bhikkhu-saññattiyâ. The phrase occurs above at IV, 14, 26, and below XII,
2, 8, and corresponds to the expression ganam saññâpeti (above, VII, 3, 14),
used of Devadatta's trying to gain the people over to his views.
258:1 Patibhâtu tam bhikkhûnam dhammî kathâ. See our note above on Mahâvagga V,
13, 9.
258:2 Compare Mahâvagga VIII, 16 = Sutta-vibhaṅga, Samghâdisesa I, 2, 1.
259:1 This expression is the standing one in conversions; see, for instance,
Mahâvagga I, 7, 6; Kullavagga VI, 4, 5, VII, 3, 6.
259:2 The later legends preserved in Spence Hardy and Bigandet say that
Devadatta died on the spot.
260:1 The last three lines have occurred word for word in Mahâvagga VI, 20, 2.
260:2 Samkhâditvâ. Compare the use of this word at Gâtaka I, 507.
261:1 Mahâ-varâha. At Abhidhâna-ppadîpikâ, verse 1115, varâha is said to mean
'elephant' as well as 'boar;' and so here Buddhaghosa says Mahâ-varâhassa
mahâ-nâgassa. As this explanation possibly rests only on such passages as the
present, we have chosen an ambiguous rendering.
261:2 Nadîsu gaggato ti. Ettha so kira hatthi-nâgo sâyanhasamayam tam
nadî-nâmakam pokkharanim ogâhetvâ kilanto sabbarattim vîtinâmesi gâlikam karoti.
Tena vuttam nadisu gaggato ti (B.).
262:1 On these lines compare some similar expressions at Mahâvagga X, 6, 3.
262:2 Asaddhamma. It is very difficult to find a proper rendering for this
expression. Dhamma here means, no doubt, 'quality,' 'condition' (as it does in
the title of the Sanskrit work Saddharma-pundarîka, unhappily rendered by
Burnouf, 'Lotus de la bonne loi'). But the details of the various particulars
suggest rather the rendering 'surrounding occurrences' or 'matters,' for they
are objective, external, and not (or only incidentally and secondarily)
subjective, internal.
262:3 Âpâyiko nerayiko. 'Liable to re-birth in apâya and in niraya: Of these the
former includes the latter, and also the states of being an animal, a
disembodied ghost (peta), or an asura. Hell, though a convenient, is a
misleading translation of the latter of the two words, for the reasons given by
Rh. D. on Mahâ-parinibbâna Sutta I, 23. All the expressions used here recur
below at VII, 5, 4.
263:1 Kim (read kam) atthavasam patikka. So also above, Mahâvagga VIII, 15, 7;
Kullavagga VII, 1, 6, and in the Mahâ-parinibbâna Sutta V, 28, and Dhammapada,
verse 289. The whole of the previous sentence is here repeated in the text.
263:2 Vighâta-parilâhâ. This is a standing epithet of the Âsavas, recurring, for
instance, many times in the Sabbâsava Sutta, §§ 18-37 (Rh. D.'s 'Buddhist
Suttas,' pp. 302 and following). The word 'influence,' here chosen as a
rendering for âsava, is suggested by Dr. Morris as being similar, both in its
derivation and in the history of its meaning, to the Pâli one. The principal
objection against it is that it has never acquired the bad connotation of âsava,
and requires, therefore, to be supplemented by some epithet.
263:3 Oramattakena visesâdhigamena antarâ vosânam âpâdi. On this phrase, which
recurs in full in the Mahâ-parinibbâna p. 264 Sutta, I, 7, see Buddhaghosa's
note there, quoted by Rh. D., 'Buddhist Suttas,' p. 7. The 'lesser thing' here
referred to is doubtless the pothugganikâ iddhi mentioned above in § 4:
264:1 Anukinno âsagganam. On the former of these two words the passages at
Dîpavamsa I, 18, and Gâtaka I, 20 (verse 126), and below, VII, 5, 2 = Mahâvagga
X, 5, 4, may be referred to. The latter seems to bear the same relation to
âsâdana, 'attack,' as vikubbana does to vikarana. Buddhaghosa's notes (text. p.
325) presuppose different. readings of both words.
264:2 'Guarded fourfold' is katudvâram, that is, 'having gates and the ramparts
(through which they pass) on all four sides.' On the general sentiment of these
stanzas, and especially of this line, compare the Kokâliya Sutta in the Sutta
Nipâta (III, 10).
264:3 Bhasmâ is explained by Buddhaghosa as equal to bhayânako.
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