Buddha and Devadatta. The competition.

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Nils
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Buddha and Devadatta. The competition.

Post by Nils »

Devadatta was a disciple of Buddha. He was a young and ambitious monk. His name means "the gifted one" (Datta) and "Deva" (God, divine). He meditated rigorously and thereby attained special spiritual (divine) powers (siddhis). Exactly which spiritual abilities are involved is not handed down. Supposedly, he could fly, that is, he could leave his body with his consciousness and travel in higher dimensions. And he could assume different identities like a good actor. He was also very eloquent.

Because of his special abilities and eloquence, he had many admirers, including among the Buddha's monks. In particular, he advocated a strict Buddhist way. He believed that only strict spiritual practice would lead to success. Only through his strict asceticism would he have acquired his siddhis. Buddha, on the other hand, advocated the middle spiritual path. He taught it to practice neither too strictly nor too weakly. Buddha had attained enlightenment precisely through this technique. But for the young Devadatta, in his youthful impetuosity, Buddha was only decrepit old man.

A great pride in himself and his special abilities awoke in Devadatta. Like a young lion, he challenged Buddha as the old lion and leader of the horde. He wanted to usurp the leadership of the Buddhist community. But Buddha called him a fool. He realized that Devadatta had become a victim of his spiritual pride. Buddha did not expel him from the Buddhist community, but he forbade Devadatta to appear in public in the name of Buddhism.

Devadatta did not give up. He made three attempts to defeat Buddha. He hired an assassin to kill Buddha. But in the presence of Buddha, all the assassin's malice dissolved. He could not raise his knife against Buddha. Rather, he spontaneously became a follower of Buddha. The second thing Devadatta tried was a boulder. When Buddha was meditating at the foot of a mountain, Devadatta dropped a boulder on Buddha from above. But the boulder missed its target and only slightly injured Buddha.

Now Devadatta set about his final nefarious deed. When the Buddha was on an almsgiving tour in Rajagriha, he sicced a vicious war elephant on the Buddha. However, Buddha appeased the elephant, which then peacefully knelt at his feet.

Devadatta realized that he could not harm Buddha. He then left the Buddhist community with a large band of followers and established his own spiritual community, which probably continued for a thousand years until it was swallowed up by the current of time. After his death, Devadatta was sent to the deepest hell (the Avici Hell) because of his misdeeds, where he still regrets his deeds until one day he is allowed to return to earth.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Buddha and Devadatta. The competition.

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

He was also the Buddha’s cousin and they had been rivals since childhood.
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Re: Buddha and Devadatta. The competition.

Post by master of puppets »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Thu Jul 07, 2022 1:09 pm He was also the Buddha’s cousin and they had been rivals since childhood.
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Konchog Thogme Jampa
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Re: Buddha and Devadatta. The competition.

Post by Konchog Thogme Jampa »

Devadatta’s rivalry goes back to past lives also as told by the Jatakas
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