Devadatta’s Ambition

A series of tragic events occurred when the Buddha was 72 years old and in the 37th year of his teaching mission. This was the year when his cousin Devadatta initiated a schism in the ranks of the Sangha, then instigated a palace coup in the city of Rajagriha, the capital of the kingdom of Magadha, and finally made four attempts to assassinate the Buddha. These events were a great test of the Buddha’s wisdom, compassion, patience, equanimity, and ability to skillfully lead the Sangha in the face of external and internal threats to its survival and integrity.

It should be noted that doubts have been cast on the veracity of the legend of Devadatta as told in the canonical literature and commentaries of the various schools of Buddhism. Reginald Ray, basing himself on the work of earlier scholars, sums up the various accounts in his book Buddhist Saints in India: A Study of Buddhist Values & Orientation (see pp. 162-173). According to Reginald Ray, it is possible that Devadatta was no relation nor even a contemporary of the Buddha, but may have been a strict proponent of the life of the forest renunciant who opposed the softer life of monastic Buddhism over a century after the Buddha’s passing. This Devadatta apparently created a Sangha that considered itself a separate and purer stream of Buddhism than the Sangha founded by Shakyamuni Buddha. Devadatta’s rival order still existed in India as late as the seventh century C.E. according to the testimony of the Chinese monk Hsuan-tsang (602-664). This would mean that the monks of the mainstream schools of Indian Buddhism such as the Theravada and Sarvastivada might have created the legend of Devadatta in order to vilify the founder of this rival Sangha. From here on, however, I will simply present my synthesis of the traditional accounts. 

Devadatta was a cousin of the Buddha. According to the Pali accounts he was the brother of Yashodhara. Sanksrit legends, however, claim that he was actually Ananda’s older brother and that he grew up in the palace with Siddhartha, the young bodhisattva. These stories portray Devadatta as jealous and cruel. In one story he shoots down a swan that falls to earth near Siddhartha. Siddhartha takes out the arrow and nurses it back to health, but Devadatta insists that the swan belongs to him because he shot it. The two boys then went to the king’s court where the counselors argued over the merits of each case. In the end, a wise man declared that the swan should belong to one who saved its life rather than the one who tried to take it away. In another incident, Devadatta killed a white elephant that was going to be presented to Siddhartha as a gift. He was also said to have competed for Yashodhara’s hand in marriage, but again lost to his cousin Siddhartha. Another legend claims that, after Siddhartha had renounced the home life in order to live as an ascetic, Devadatta tried to seduce Yashodhara, but was rebuffed.

Devadatta joined the Sangha along with Aniruddha, Bhaddiya, Ananda, Bhagu, Kimbila, and their barber Upali back when the Buddha had first returned to Kapilavastu. At that time he had been talked into leaving the home life and becoming a monk because the former king, Bhaddiya, and the other Shakyas wanted to make sure that Devadatta would not become the ruler by default when the other heirs to the throne had become monks. Soon after becoming a monk, Devadatta attained the five types of supernatural powers that can be developed through meditation. These five were: supernatural mastery of the body, the divine ear (clairaudience), mind reading, past life recall, and the divine eye (clairvoyance). For a long time, Devadatta was a respected member of the Sangha. Unfortunately, his jealousy and envy prevented him from attaining any genuine insight or liberation, and his supernatural powers only increased his arrogance.

At some point, Devadatta used his supernatural powers to gain the patronage of Prince Ajatashatru, the son of King Bimbisara and Queen Vaidehi.

The occasion was this. Once when Devadatta was alone in retreat this thought arose in his mind: “Who is there whose confidence I can win over and thereby acquire much gain, honor and renown?” Then he thought: “There is Prince Ajatashatru. He is young with a glorious future. Suppose I win over his confidence? Much gain, honor, and renown will accrue to me if I do so.”

So, Devadatta packed his bed away, and he took his bowl and outer robe and set out for Rajagriha, where he at length arrived. There he discarded his own form and assumed the form of a youth with a girdle of snakes, and in that guise he appeared on Prince Ajatashatru’s lap. Then Prince Ajatashatru was fearful, anxious, suspicious and worried. Devadatta asked: “Are you afraid of me, prince?”

“Yes, I am afraid. Who are you?”

“I am Devadatta.”

“If you are Devadatta, Lord, then please show yourself in your own form.”

“Devadatta discarded the form of the youth and stood before Prince Ajatashatru, wearing his patched outer cloak, bowl and robes. Then Prince Ajatashatru felt prodigious confidence in Devadatta owing to his supernormal powers. After that he waited on him evening and morning with five hundred carriages and five hundred offerings of milk-rice as a gift of food. Devadatta became overwhelmed with gain, honor, and renown. Ambition obsessed his mind, and the wish arose in him: “I will rule the Sangha of monks.” Simultaneously with the thought his supernormal powers vanished. (Adapted from Life of the Buddha, p. 257)

This part of the story seems to be a dramatization of the reason why Buddhism views supernatural powers with disdain. The Buddha expressed his feelings about the use of supernatural powers in several discourses. Once, a householder named Kevaddha made the following suggestion to the Buddha:

“Lord, this Nalanda is rich, prosperous, populous, and full of people who have faith in the Lord. It would be well if the Lord were to cause some monk to perform superhuman feats and miracles. In this way Nalanda would come to have even more faith in the Lord.”

The Lord replied: “Kevaddha, this is not the way I teach Dharma to the monks, by saying: ‘Go, monks, and perform superhuman feats and miracles for the white-clothed laypeople!” (Adapted, Long Discourses of the Buddha, p. 175)

The Buddha points out that even if a monk were to resort to such things, skeptics would not only continue to disbelieve in the monks, but would then accuse them of trickery and fraud. The whole effort could very well backfire. The Buddha said, “And that is why, Kevaddha, seeing the danger of such miracles, I dislike, reject and despise them.” (Ibid, p. 176) He then pointed out that the true miracle is the miracle of instruction that leads to liberation. On another occasion a monk named Sunakkhatta threatened to leave the Sangha because the Buddha had not performed any miracles. The Buddha responded:

“What do you think, Sunnakkhatta? Whether miracles are performed or not – is it the purpose of my teaching Dharma to lead whoever practices it to the total destruction of suffering?” “It is, Lord.” “So, Sunakkhatta, whether miracles are performed or not, the purpose of my teaching Dharma is to lead whoever practices it to the total destruction of suffering. Then what purpose would the performance of miracles serve? Consider, you foolish man, how far the fault is yours.” (Ibid, p. 372)

Miracles and supernatural powers not only miss the point of Buddha Dharma, but are actually misleading and can even discredit the Buddha Dharma by associating it with the irrational and charlatanism. In the case of Devadatta, his ambition and arrogance only increased though his supernatural powers deserted him. And why did his powers desert him? Buddhism teaches that when one practices meditation and attains the states of concentration known as the dhyanas, one can then go on to develop the four roads to spiritual power: zeal, energy, purity of mind, and investigation. Devadatta, however, became complacent and hungry for worldly power, and this caused him to lose those very qualities that had enabled him to develop the powers that so impressed Prince Ajatashatru in the first place.

Devadatta’s growing ambition did not go unnoticed. “A little bird told me,” is the idiomatic expression used by some people today. In the Buddha’s time, it was often a deva, or heavenly spirit, that would report things to the Buddha or his disciples. In this case, the deva was Kakudha, a former attendant of Maudgalyayana. The spirit informed Maudgalyayana about Devadatta’s ambition to rule the Sangha and the subsequent disappearance of his supernatural powers. Maudgalyayana then told the Buddha. The Buddha then questioned Maudgalyayana as to the reliability of this information. Maugalyayana vouched for Kakudha as a reliable source. The Buddha’s response was that Devadatta would only end up betraying himself. Then, apparently in reference to Devadatta and those monks who looked up to Devadatta as a teacher the Buddha spoke of those teachers who were not pure or otherwise competent in terms of morality, livelihood, the teaching of Dharma, exposition, and the knowledge and vision of emancipation from suffering but who nevertheless pretended to be and whose disciples would cover up for them. Unlike these, the Buddha asserted that he had no need to pretend and that his disciples therefore had no need to cover up any deficiencies on his part. The implication being that such would not be the situation with Devadatta.

Other monks, however, were not as perceptive as Maudgalyayana. Some were very impressed by Devadatta’s success and growing prestige. Others were perhaps jealous or even resentful of him. The Buddha made it clear to them that Devadatta was sowing the seeds of his own destruction, both in a spiritual and even in a worldly sense.

After the Blessed One had stayed at Kosambi as long as he chose, he set out to wander by stages to Rajagriha, where he arrived in due course. He went to live in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrel’s Sanctuary. Then a number of monks went to him and told him: “Lord, Prince Ajatashatru goes to wait on Devadatta each morning with five hundred carriages and five hundred offerings of milk-rice as a gift of food.”

“Monks, do not begrudge Devadatta his gain, honor and renown. Just as, if one were to break a gall bladder under a fierce dog’s nose, the dog would get much fiercer, so too, as long as Prince Ajatashatru keeps waiting on Devadatta as he is doing, so long may wholesome states be expected to diminish and not increase in Devadatta. Just as a plantain bears its fruit for its own destruction and its own undoing, so too, Devadatta’s gain, honor and renown have arisen for his self-destruction and his own undoing.” (Adapted from Life of the Buddha, p. 258)