Devadatta

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Devadatta was a Buddhist monk, as well as the cousin of Gautama Buddha, who was recorded as having created a schism in the sangha, or monastic community. This schism was later undone because all his followers came back to the Buddha, after which Devadatta also wanted to come back. Devadatta is often described as being jealous of the Buddha's greatness and wisdom and wanted to become a great religious leader himself.

The original motivation of Devadatta to lead the holy life and become a monk was pure, but later he became corrupted after developing some supernatural powers.

[edit] Anantarika-kamma (Grave Offenses)

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Devadatta is noted for attempting to kill the Sakyamuni Buddha on several occasions including:

• Throwing a large rock at him. Devadatta missed, but a splinter from the rock drew blood from the Budda's foot. According to Buddhist tradition, this is one of the five ànantarika-kammas, the five most heinous deeds a human can perform.
• Inciting an elephant to charge at the Buddha. The Buddha was able to pacify the elephant by directing metta to it.

According to Suttapitaka, after trying to kill Sakyamuni a number of times, Devadatta set up his own Buddhist monastic order by splitting the monastic community (Sangha) in two (another 'anantarika-kamma'). During his efforts to become the leader of his own Sangha, he proposed five extra-strict rules for monks, which he knew Buddha would not allow. Devadatta's reasoning was that after he had proposed those rules and Buddha had not allowed them, Devadatta could claim that he did follow and practice these five rules, making him a better and more pure monk. One of these five extra-strict rules was about forcing Buddhist monks to be vegetarian and not eat any meat.

In the Contemplation Sutra, Devadatta is said to have convinced Prince Ajatasattu to murder his father King Bimbisara and ascend the throne. Ajatasattu follows the advice, and this action (another 'anantarika-kamma' for killing your own father) prevents him from attaining enlightenment at a later time, when listening to some teaching of Buddha.

Devadatta is the only individual from the early Buddhist tradition to have committed 3 anantarika-kammas.

[edit] Death

Due to the loss of reputation and popularity after splitting the Sangha in two, Devadatta felt bad about what he did, and wanted to make a sincere apology to the Buddha. However after entering the monastery where the Buddha was living at the time, some of the bad karma (intentional action) he made came to fruition; the earth opened to draw him straight into the deepest hell, known as the Hell of Avici.

[edit] Devadatta in Mahayana Teachings

In the Lotus Sutra found in the Mahayana tradition, the Buddha makes a noteworthy statement about how even Devadatta will in time become an Enlightened and compassionate being. This statement was meant to imply that, given enough time, even the worst individuals will eventually become Buddhas regardless of how bad their karma is.