Seventh Section: The Past Cause of Devadatta Throwing the Giant Stone
Heard like this:
At one time, the Buddha was at Anavatapta Spring, accompanied by five hundred great bhikṣus, all of whom were Arhats, possessing the six supernatural powers, except for one bhikṣu, who was different. It was Ananda.
The Buddha spoke to Sariputta, “In the distant past, in the city of Rajagriha, there was a wealthy elder named Sutra. The elder was exceedingly rich, with treasures, elephants, horses, the seven precious jewels, servants, and attendants—all abundant. His son was named Sumati. After the elder Sutra passed away, Sumati had a half-brother, named Suyasa. Sumati thought to himself, ‘What should I do so that I do not have to share the inheritance with Suyasa?’ Sumati then thought, ‘The only way to keep the wealth for myself is to kill Suyasa.’ So, Sumati said to Suyasa, ‘Brother, let us go together to the peak of Mount Gijjhakuta and discuss something.’ Suyasa agreed, and Sumati took his brother’s hand and led him up the mountain. When they reached the highest peak, Sumati pushed his brother into the valley below. Then, he rolled a large stone down on top of Suyasa, crushing him to death at the bottom of the valley.”
The Buddha then said to Sariputta, “Do you know who the elder Sutra was at that time? He was my father, King Suddhodana, in this life. The son, Sumati, was my previous life, and the younger brother, Suyasa, is now Devadatta.”
The Buddha continued to explain to Sariputta, “At that time, because of my greed for wealth and the crime of plotting to kill my brother, I fell into heck, where I endured great sufferings such as being burned by fire and tortured by iron mountains. I suffered for countless thousands of years, and the pain was immeasurable. Now, even though I have attained the unsurpassed, perfect, and complete enlightenment, I still cannot escape the residual effects of the evil deeds I committed in my past life. When I was walking on Mount Gijjhakuta, Devadatta lifted a massive stone, six zhang in length and three zhang in width, and threw it at my head. Fortunately, a mountain deity named ‘Jin Pila’ caught the stone with his hands. However, the stone shattered, and the fragments still struck my toe, causing it to bleed.”
The Buddha then recited the following verse regarding his past karmic connections:
“Because of my greed for wealth in the past, I killed my half-brother,
Pushing him down from a high cliff and piling stones on top of him.
As a result of this cause, I endured prolonged suffering in heck,
Where I was crushed by an iron mountain.
Due to the residual effects of this karma, the stone thrown by Devadatta,
A fragment of the cliff fell and wounded my foot, cutting my toe
The cycle of cause and effect will never vanish, nor will it disappear into thin air.
We should protect these three types of cause and effect and not violate the moral conduct of body, speech, and mind.
Now, I have become the honored Buddha, the leader of the three realms,
And in the Anavatapta Spring, I personally recount the karmic causes of my past lives.”
The Buddha then said to Sariputta, “Look at the Tathagata. All evil has been eradicated, all virtues are complete. the Heavenly beings, Nāgas, gods and spirits, kings, ministers, common people, and all beings desire to be guided to the other shore. Yet, even I cannot avoid the retribution for past wrongs. How much more so for ignorant beings who have not yet attained the Way? Sariputta, you should diligently protect the three practices of body, speech, and mind. Sariputta, all should learn this!”
As the Buddha spoke these words, Sariputta, the five hundred Arhats, the Anavatapta Nāga King, the Heavenly beings, Nāgas, Yakṣas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Garudas, Kinnaras, Mahoragas, all the beings gathered, listened to the Buddha’s teachings and accepted them with great joy, following them in practice.
Dharma Torch 