Section Seven: The Past Cause of Devadatta Throwing the Giant Stone
Heard like this.
At one time, the Buddha was at the Great Anavatapta Spring together with five hundred great bhikṣus. They were all Arhats, possessing the six supernormal powers, with only one bhikṣu as an exception, namely Ānanda.
At that time, the Buddha said to Śāriputra, “In the distant past, in the city of Rājagṛha, there lived in the city an elder named Sutra. The elder was extremely wealthy and noble, and in his household treasures, elephants, horses, the seven jewels, young servants, attendants, and all such things were fully complete. His son was named Sumati. After the elder Sutra passed away, Sumati had a younger half-brother by the same father named Suyasa. Sumati thought, ‘What should I do so that I will not have to divide the property with Suyasa?’ Sumati further thought, ‘Only by killing Suyasa will I not have to divide the property with him.’ Sumati said to Suyasa, ‘Younger brother, let us go together to Vulture Peak Mountain and discuss the matter together.’ Suyasa said, ‘Good.’ Sumati then took his younger brother by the hand and climbed the mountain. When the two brothers had climbed to the highest peak, Sumati pushed his younger brother down into the valley with one hand, and then pushed down a great stone, crushing to death Suyasa, who had fallen to the bottom of the valley.”
The Buddha told Śāriputra, “Do you know who the elder Sutra was at that time? He is my father in this life, King Śuddhodana. The son Sumati at that time was my former body, and the younger brother Suyasa is Devadatta today.
The Buddha told Śāriputra, “At that time, because I coveted wealth and committed the evil karma of plotting to kill my younger brother, I fell into hell and underwent evil retributions such as being burned and boiled by fire and crushed by iron mountains. For countless thousands of years, I suffered immeasurably. Although I have now accomplished Unsurpassed Perfect Enlightenment, I still cannot avoid the residual fruit of retribution from the evil karma created in past lives. When I was walking in meditation on Vulture Peak Mountain, Devadatta lifted up a huge stone sixty feet long and thirty feet wide and hurled it toward the Buddha’s head. Fortunately, there was a mountain spirit named Kumbhīra, who caught the great stone with his hands. Yet the fragments from the great stone as it broke apart still struck the Buddha’s big toe, so that the skin was torn and blood flowed.”
At that time, the Buddha spoke a verse concerning the causes and conditions of his own former lives:
“In the past, because of wealth, I killed my younger half-brother.
I pushed him down from a high cliff and piled stones above him.
Because of the causes and conditions thereby planted, I endured long suffering in hell.
In hell, I was crushed by iron mountains.
Because of this residual karmic retribution, the stone thrown down by Devadatta,
A fragment from the cliff fell and wounded my foot, cutting open my big toe.
The cycle of cause and effect never decays or perishes; it does not vanish into empty space.
One should carefully protect these three causal relations, and not violate the 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 told Śāriputra, “Look at the Tathāgata. All evils have been exhausted, and all good qualities are universally complete. Devas, nāgas, spirits, emperors, ministers, people, and all sentient beings are all to be taught, guided, and caused to cross to the other shore, yet even the Tathāgata still cannot avoid evil retribution. How much more so for sentient beings who are foolish, benighted, and have not attained the Way? Śāriputra, one should well protect the three karmic actions of body, speech, and mind.”
When the Buddha spoke these words, Śāriputra, the five hundred Arhats, the great nāga king Anavatapta, devas, nāgas, ghosts and spirits, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas, having heard the Buddha’s teaching, all accepted it with great joy and practiced it.
Dharma Torch 