Devadatta & blaming others…
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
To view this post in Chinese, please click here.
When someone wants something from you and they don’t get it, they become angry. They never thought of putting in the effort themselves to get what they want. They want you to just give it to them or you do the work for them. The minute they ask or you don’t give it to them, they turn against you immediately. They run, create schism, try to turn others against you also. They are angry at themselves but they don’t want to blame themselves, so they blame you. They are not used to taking the blame. They are not used to taking responsibility so they don’t have it in their minds to start now. It’s a strong childhood habituation that served them somewhat as children when their tantrums were placated with a ‘reward’, but it certainly will not serve them as adults working with responsible people with different value systems. You earn what you get.
They may rant and rage against you incessantly. The funny thing is that, at first they get sympathy because they are really good in turning the events to sound like they are the victims, but then in the end people see who they are, how they act, what their motive is and they question, “Was it that bad”? “What was so bad?” “What do they want from this?” And many times in the process they lose the respect of those who have been with them for years. You cannot keep being unhappy and blaming others and expect all to agree forever. Anger is a choice. The easy and best solution for these people now and even during Devadatta’s time is to apologize. Apologize for their lack of effort, face their insecurities and fears and get back into working for what they want. Be it to achieve fame, love, care, money, a cause, compassion, success and so on. You won’t achieve what you want ranting and raging against your perceived enemy for the rest of your life. No one can ruin your life except you. The secret is to jump back in, make amends and work with the people that can help you achieve what you want or do it yourself. In other words, if Devadatta wanted to be the leader of the Sangha, instead being lazy, sneaky and unworthy, make himself worthy and then request the Buddha again. If he chooses not to do that, then leave the Buddha quietly and realize you lost your chance but you don’t have to create schism with the Buddha and His Sangha to cover your wounded ego and exposed faults. You asked for it.
These types of people can blame you for ruining their lives, and they have bad dreams about it they claim too. Comical to say the least. They are enraged because you ‘hurt’ them so much. They have money, education, health, opportunities and security blankets to fall back on, so go out and achieve!! Stop blaming the one place that didn’t give you what you demanded, but earn it somewhere else on your own. Simply, if you had what it takes, then let’s see what you achieve later. Everyone will be watching in our lives what we achieve including our conscience. When you ask these people or listen to how they are hurt, you are surprised. Because what they are hurt about is so miniscule and more or less in their mind. Yet they want you to take responsibility for them. Bow down to them. Tell them they are right. And even if they are right, they still have to work for what they want to achieve.
Work, effort, speaking up, making friends, having substance, having worth are what make us achieve. But if you don’t support their anger, they become distant or cut you off immediately. They turn on you and they claim you don’t understand their pain when in actuality, they know you are seeing cracks and faults in their reasonings for their extreme anger. They will either go into themselves and hide, find ways and avenues to get revenge, or both or whatever or just degenerate. But unfortunately they will not achieve their goals this way at all. The sooner they realize the better that is, assuming they even had goals or know how to achieve it.
In the case of Devadatta, instead of striking out on his own to make it, which he did not, he should have swallowed his pride and went back to the Buddha. At least he knows it is a place where change is possible and supported. Pride turned into anger was Devadatta’s problem, not the Buddha being direct with him. Devadatta is not inherently evil, just lazy to change his ways as many people are. But what everyone needs to realize, if our ways don’t serve us, it’s easier to change than remain as they are. I am sure Buddha would have taken Devadatta back because the Buddha is compassionate, but maybe give him some intense practice to change. By not going back Devadatta degenerated into a point of no return. In fact Devadatta’s friends should have helped Devadatta back to Buddha’s fold.
People who are extremely successful will not get angry at things they know they have to do something about. They get angry at themselves and do something about it. The key is they do something positive towards fulfilling the goal, they do something about it. People who grew up without any self-earned success like to blame others, tend to blame others. Because like a spoilt child, when something goes wrong, they cry to their parents and throw tantrums. They are accustomed to throwing tantrum, and someone will come and ‘fix’ the problem, or give them what they want scot-free without earning it. Well as adults not under our parents’ free giving ways, we have to learn the world is otherwise. If we don’t want to learn, then we run back to our security blankets. That security blanket can be our boyfriends, girlfriends, spouse, way of life or even parents.
People like this will always blame others and it stops there. They do nothing about it. Blaming others and complaining we are all guilty for them. Yes it could be the other party’s fault and not their’s totally, but you know, you still have to move on, work and a lot of hard work on your own to achieve what you want. Since it’s the other party’s fault, fine. Then now you achieve it on your own without anyone’s support. On your own. Prove it. If you cannot or will not prove it, then remain quiet. You lost your chance. If your self-preservation kicks in, then you swallow your ego and get back in with what you left with curses. Everyone has their opportunities and chances in life. It’s whether you want to do it or not. Complaining is great when you do something and achieve something, otherwise who likes to listen to a broken record. A broken record is a broken record no matter how ‘right’ you are.
In this video, you can see Devadatta has been in Buddha’s order for decades. Even after decades he has not transformed and wanted instant respect and power. He wanted power over the Sangha, to be in charge of them without earning that right. He wanted Buddha to just grant it to him. Obviously from Buddha’s statement that Buddha would not hand it to a ‘clot of spittle’, meaning Devadatta never transformed. He only went through the motions but never changed. Buddha is definitely clairvoyant and knows of Devadatta’s huge ego and wrong motives. Buddha could have let Devadatta down ‘gently’, but Buddha must have let him down gently for decades in the past and it didn’t help Devadatta. So Buddha used the direct way as time is running short. Also we don’t know what problems Devadatta had been creating already, and also not achieving up till the point of asking for the leadership of the Sangha. The point is, gently let down or not is not the issue. Being gently let down will not benefit Devadatta at all as he obviously had not been practicing, but quietly nursing negative plans/ambitions. He would have been harmful in the short and long run again. Perhaps Buddha had to take action to stop greater harm to the Sangha long term. Yes, Buddha is definitely clairvoyant and definitely had a reason to be direct with Devadatta. Whatever it is, if the Buddha had acted to benefit others in the past, why would he start to harm Devadatta now? It doesn’t make sense based on His past actions. There will always be people who have ulterior motives that go unfulfilled and they blame others. There will always be people who are ungrateful. After decades with the Buddha and innumerable teachings/benefits Devadatta received, is it right for him to turn against Buddha just for that one reason? Why does he forget all the kindnesses of Buddha and only remembers the ‘ills’? For him to be in Buddha’s order for decades means there was something great happening, and Devadatta received much benefits or he wouldn’t have stayed so long. Doesn’t make sense at all.
To defame the Buddha for that one reason. How many people does Devadatta hurt by doing that? Can Devadatta think of others instead of himself for once? The Buddha is the head of tens of thousands of Sangha and we know Buddha has great compassion and skill, so we don’t even need to question Buddha’s method based on His results. Read the 108 volume of Buddha’s spoken teachings (Kagyur) and see the methods Buddha taught to combat 84,000 delusions for us. This does not come from an ordinary mind. If we start to question Buddha’s motivation, then we even question the state of enlightenment or the attainments a Buddha achieved and what we can achieve. It cannot be that Buddha is not attained. It cannot be that tens of thousands who followed His teachings after the Buddha has not attained Enlightenment, judging from their bios, actions, deeds, writings & disciples. Is it possible that Shariputra, Maugdalaya, Angulimala, Ananda, Nagarjuna, Shantideva, Bhaveiveka, Tantipa, Padmasambhava, Naropa, Tilopa, Atisha, Candrakirti, Asanga, Tsongkapa, Chandragomin, Dharmakirti, Serlingpa, Kedrup Je, Panchen Sonam Drakpa, Birwapa, Ensapa, Changkya Rolpay Dorje, Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche, Pabongka Rinpoche and our own gurus have no attainments or are not enlightened in some cases? Then we must question each time the motive, actions, directions and attainments of each teacher with each student. Gee, that will be quite time consuming and leaving no room for practice.
But does this mean there are no teachers who are ordinary and make mistakes? Of course not. Ordinary teachers do make ordinary mistakes. So do our parents that we love. So do the siblings we love as well as our partners, children and friends. So what? And when they make mistakes, do we go all the way and turn against them? If you were to turn against the people in your life that make mistakes, then you would have no family and partner left. How come we have complained about our spouse, friends, parents many times, but we don’t turn against them? Because we need them? Need to use them? Same for other people in our lives. Why is our teacher who teaches us the greatest gift of all different than people we feel have benefitted us? Why are our teachers abandoned easier? So what do we do about ordinary mistakes. Just like any practitioner, we take the responsibility to speak to our teacher kindly and with a loving heart. We gently show another way by our loving gratitude to our teacher. We show love, patience and care and explain. Not turning against or creating schism and harm. We can even seek the opinions of other students. If majority of the students think our ordinary teacher is right, take a step back and think it through. Maybe they are right. Maybe not, but our methods are unnecessary. After all, if the majority see it this way, perhaps majority see the clarity than ourselves for the moment. Otherwise why vote? The point is, just as the teacher should be loving and show love, so should the students show love and be loving. It cannot be someone hides under the guise of being a student for the longest time and just expect to receive, get and get more. Reciprocation is important in any relationship. Students must show love, care, generosity, achievements, progress, patience also towards the teacher. Then it’s win-win.
Ask the persons we have turned against for care, love and a second chance. Nevermind the ego. Ego was never our friend anyways…
Even Buddha and Devadatta’s story benefit us today and situations that may be similar in our lives. The Buddha even benefits us through space and time through this.
Instead of thinking deeper of what the Buddha said and Devadatta transforming immediately on the spot, humbling down and accepting what his guru (Buddha) said, he went into a rage. Because his big untransformed ego was hurt. He got very angry. Because he blamed the Buddha for him not getting the power and fame that comes with being head of Sangha. He wasn’t concerned about the Buddha’s burdens, but getting power or some ill aim. Being head of sangha you need to be a good example, humble, learned and kind. Obviously he didn’t fit into this. He used Buddha’s age as an excuse to take over, but he didn’t care about the Buddha at all. He wanted power. And Buddha didn’t give him power and fame. So all the other kindness Buddha granted him for decades was all forgotten. Only the ‘bad’ thing Buddha did to him mattered now. That is what he concentrated on. Buddha did nothing good for him suddenly!! All good was forgotten to serve Devadatta’s purpose. Buddha was so ‘bad’ in his excuse, he tried to create division among the Sangha. He wanted to cover his ulterior motive by defaming the Buddha. To defame Buddha’s reputation by calling him lax. Wow…lax..He is already the Buddha!! And a Buddha can be lax? Why be in the Sangha and control, or be the head of the Sangha, if Buddha can be lax? The whole point of the Sangha is to practise to become a Buddha. If Buddha can be lax, then why be in the Sangha, forget even being the head of the sangha. Some light-eared disloyal Sangha believed Devadatta and left Buddha, but were persuaded to return later. Can you imagine? Persuaded to return to Buddha. As if Buddha is so bad they had to be persuaded. Wow. Light-eared people are interesting aren’t they?
There are people during Buddha’s time and now in every Dharma organization or any organization that are schismatic. They may never shout, be rude or obvious about their schism, proclaiming they like calm environments, but in reality there is nothing calm about their minds because instead of being outright and kindly direct, they will drop a word here and there and never in big groups or meetings. They drop their schismatic thoughts with a smile, over the coffee or accompanied by a gift ( I have experienced this from others who spoke against my teachers/leaders many times) in a gentle voice. Beware! The turmoil they create in your minds leave you nothing but temporary unhappiness, far from the peaceful demeanor in which their schism was delivered. These people are easy to see. They rarely give strong opinions in meetings, even keeping quiet as too many are watching, and fear of discovery keeps them quiet. They never raise their voices as they are not really passionate about anything, as proven by their lack of self made results in their lives so far. If they could have done it on their own, why didn’t they? Raising voices is not a virtue in itself but I prefer a loud direct person than a quiet person that whispers behind the back. These people will always pull people to the side and ‘talk’. They will always talk in a way that they never directly say what they really want to implant in your mind, but they actually ask you questions to ‘help you think’ towards their schismatic goals. They will help you towards their conclusions. In fact the fact they are unhappy most of the time and have tremendous doubt is because of the karmic effects of schism. They should reform immediately in fact. They will sometimes use others to speak for them because they never want to look bad or be caught in a lose-face situation. Why? It’s never about you and how they benefit you, but it’s always about them looking good. Their looking good is much more important then the welfare of the organization, its members and you. Simply you are just a path to tread on to get what they want. I am sure we have come across plenty like this. How do we deal with them? Just like we deal with anyone else. We show patience, love, care and gifts. If this does not work over a period of time and they harm, then you can tell them with a thousand pounds of compassion directly because the round-about way is not benefitting them.
When Devadatta set out to KILL the Buddha after his schism of separating the Sangha by saying Buddha was laxdidn’t work, he was focused and more angry. He blamed his woes on Buddha. He thought his anger was justified. After all, it was Buddha’s fault he didn’t get his power and fame, he told himself and his like-minded supporters. Whatever Buddha did or didn’t do for Devadatta didn’t merit him to defame Buddha, although eventually unsuccessful, and now trying to kill Buddha. Amazing. Also when we don’t support Devadatta and the Devadattas in our lives, they have no power to do something harmful and ridiculous. Support is needed so there is safety in numbers to cover their real intentions. Devadatta just had to go to the Buddha, apologize, swallow his big ego and reform. The end. I mean how many times have our parents scolded us on our bad behavior even publicly? We either turn against them or realize how much they have benefitted us and this must be one of their methods also. I mean we back down with our parents contemplating on their kindness to us. In reality our teachers are even kinder as they teach us the path to cessation of all sufferings and we can bring this to everyone who has been kind to us. What a wonderful way to live. To bring the wonderful ways of Dharma to so many because we were patient enough to learn it and practise it. Best of all, we defeated our real enemy ( self-serving ego) by accomplishing the Dharma. What a wonderful vehicle we would be for bringing the Dharma to others. If we can accept the scolding of our parents because we know their good intent, why not a teacher who takes over this role in some ways but on a much more grander universal scale. Does a teacher scold? Yes. I have been but I never turned against my teacher. Why does a teacher scold? For attained teachers by scolding they purify karma. For ordinary teachers, their deep sense of love and care for you to be repeating dangerous habits. They are worried for you and it manifest that way. I am sure our teachers have spoken to us very nicely many times before resorting to scolding.
Devadatta then try to send 16 archers to kill the Buddha. So much anger. The Buddha taught the archers Dharma and they abandoned their intent. Then Devadatta tried to roll boulders and then finally trying to crush the Buddha again using a drunk elephant. The elephant when coming into Buddha’s presence calmed down from his drunken rage induced by Devadatta. The karma of Devadatta was heavy. He committed the heinous crimes of which there is no intervening rebirth. When we die, we directly take rebirth in Avici ( unending ).
The heinous crimes are:
Killing one’s father, mother, arhat, drawing blood from a Buddha (harm) and creating schism within the sangha.
For without the collection of sangha, Dharma cannot survive. Without dharma surviving, then many will not meet the Dharma and will remain in suffering. So all those suffering beings who cannot meet the Dharma is attributed to the person who created the schism. Similarly in today’s Dharma centres, by creating schism you separate the followers and perhaps disband. The Dharma they had, if survived, can benefit so many, but because of you, they will not get the Dharma. All the sufferings that could have been changed by them receiving Dharma will now come to the schism maker. The karma will come back to the schism maker in form of always having doubts, unable to gain peace, easy to forget the learning, being always more negative than positive, negative activities will be more appealing to accrue more negative karma, unable to gain attainments, eventual separation from people they are attached to, and loneliness. Thoughts of self harm will arise also. As schism was intended to separate, so will they be separated. Actions resemble results.
In the end, Devadatta fell into Avici according to the sacred Dhammapadha sutta. He did regret according to some recounts by praising the Buddha as the most perfect refuge just before being swallowed up. But even still, he has to live in the conditions of the karma he has contributed in Avici. Karma cannot be escaped, so do not enjoy the negative deeds. Do not revel in it or keep perpetuating it. Stop it. Apologize, show deep regret and reverse it. All of us deserve a second chance. Why create Avici on earth for ourselves when it can be another way?
When our anger takes over and we don’t wish to do something about it, then we see everything in a distorted manner. Distorted because whatever we see is not really the reality but what we mistakenly think it is. For Devadatta, even the perfect Buddha became an ordinary person with no Enlightenment he tried to disparage and plot to kill, as soon as Buddha didn’t agree to his wants. His anger made Buddha seem like his enemy, which was so far from the truth. Likewise we can be prostrating to Manjushri and believe our own teachers is an emanation of Manjushri when we are told and given what we want. But the minute the teacher tell us something contrary to our habituated attachments, Manjushri or not, we will disparage him. Well since Manjushri is a perfect object to prostrate to and by doing so we collect so much merit, wouldn’t it be the same if we disparaged him? Collect so much negative karma. You see, for years we can believe and tell the whole world our guru is an emanation of something divine and great and even his gurus says so, but the minute we are not happy with how we are ‘treated’ or spoken to, our guru is wrong, not divine or holy anymore. Our anger ‘officially’ un-divined him. Our anger becomes the most holiest object we worship. How we are told the truth should not matter to someone who is matured and seeking genuine ways to find betterment. Truth comes in so many methods. Listen to it without being hung up on how it’s told. Not everything is on a silver platter. We do everything to carry out our anger against everything in our path because we are not given what we want and told the truth. Our gurus or Manjushri didn’t become unholy or not worthy of your respect just because he told you the truth (what you don’t want to hear), but in fact you should respect him more that he dares to tell you the truth. That’s a real friend. Perhaps you don’t like the truth at this time. Perhaps you don’t like the method in which it was told. Nevertheless it has been told and you do what you will with it because in time you will have to face the truth your holy guru told you. You will have to face the truth one day and let’s hope it won’t be too late when your ego swallows up your last chances.
A monk is holy and great until he starts teaching you the real dharma. ~Tsem Rinpoche
Watching this talk was powerful and gave me much to contemplate on. I learned and was happy to learn. I can see how Devadatta’s incident related to many events I witnessed in the past. In the end, pain does make us stronger. Running from the truth will only weaken us. Why blame others. This is samsara after all. Who promised you a rose garden when you took rebirth? I recommend all of you to also listen to at least the ten minutes I have extracted. And if time allows, the whole talk which is interesting. I’ve included the extracted part on Devadatta and also the whole talk.
Professor Lopez is indeed a great speaker and captures our attention. I thank him for his talk and may he continue to bring Dharma to many with a blessed very long life.
Tsem Rinpoche
Short extracted portion 10 mins (must watch)
Complete talk
Donald S. Lopez, Jr., is Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan. He was educated at the University of Virginia, receiving a doctorate in religious studies in 1982. After teaching at Middlebury College, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1989. He is the author or editor of more than 20 books on Buddhism.
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Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article story of Devadatta. It tells us that even if we are close to the Guru and we do not transform , having the wrong motivation , we could end up worse. Doing Dharma work has to be pure and always thinking of benefiting others and not for ourselves. Whenever anything happens, the first thing most of us will do is blaming others. We should contemplate on our actions and the consequences and for-most not blaming others for our failure. Making bad decision is a part of life . Blaming others for your bad decision is immature. When we blame others for what we are going through , we deny our responsibility. Everything we do is based on the choice we make, its our responsibility and not blaming other for the failure. We will never learn if we keep blaming others. Taking responsibility for our mistakes gives us the power to change our life for a better. The story of Devadatta reflects on ourselves, a lesson to learn from our own mistakes and check whether we have a good motivation on our work. Interesting read will read it from time to time,
Thank you again with folded hands Rinpoche for these precious teachings.
We are the creator of our attitude and character. Our mind is the one that induce our actions and speech. When we are young we were taught and raise by our parents, so whatever fault we had done, it was our parents to protect us. Therefore, the tendency to such actions grow more as time go. It turned into habits and as we grow older our expectations will be different due to society influence. We became angry easily for minor mistakes or disappointment without self-inspection or contemplation and all we could do is blame others.
Buddha’s teaching is sacred and profound, that it helps me to gain realisation of the poisons of our mind that are very harmful. I’m glad into the right path of spiritual practice and grateful have met a kind teacher who tirelessly teaching and guide us. Thank you Rinpoche. 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this story. We also shared this story to KSDS students during class. It is a good example of a person who have so many negative attitude such as anger, jealousy, chasing for fame , greedy and in the end he has to suffer the result which he has created by himself. It is a good reminder to all of us to be mindful of our action. To stop creating negative karma as it will harm ourselves and others. Instead of blaming others on what we don’t have, we should look at ourselves and transform to be better.
The story of Buddha and Devadatta serves as a reminder for all of us on a few level. One being that the yearning for fame and power has no place in the Sangha community. The position of Head of the Sangha has to possess exemplary qualities e.g. to be a good example, humble, learned and kind. Devadatta yearned for this position even when he was not ready. He should reflected on how he could improve and try again, instead of turned against his Guru in the fit of anger. The other reminder being that ungrateful and focusing on the negative will not help in our spiritual growth; as shown in Devadatta’s story. After decades with the Buddha and innumerable teachings/benefits Devadatta received, he chose to focus on the pain and hurt, and turn against Buddha because of the reprimandation, instead of thinking deeper of what the Buddha said. Thank you very much for this teaching, Rinpoche.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful story ..some knowledge and teachings to learn .A very good example of Devadatta..story which we should learn and might benefits us..(..should not blame others for our own mistakes and actions.Then get angry for not getting what we wanted.)We should be responsible to what we do .We have to change and transform to be a better person.
Thank you Rinpoche.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing the videos and this incredible teaching.
Devadatta is an example of someone who likes to blame other for their faults and then get angry when their ego is being challenged. It is not hard to find these kinds of people in the society nowadays. No one likes to take responsibility of their life choices. When things go wrong, they blame those that are around them to make them feel less guilty. They never looked back at their own faults and keep pointing fingers at other peoples. Then, when their fault and ego are being exposed and challenged, they will get angry.
We have to learn from this story, we cannot blame others for anything that goes wrong in our life. Any unhappy events in our life is due to our past karma which we created it ourselves. When we blame others, we will not transform into a better person. We will stucked being the miserable and depress old me. By taking responsibility of our lives, we will change definitely into a better person that can benefit the people around us.
Humbly,
Chris
Extremely enriching article with a great message. The folly we do is truly the thief of our happiness. Stop this awful mind, we must control ourselves. Thank you for the delivery of your great knowledge always Rinpoche.
Thank you Rinpoche for the teaching. The more I learn about the Dharma, I start to understand why sometimes people gets angry and unhappy, including myself. Knowing the reason is one thing but to transform is another challenge. I hope by doing more Dharma work, I have the merits to learn Dharma, be perseverance and transform.
謝謝仁波切為我们精心製作的佛法教言。我相信憤怒是罪惡的根源，因為它會引起我們進一步退化，如果我們繼續與更多的藉口和理由推動令自己生嗔，需要的是清晰的頭腦退一步想想為什麼我們憤怒擺在首位。如仁波切說，如果我們憤怒出於錯誤的理由，那麼它是確定承認我們的錯誤的行為和努力，成為權。賺取的權利是正確的。那麼，人們會尊重我們為我們所做的是從我們的辛勤工作，而不是我們的自我膨脹而希望所有的事情被認同。
This story on Devadatta brings such good knowledge on the profound teachings of Buddha.
It is very normal in ordinary human behavior where people will get angry and create schism when they are unhappy over certain situations or circumstances. The main reason for such reaction is that these people feel insecured when their ego has been hurt. People are in their comfort zone and everything must happen to their wishes and expectations.
Likewise this is being reflected in Devadatta’s story. His expectations of Buddha was not within his wishes and expectations. He starts to blame Buddha for his short comings, without realising that he has not transformed himself and letting go of his ego and laziness. Devadatta has many delusions. As such, he started planning to go against Buddha with very unpleasant actions which will lead to very bad karma for Devadatta.
Like Devadatta, if we do not transform our mind, be willing to change and accept our failures and short comings, we may not be able to fulfill and advance further spiritually.
Thank you very much Rinpoche for posting this story.
With folded hands
Judy Chen
Dear Rinpoche,
Devadatta was ignorant about his own qualities and blame others for not getting what he wanted. He should instead look within himself, study and understand his own weaknesses and shortcomings.
To be a leader, Devadatta should stop blaming otheres. To make it worst, he created schism, throw tantrums when he didnt get what he wanted and was revengeful to the extent of wanting to kill the Buddha which lead him to received the karma of return to Avichi Hell of uninteruptted pain where he suffered tremendously. Devadatta should be thankful for being so near to his Guru who was there to guide him. Devadatta also forgotten all the kindness that Buddha has granted him for decades. Just because Buddha did not grant Devadatta to be the head of Sangha, he went into a rage and blame Buddha for not getting the power and fame.
Devadatta felt jealous, unhappy and revengeful because of his own emotional feelings and delusions. Although it could be the fault of others, Devadatta should move on and work a lot more harder to achieve what he want. Everyone has equal opportunities to be successful.
Devadatta should humbly seek the advise of Buddha for guidance again and contemplate the Buddha teachings. By practicing & applying the Dharma, he can learn to defeat his self serving ego. Devadatta should learn and apply the antitodes for his unhappiness. He should work hard, speak substance, spread Buddha’s teachings, put in effort to transform himself to have the qualities of being patient, kind and compassionate so that he can benefit the sangha’s in the community.
Thank you Rinpoche very much for Rinpoche’s profound teachings & guidance to benefit us. Rinpoche has always been the light to others. We must transform and learn to be the light to benefit others.
With folded hands
Rena
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article because, at times, I am too a victim of my own failure to see my faults when I fail. At times, I am able to recognise my weakness as to why I am not able to achieve what I wanted to achieve, but at times, I am really lost as to what constitutes to my failures. This is the toughest part..I do not know what is missing in me that caused my failure. My remedy is to keep trying out new ways and new methods and see whether they work for me. Hope I find the answer before the time runs out..
It must have hurt Buddha’s feelings very much when Devadatta turn against him . A student that has always being by a Gurus side that turns around and backstab his own Guru is sad indeed. A student must have complete trust in his or her Guru and even if the Guru belittles you , you must accept it calmly and understand that Guru does so to give you his teachings.
It is sad to learnt the same have happen to our beloved Guru H.E. Tsem Rinpoche.Though I have not met Rinpoche in person but knowing him via his blog , via Facebook and Twitter and via the Pastors and Kecharians I could tell that he is a dedicated Guru that does everything he could for the benefits of his students and my inner instinct tells me he is the Guru that I have been searching for . When we have our full trust in our Guru we should not be light eared and listen to those that are like Devadatta. The greed, anger , stubbornness in Devadatta and gossips that Devadatta creates has cause himself (Devadatta) a life long of suffering for it only brings Devadatta further and further away from Enlightenment. We should always have 100% percent trust in our Guru and Love our Guru deeply from within our hearts regardless of whether we have met him in person or not . Do not be indulge in gossips and doing negative things to our Guru whom have help us so much. Negative gossips will only bring lots of unhappiness and creates lots of negative karma to ourselves. I am so happy and feel so blessed to have chance upon H.E. Tsem Rinpoche for I know I have found my Guru. (With folded hands)
Thank you Pastor SP and Rinpoche for the wonderful write up and videos. There are really so much to learn from. Not blaming, controlling of pride, ego. Not harming enlightened beings, Buddhas. I have not watched the full video, but I definitely will as the 10 min extract caught my attention of Devadatta story.
I have on many accounts witnessed students being rude to Rinpoche, our guru, and many times forgiven, yet these people do not learn and repent.
May they learn their mistakes and grow.
I wish to also apologise for many times doubting my guru, struggling between positive and negative…but Rinpoche’s love always calms me.
Thank you for always setting my mind straight, even though we are miles apart, my dearest guru.
With love.
Edwin
The Devadatta story tells us that even if we are close to the Guru if we do not transform , have the wrong motivation , you could end up worse than before you even meet your Guru , great story Rinpoche , Thank You
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing Devadatta’s story to us along with the precious commentary. Anger is definitely the one that’s pulling us down and slowing us down, especially when doing Dharma work. The motivation in doing Dharma work has to be pure and always thinking of benefiting others and not for ourselves. If our motivation is not strong, we tend to self-indulge and start creating many problems within ourselves and eventually affecting the others. We start to blame and blame and blame.. it’s never ever our fault. Whenever anything happens, the first thing most of us will do is blame. We never contemplate on our actions and the consequences. We are all very god in pointing fingers to others.
This story on Devadatta shows us when our ego are bruised or challenged, we can turn cold and against to someone, in this case the Buddha, who has shown so much love and care and most importantly given precious Buddha’s teachings, instantly. We only remember the “bad” things that the person has done towards us and have forgotten every single good things that person has once given or done towards us. Our mind grasps on to this “bad” things or “bad” actions of that person towards us and therefore, we forgot everything else we once learned or received.
This story shows us clearly how if we grasp and hold onto our own ego and only blame others, we will face the consequences, our own negative karma, like Devadatta. The Buddha will never ever harm us. It’s our own negative karma that comes back to us eventually.
There’s an old Chinese said, “Our fate is in our hands, we need to create/ earn it”. Somehow in our life, we could be stuck in a situation that we keep focusing on the stepping stone, instead thinking out of the box. Therefore a spiritual/true friend and guru plays a big role to help/ advice us to solve the issues that we created by our own. If we encounter people who has bad intention, we shall cherish them like a rare jewels…I think they could be Bodhisattva sometimes, that we shall not talk bad about them as they are here to train us to be more patience and more forgiving. I’m not perfect though, if I can’t tame my mind, I have no way to change others, therefore I need to continuously learn and practice dharma for better. Everyday, I shall recall my motivation why I need to do my sadhana not just to collect merits; I shall not making it as routine as I wake up and brush my teeth daily as it can protects my teeth, instead I shall contemplate depth that this precious human life is to benefit other, to bring them happiness. Start from repaying kindness to my parents, taking care of my families, and eventually community and numberless of sentient beings.
Most of the time, when we get criticized, we let our ego and anger take over us. We then blame everything on other people, and its all about how we feel. Its all about me, me, me and me. When that happens, we should contemplate on why they criticize us and then transform our mind. Of course blaming others would make us look better but will it help us achieve anything? The story of Devadatta also makes us reflect on ourselves, check whether we have a good motivation when doing dharma work.
Thank you Rinpoche for so skillfully using the Devadatta story to help us to look within ourselves when we get angry and start blaming ppl for our own unhappiness and shortcomings. The detailed explanation is so amazingly true for some of us in one way or another. Everyone of us can learn something from Devadatta as we are not perfect ppl with full of desire and imperfections. Thank you again for this precious teaching. With folded hands!
we are very funny creatures..when all is good and dandy we praise that one person, when we are angry everything the person does is wrong and horrible. All the goodness once showered upon us we forget easily. thats why our motivation should be examined always. I suppose the devadatas we encounter in our daily lives or dharma centers also help us to make sure and remind us we dont end up being like another devadata and also for us to be more mindful of such persons – we can practice compassion on them for they are only creating more bad karma by disparaging the holy guru, buddha, dharma and sangha.
Thank you Rinpoche for another great teaching. We do meet a lot of people who has great ego in them and it is quite hard talking to them because whatever and whenever you talk to them on a certain topic, they will have their 101 reasons or excuses. How do we deal with people like these so that they can see their egoistic self and change? It is very hard to tell them straight on their face. I wonder if there’s another way that we can approach them with that will not hurt them but on the other hand will change their thinking and mindset. Thank you Rinpoche! _/\_
Thank you Rinpoche for this teaching. I feel the little ‘Devadatta’ in me in my anger, ego and petty jealousies. Confronting my flaws and inadequacies made me horrendously uncomfortable. I used to believe the old adage “keep your mouth shut and let others think you a fool rather than open it and confirm that you are a fool”. That, hiding, did not help me grow and progress. The flip side of that coin is that “the teacher is no good, that’s why I am stupid”. That blaming kept my ego intact but still I learn nothing.
So, at the end, it is me, myself who has to walk the talk. I have to know myself and watch my mind. Sounds easy but is the toughest thing in the world to do. In the story, even Devadatta changed at the absolute very end. “He did regret according to some recounts by praising the Buddha as the most perfect refuge just before being swallowed up.” So, there is hope yet for us all. I just have to learn to, in a mundane way, let go and move on.
“Buddha could have let Devadatta down ‘gently’, but Buddha must have let him down gently for decades in the past and it didn’t help Devadatta. So Buddha used the direct way as time is running short.” This part tells me that i do have to hurry up and not waste time.
Thanks for another profound teaching that give pertinent message: Human mind so attach to reputation and ignorance that unwilling to accept truth. As such, immediate approach from ego is blaming others and always looking for convenient, avoiding responsibility. If we do not practice in accordance to Buddha teaching, our mind will never transformed and bad habitual will create more negativity karma.
A lot can be learned from the story of Devadatta as Devadatta blamed others for him not being the leader of the following and in contrast, Buddha didn’t blame him in return. In retrospective, we can realise that blaming others will lead to our downfall and not blaming others but instead trying to help others will lead us to peace.
[…] To read more: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/devadatta-blaming-others.html […]
真相伤人，只因为无法面对自己。我想，诚诚实施面对了自己，人生很多难题不仅䏻迎刃而解，而且你要不成功也难。
我个人的领悟是，对身边的人发怒的人，其实怨恨的是自己。恨自己没有拿出最大的努力，得到最好的成绩，这成绩不一定是世俗的销售业绩还是升职加薪，不过，只要你付出最大的努力，业绩还是职位薪水的提升都是过程中“附加赠送“的礼物。
归咎他人跟内在的愤怒息息相关，内在的愤怒又跟自己无法去面对今天的自己相关。有时候是我们不晓得内在的愤怒源自于哪里，了解了愤怒的源头以后要去面对则是另一个需要努力的。
面对内在的自己，接受内在的自己，往做自己努力，就䏻还一个内心祥和自在的自己。我相信，这样的自己，其实干些什么事都已经不重要了，在你努力每个领域应该都是发出光辉的。
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this story of Devadatta with us.
The story of Devadatta illustrates how gnarly things can get if we “walk” the virtuous path without transforming our minds. It took one harsh truth from The Buddha to spin Devadatta’s world out of control. I mean, guy must have been extremely livid to think of killing The Buddha. He was blinded by hatred and could only obsess about getting back at The Buddha.
When we partake in any dharma activities or practice dharma with the wrong motivation in mind, we will be faced with disappointments, mostly because we did not yield the results we want (or think we want).
The story of Devadatta also exemplifies that anyone, even one who has been in close proximity with their teacher for decades, can turn against their own teacher if they do not put in the effort to transform the mind or eliminate ego.
“Ego” is indeed very harmful for us. It can deter us from gaining something beneficial or even make us grow malicious and vindictive.
When I first started out as a graphic designer, my work was criticized many times. And it hurt like hell at the time (wounded victims were mostly my pride & ego). I would argue selfishly, but over time, I realized that it was deterring my own growth as a designer. I wasted so much energy hissing and snapping back, defending my crappy design rather than learning from criticisms and becoming better.
Not to claim that I’m a mere 2 footsteps away from enlightenment now. I still have a long journey ahead of me as well and much to transform.
I am rereading this article and Rinpoche’s commentary it sure brings a lot perpectives to mind.
i) One is if we want something, getting angry when we do not get it is not going to help us get it. But accepting the criticism and reality we are not there yet and working towards is much better than descending into a fury of anger.
ii) The things about anger is it burn u up, and it can make you lose control, like in the case of Devadatta, he lost his head and could not remember all the many years Buddha had taken care and given him the precious dharma.
Like Devadatta and due to our unwillingness to change, laziness, wrong view & etc. Most of us when face with difficulties or failures rather than taking responsibility for the results, prefer to put the blames on others. Blaming others is easy as it will not make us look bad. However, it also stop us from changing, improving and hence making no progress in anything that we do. As time pass & each time that put the blame on others it create the cause for us to commit even greater negative actions & experience more negative results.Therefore, we must have the courage to face with all difficulties & challenges in life, accept our fault, cultivate positive attitude, take full responsibility for our actions and move on with a positive state of mind.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this very inspiring story.
Shu min on 2 July, 2013 at 2.30pm
Thank you Rinpoche for this teaching on blog post for us. The story of Devadatta was so scary that I promise myself I will never do wrong. I will never be ego. If I am wrong I will show deep regret and apologize for those that I hurt.
Devadatta should not blame the Buddha for his own failure. If he wanted to be the leader of the Sangha, he should work hard for it. Respect has to be earned not given. He created schism in the Sangha community and also try to hurt and kill Buddha. The karma of Devadatta was heavy. When he died he directly take rebirth in Avici.
In conclusion, we should respect our Guru by listening to his advice and guidance. With folded hands, I again thank Rinpoche for this meaningful Dharma teaching.
Thank you for posting this interesting and meaningful post. I think we should do more pujas to diminish our inner obstacles.
Very wonderful video and explanation.
Few points stood out for me after reading this.
1. We can be with the world’s most powerful person, spend our life with them, eat with them, stay with them, in this case The Buddha, but if we do not make any effort to change ourselves our karma, end of the day we will still need to face them.
2. Buddha show us karma, explained to us, but the key is we have to do it ourselves, to stop accumulating negative karma. Even Buddha himself need to purify his own karma, from the short clip Prof Lopez explained Buddha was hurt when Devadatta push the rocks down the cliff, this is due to the residue of Buddha’s negative karma from many life time ago. Even Buddha himself need to purify his own karma, can you imagine us ?
3. Everything could happen if we let our mind taking over us. Devadatta was a sincere nice monks that followed Buddha for decades before he requested Buddha to take over the sangha community. Just few years before end of his life, he let power control over himself. Due to Devadatta’s greed, and urge for power, he can betray his guru, his cousin, his family that he have followed for decades. Which also lead to his terrible death.
4. Have a pure motivation on our Dharma practice, Rinpoche have taught us many times that before we start any activities which related to our spiritual practice, we need to check our mind and motivation, because the motivation could lead us to gain good karma or bad karma. Ex. If one serving the guru perfectly, follow his instruction or helping others with a pure motivation of benefiting others, this person will gain good merit/karma. The other hand if one did the above but it’s because he wanted to look good, urging for praise etc etc, not only he will not received any good karma but negative karma. Why is that so, even though both actions are the same? It’s because when we doing something with the idea of looking good, we are actually feeding to our selfishness, proud, pride, all these are the main ingredients for us to go to the three lower realms, how can we gain merit by feeding our own ego.
Well, just some of my thoughts here, hope to same with everyone.
Devadatta represents the evil nature in all of us; which are the 3 poisons of our karmic existence in samsara. As we develop a clear understanding of karma, knowing the positive, wholesome actions that bring happiness and the negative, unwholesome actions that bring suffering, we cultivate the wisdom, insight, and right understanding that free us from delusion.
By studying the Dharma and applying the teachings properly in our lives, we will gradually wear away even the most stubborn habitual behaviors, fully liberating ourselves from stress, unhappiness, and suffering.
Thank you Rinpoche for giving us in depth teachings from Devadatta’s story. Devadatta is an example to remind us of the eight worldly concerns.
For twelve years following his admission into the order, Devadatta conducted himself with faultless deeds and thoughts. He also obtained supernatural power and even winning praise from Sariputra for his saintliness. However, his psychic power diminished when Devadatta conceived a desire to become leader of the order in the Buddha’s place and was also scheming to win lay converts to satisfy his desire for honour and material gains.
It is truly important for us who are Dharma practitioner to strive to practice Dharma for real as going through the motion of Dharma activities alone will not ensure spiritual progress, less a good immediate future rebirth. Even Devadatta, a close disciple of the Buddha who is very learned in Dharma, whose former life was a forest renunciate who assisted Buddha Shakyamuni to Buddhahood can fall into the trappings of worldly concerns and degenerate to the extent to want to kill his spiritual guide.
However, what strikes me is that despite going to Avici for all his misdeeds, there is still hope and one’s effort or “investment” is Dharma and practice is never wasted. It is mentioned by the Buddha that in future times, Devadatta will be:
“greatly revered and honored and shall become no less than the greatly revered Tathagata Devaraja, who shall lead innumerable beings to enlightenment. After he has passed away, the Dharma of this Buddha shall remain for twenty intermediate kalpas” (from the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra).
Hence, Rinpoche’s advice is very sound, Devadatta just had to go to the Buddha, apologise, swallow his big ego and reform to achieve his potential. It is not about who’s right (Shakyamuni) or wrong (Devadatta), but knowing that our spiritual guides/ Guru only has our best welfare & benefit in mind. It is then very foolish to harbour hatred towards our spiritual guides/ Guru or spiritual friends who have taken the time and effort to reveal the ugly truth about us in order for us to progress in our spiritual path.
Our wish to be happy is strong at all times,
Yet we do not gather merit to yield this result.
We have little endurance for hardship and suffering,
Yet ruthlessly push for the things we desire.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern,
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.
– Wheel of Sharp Weapons, Verse 58
We are all governed by karma and our actions in our previous lives has it’s repurcussions.
Therefore, I was thinking, are our actions and realizations in this present life alone, strong enough to combat the negative karma accumulated in our previous lives?
I would tend to say yes and thus wonder if those that continue negative actions do so with full choice even though they may not have full intent.
This is really quite a challenge if we were to ‘listen’ to our own deluded minds/thoughts, hence it makes having a Guru like Rinpoche even more important as it is our voice of reason/truth in a muddled existence!
May we never be separated from our Guru in this life and all future lives…
Never let our extreme ego, animalistic anger and latent laziness win over our liberation…
Instead of thinking that person hurts me, disappoints me, break my heart, ruin up my life, maybe we should think why I can’t let go and forgive.
If being hurt, being disappointed are so bad, then why when our spouse hurt us or disappointed us, we still can carry on and let go? But why not the people you don’t like? The hurt/sad feeling vary with different people? It is just the mind game that we play with our mind maybe! There’s not so much of ‘enemies’ in life! And the reason why we have ‘enemies’ in life is that we don’t choose to let go and forgive, we hold on to anger and blame, that’s why we have ‘enemies’ and become bitter/cold.
Yes we will have people we don’t like in life, but they are not our enemies. We don’t have to spend our time to blame/hate and do nothing and just complain and try to get mercy from others! This is not the way! All the Buddhas don’t have any enemies, as they don’t feel hurt/disappointment/bitter even people hurt them in our eyes. Buddha Shakyamuni didn’t hate Devadatta for hurting Himself.
My point is, if we think carefully, there’s not so much of ‘enemies’ in life if we choose to let go and forgive, then do something with the hurt feeling by ourselves. Stop blaming and create enemies for ourselves. The enemies that we create ourselves leads to the battle within. And this battle is really tiring and meaningless as it exhausts your energies and all the seed of kindness you have to ‘protect’ yourself. Not worth at all.
it exhausts your energies and all the seed of kindness you have *just to ‘protect’ yourself. Not worth at all.
I really enjoy and agree with the opening paragraph from this post. “When someone wants something from you and they don’t get it, they become angry. They never thought of putting in the effort themselves to get what they want. They want you to just give it to them or you do the work for them. The minute they ask or you don’t give it to them, they turn against you immediately.”. I have experienced this many times before from many people and even from my own personal behaviour. Many of us has grown up to cry for something that we want that we couldn’t get at our parents but a fair few of us actually grew up to learn that we can’t always get what we want and the rest had practice being spoilt by their parents over and over again that eventually this became a habit. I still think that this sort of behaviour some what resides within me but it got less as I grew up and my parents kept teaching me by saying no and not giving in to give me what I want. Out of my parents great compassion they sacrificed their popularity with their children to say no to our wants in order to benefit us in the long run and I am very thankful for that.
There are many people who create schism to turn others againts you, I am ashamed to say I may have been this way before or may still be but not as bad compared to the past, but at least I am more aware of it now and I want to learn from it and practice it. I understand that creating schism does not benefit me in any way and that I should realise that because they did not want to help me does not make them a bad person but I would have to earn it on my own because like Rinpoche says “No one can ruin your life except you”. We can’t always be expecting someone to be helping us in our time of need, we should find solutions by figuring out how should we or can we help ourselves. I need to start taking responsibility for myself. Rinpoche has always told everyone to take responsibility for themselves but many of it has fallen into deaf ears.
It really opened my mind when I read “They may rant and rage against you incessantly. The funny thing is that, at first they get sympathy because they are really good in turning the events to sound like they are the victims, but then in the end people see who they are, how they act, what their motive is and they question, “Was it that bad”? “What was so bad?” “What do they want from this?” And many times in the process they lose the respect of those who have been with them for years.”. Ranting towards your friends to find someone to agree with you to fill your ego and your fault truly makes a person be viewed so low. Complaining to someone about what another person has not done for you does not benefit us in any way except to increase our pride and ego. Blaming another person does not get anything done, it does not fix the problem, it does not help you, it only provides you to waste time and energy when that time spent blaming others could have been put to good use to solve your problem on your own.
I am really afraid by the description of what Rinpoche had posted “They may never shout, be rude or obvious about their schism, proclaiming they like calm environments…These people are easy to see. They rarely give strong opinions in meetings, even keeping quiet as too many are watching, and fear of discovery keeps them quiet. They never raise their voices as they are not really passionate about anything, as proven by their lack of self made results in their lives so far. If they could have done it on their own, why didn’t they?..but it’s always about them looking good. Their looking good is much more important then the welfare of the organization, its members and you. Simply you are just a path to tread on to get what they want.” Eventhough I do not feel that I may be creating schism, but not speaking up in public meetings, dropping comments here and there at the side, being fear of discovery keeps me quiet sounds a lot like how I would behave. I do not think I create schism but with this behaviour it may create schism carelessly without being aware of it, being ignorant of it can be very dangerous and I wouldn’t want to strengthen such a behaviour. Reading this gives me a lot to contemplate on, whether my actions are correct or not. I really want to be more aware of my actions.
We should learn to be humble and apologise for our lack of effort and just face our problems, but still at the same time do not always be apologising to someone especially your Guru if you are going to always commit the same heinous behaviour as apologising for something you did wrong but would continue to practice only hides your lack of effort to actually wanting to transform and change for the better. This in turn only creates more bad karma for yourself.
The story of Devadatta of blaming the Buddha has benefitted many people, with his cruel actions to have actually hated and even attempted to murder the Buddha is truly despicable but has given us a very strong example as to what blaming others would conceive. The Buddha was extremely clairvoyant and I believe that he knew that this would have benefitted many and for Devadatta himself. Even though Devadatta had eventually fallen into Avici this story had remained true to its moral as to what the consequences it brings and that many of us should learn from it.
I really enjoyed reading and watching this post and hope that i may be able to learn and benefit from it. I hope my views and thoughts arising from this is correct and I would like to humbly thank Rinpoche for sharing this and teaching us indirectly, giving us the chance to read and learn from Devadatta’s story for us to actually contemplate on and think deeply for our actions. Thank you for sharing this post Rinpoche and I dearly hope you are well and rested.
Don’t you guys just find Devadatta’s story really tiring? I mean this in a totally positive sense! As you read his story, look at what a jealous, angry, vengeful person Devadatta was. I felt really tired for him to have lived such a life, despite having spent decades in the Dharma. So much effort into harming another being…effort that he could have redirected elsewhere. If he had just dropped his feud with Buddha after his first assassination attempt, all would have been well. Devadatta could’ve got on with his practice and tried to purify whatever negative karma he had created, instead of creating even more.
But the thing is that his anger really did blind him out of seeing any positive aspects in Buddha, until it was much too late. How many of us having this same type of blinding anger like Devadatta? And what are we doing about it now? What am *I* doing about my anger now? Am I really so different to Devadatta as I like to think I am? I wrote more about my thoughts on my blog here: http://elenakhong.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/devadatta-and-how-not-to-end-up-in-avici/
The other aspect of this story I ‘enjoyed’ was the aspect of incarnations. Prof Lopez spoke about Devadatta previously inciting a prince to kill his father, therefore indirectly committing one of the five heinous crimes. In this, Devadatta shows us that the negative habituations we have in our current lives aren’t just the result of our current lives’ actions, but the product of many lifetimes of negative habituations. So it goes back to what Rinpoche has always taught – what you are today is what you did yesterday; what you are tomorrow is what you’re doing today. Since I dislike the suffering I experience today, what am I doing now about the suffering I am going to experience tomorrow?
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this story with us. Every time I go back to it, I see and learn something new!
[…] Devadatta & blaming others… (tsemtulku.com) […]
It’s because of the ego and anger, the results will be causing more arguments, painfulness and suffering within oneself and people surrounding us.
This story about Devadatta is an inspirational article. Rinpoche teaches and practices are what the Buddha has taught. Rinpoche’s love, care and kindness has showered all the sentient beings.
Through many years of Rinpoche’s patience, love, care and the Dharma teachings to me, I have let go so much of my ego, anger and with the attitude of keep on blaming others. And now, with the Dharma practice I became a better person and much happier and with that, people around me have also changed. Thank You Rinpoche and I love You! 🙂
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this story and explain in an indepth manner. In this modern society, Humans are swallowed by their ego and this will leads to anger and hatred. Anger will lead us to create negative actions that will hurt people around us. Anger is like a fire burning and destroy all the positive merits that we had gain in the past. In the end, we have to receive the karma that has been created by our own ego. Hence, I hope that through this teaching, I can conquer my own ego and to overcome my anger in order to become a better person. Once again thank you Rinpoche for spending time to explain our ego through Devadatta’s story.
Upon reading about Tsem Rinpoche’s sharing on Devadatta and the Buddha, I realise that we all behave like Devadatta at one time or another and there are actually many of such Devadattas in our midst whether in an organisation, society or classroom, our own extended family, and even supposedly ‘faultless’ religious group or Sangha. Indeed, we often get snippets of schisms day in, day out – outright from disgruntled associates or as innuendos from ‘concerned friends’…
Throughout the thousands of years of teaching since the Buddha’s time and despite the Dharma practices that many profess, being in Samsara and living in this degenerate times, I believe we cannot really escape from being afflicted with the 3 root delusions (poisons) of hatred, pride and ignorance and having attachment and aversion to the 8 worldly concerns (“dharmas”) – if we do not constantly remind ourselves of such pitfalls! Without such delusions and concerns, we can then sincerely work towards loving kindness and generosity for all others.
Interestingly, this story has led me to find out more about Devadatta – that he eventually took refuge in the Buddha before he was swallowed by the earth and into Avici hell. After his suffering in the hell, the holy life that Devadatta led in his early life would ensure that he would become a Pratyekabuddha (Pacceka Buddha) named Satthissara in the distant future. As a Pratyekabuddha, he would be able to achieve enlightenment by his own efforts without a teacher…
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the real story with much explanation of Devadatta during Buddha’s life time. One should take up their own actions responsibly that the effect of each action will lead oneself to either good or bad results and karma, depends on the scope and effect of each action done. Anger does not change anything around us but it only brings us into deeper delusions, creates more wrong views, makes us react according to our uncontrollable emotions and block all the possible ways for us to reach our goals and destinations. Anger will never be compatible with any success in Dharma and other worldly success as well. Let us recognize more what is anger and never be friends with anger.
This story actually reflected my current attitude. Just need time to change and recultivate our mind.
This story actuary reflected my current attitude. Just need time to change and recultivate our mind. Thanks
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this wonderful teaching. Our ego and anger is so destructive and it can destroy us. We are very fortunate to have you as our Guru where we can learn and practice Dharma and have the wisdom to know the difference.
This story on Devadatta so concisely captures the three poisons, the results of having them (as in the case of Devadatta) and what can happen to us as well if we do what Devadatta did.
Lessons I learnt are:
1. There is no free lunch in the world. If we want something, we need to earn it ourselves. If we are lucky enough, we are able to enjoy whatever that comes to us as a result of past merits. On the other hand, however, merits get depleted if we do not keep the habit of accumulating them on continuous basis. Behaving in immature ways does not serve anyone good in the long term – it is damaging to ourselves, people and events around us.
2. Everyone has a chance to succeed. As Rinpoche has said ‘No one can ruin your life except you.’
3. Reciprocation is important in any relationship.
4. Be aware of schism and the heavy and irreversible result of committing such intent.
5. Be aware of angry mind because this mental condition can create distorted image which may lead us to wrong actions.
6. Reality is always hard to be accepted. But they still need to be accepted by us no matter what because this is the truth. To quote Rinpoche’s words ‘Listen to it without being hung up on how it is told.’
Thank you Rinpoche for spending time to write up this article and sharing your precious knowledge with us.
Thank you Rinpoche for the teachings.
I was just reading a chapter on the book ‘Gurus for Hire – Enlightenment for Sale’ and it appears that commonly, the student starts of well at the beginning, just like Devadatta but eventually pride and anger overtook him. Seems like the 50 verses of guru devotion and one (nine attitudes of guru devotion) of the qualities where we are suppose to abandon pride and hold yourself lower than the guru , suddenly got thrown out of the window ; when the Buddha or Guru advices us on something which we disagree upon.
I suppose we need to make a conscious choice and be very clear if we really wanted to progress spiritually, we need to accept the mirror of ugliness which our Guru is capable of showing us and trust him and surrender to the advice he has given whether we like it or not. Its definitely tough for most people and i believe that is why our basics need to be strong. Even I myself have not yet fully digested and practice the 50 verses which are the foundations to the tantric path. And I hope when one day when I am actually faced in such a scenario ,I would have the wisdom and merits to swallow up my pride and ego, and surrender to my Guru.
Thank you Rinpoche for telling us Devadatta’s story to teach us dharma. This story of Devadatta’s may be 2500 years ago,his ego,action and hungry for power do exist in our present society. If we do not tame our mind, control our anger and ego, we are like Devadatta’s. Therefore, the moral that I have learned from this story is anger,ego and jealousy are the roots of all evils. They bring a lot of sufferings. We should have the courage to swallow our pride, be humble and apologized for the mistake we made. We must repent and transform. A second chance will be given. As a result of his plot to kill and harm Buddha, he also created schism in the sangha community. Devadatta fell into Avici according to the sacred Dhammapadha sutra. We are so fortunate to have met our guru in this present life. Thus, we should have faith and do trust in him. Be thankful to our guru for his guidance and compassion because he has given us the greatest gift of dharma.
I personally feel that this is one of rinpoche’s great teachings. From this teachings I have learnt quite a numbers of things and some of them are still lingering in my mind right now. The more I read on, the more I felt I could have Devadatta’s attitude too, not till the extend of ‘killing’ a Buddha. That’s too brave for me…hehe. Here are some the points which I gathered after some contemplation;
1) Devadatta has indeed harness much merits to be around the Buddha. I simply rejoice for him because I have yet have that type of closeness even with my present guru. Instead of advancing in his spiritual attainments, he lingers thoughts of the eight world concerns which is fame and power. This is the begining of his great downfalls.
2) Through rinpoche’s written presentation, I sense rinpoche’s deep wisdom in trying to deliver his intended message – beware of what’s going on in one’s mind. Our minds are powerful elements, whatever we like to call it, have great effects on people, things and environments around us. When great anger arises within our mind and if swelled, bloated and overpowered our mind, it can be unstoppable causing much hurt to others. In this case, that anger leads to killing a Buddha. Lesson learnt from this? Rinpoche’s intended message – Tame the mind, develop mindfulness and awareness in our mind. Prevent harmful thoughts from hurting oneself and those around us and especially to our loved ones and our teacher who showers care and love to us.
3) Don’t creates schism within the community! else the effect will come back to us sooner or later. The worst of will be within the Sangha members or even talking bad about about Sanghas causing intended distrust and dispute among members. It wouldn’t bring harmony and peace but only pain and sadness.
Thank You Rinpoche For the in depth teaching.
Realized there are many Devadatta spirits around including myself.
we have to make our own efforts to achieving our own goals and apprecite the helps form the Compassionate Guru and friends; do not blame others if fails.(it’s our own bad karma)Ego is our biggest enemy that make us angry and blame others for our own mistakes.
Learn to adapt and accept if we can’t proof otherwise.
Thank You
Thank you very much for your sharing Rinpoche .Your introduction was very profound to me as it actually describe a lot of my experience that I have encounter.
I am not proud of it as I was the one with the wrong view.When I was young ,I felt that things should go smoothly to my fancy and at times my parents would go along with the ideas as there is always a Mr Blame on fate..When I started working,I very fortunate learnt a very important lesson.That is, we be accountable for what we say and through our action.The time for as causes and blame is gone and time for accountability is the up most important as it will determine our creditability in the industry.
From then I understood that ,we should be mindful of what we say and what we do.When things go wrong then ,we should look back on what we have contribute to ensure the cause of action and not by chance .We are never that lucky all the time.
When Buddha did not give in the easy way to Devadatta .He was very kind to all his followers.If Buddha was to give in to force and feeling.Then Buddha would be promoting wrong view.If everyone would give into force ,fear and relationship.Then our future will be base in this qualities and not through what Buddha have preach and practice all his life.
Someone once said to me,Attainment and Mind transformation is not measured by how long you practice Dharma ,which was proven in this history.But, how committed and sincere you practice Dharma with the right Motivation and the right Mindset.In other words,for the right cause,that is” Bodhichitta”.
There is a phrase ” Let GO “.Which I have yet to achieve with ease and there would be a big debate in the mind before a conclusion is made .Letting go in terms of anger,revenge,jealousy,ego,pride,and greed ( in a nut shell “Attachments”} which society in general had led us to believe that it is acceptable and healthy. As it will motivate us to be more competitive in today society or rat race.
I certainly hope that being aware of this traps and wrong view will assist me the correct path to towards the practice of Dharma.
Again ,Dear Rinpoche,thank you for this important lesson…
I have been told many times while I was growing up to learn from the lessons and experience of others. Then some would also tell me to learn life’s lessons on my own. With this amazing article I would strongly advise myself and others to learn from Devadatta’s lesson, you do not want to learn this the hard way.
Ego mutating to anger lies in all of us. I know it has with me. Do I still get angry now…yes I do. In fact on some memorable occasions in the last 4 years since meeting the Dharma and Rinpoche, the truth has angered me. The truth about me. I was angry with myself. And in some ways this anger propelled me to progress within myself. The truth is the truth whether we like it or not. We can run be we cannot hide.
There are many Devadattas in our lives and boy, do I wish I never met them but I have. Many have thought me the lessons of who not to be and some have hurt me tremendously. But life goes on. This article is very powerful because it tells the truth of how much suffering we cause to others and especially ourselves if we do not transform and relinquish the ego which is the source of greed, anger and hurt. Expecting more and doing nothing is the key to failure and inner pain and self-condemnation. Because as deluded as our minds can be, we eventually cannot lie to ourselves which is why we are intrinsically unhappy. And blame the whole wide world.
I am happy to have read this article because it is so empowering . Thank you Rinpoche.
My dear Lama
In my life I have met many kind of people. Some of them were really selfish and so full of themselves that at some point in the past before I met you, I used to refuse dealing with this type of persons or give them silent treatment. I do not know perhaps the silent treatment itself came from my anger and the fact that I was also full of myself and my ego and pride was wounded. I think in one way or the other, I was no different than Devadatta. What differentiate me was just that I do not have the guts to carry out and put my anger into action other then the silent treatment.
Sometimes for people like me or Devadatta, when the anger come it is so mighty and I felt so powerless. I could not think straight and all I want to do was to hurt my perceived “enemy”. This delusion clouded our mind and thinking of hurting the “enemy” brings so much pleasure.
When I learn more about Dharma and actually try to put it into practice, I started to treat my anger differently without the help of a shrink. I just wait until it passes without doing anything because nothing is permanent. I also pray to Buddha when the delusion conquered my mind. As time goes by, the anger/ delusion became less and I become a much happier person.
Blaming others for our misfortune will just increases the anger and brought many discomfort to others and ourselves. When we start to take responsibilities for our destiny, we are in control and I found that very empowering.
The way I am today is I have to work very hard in my secular and Dharma work. Sometimes the finances are short, and sometime I do think that if I only care about myself, I would be richer in monetary value. But never in this life I am more happy and at peace than I am today. This feeling of being content with the situation although it is not always ideal is priceless.
Valentina
在佛书里，我们时常会看到的词语 ，’诺知前世因，今生受者是。诺知后世果，今生作者是。’
在古装连戏剧 ‘包青天’，常看到的词语，’天子犯法与平民同罪。’
在学校里，老师的教诲是，’种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。’
在现实社会，如果一个人拥有动机的毁谤，伤害和杀害他人，无论间接或直接，都会受到法律的制裁。
以上的四点会在不同的时间与地方发生，但却有共同的结论，那就是 ‘ 因果循环’ 或因果论。
虽然提婆达多跟了佛陀好多年。但由于他强烈的贪与嗔造成他犯了无间罪里的其中的三罪，怂恿阿闍世王子杀害自己的父王，企图杀害佛陀以及破和合憎。
提婆达多学佛多年，还是那么的执著。他可以被称为知法犯法，所为业力如影随身，业报立刻成现他当时的那一世。就如上师五十颂里的：
11. 若谤金刚阿闍黎
现得恶报无安时
中毒得病著魔乱
愚痴此人会断命
14. 毁谤金刚阿闍黎
无间地狱等怖畏
所说所有畏地狱
废子定入进住狱
无论如何，如果没有提婆达多这个违背上师的例子，也许当时的僧团还有现在的我们不会有所领悟佛法与上师的重要性。。。
What Rinpoche has explained here about anger hits home. I believe everyone has anger in them, even the sweetest gentlest people. There are many types of anger – the shouty type, the quiet type, the vengeful type, combinations of all, etc… and regardless of the type of anger we have, the advice Rinpoche has given here makes sense.
Some of us get angry when we are put down, when others hurt / cheat / lie / backstab us, when we fail, when we dont get what we want, when people treat us in a manner we dont like etc. And just like there are many reasons for our anger, there are many reactions too.
We dont have to react how we are used to reacting to the triggers to our anger. Honestly speaking, for me anger is conscious and controllable. And I believe it is the same for everyone. The difference being whether we choose to control our anger or not. Just as rinpoche says, ANGER IS A CHOICE.
Everyone who has read this post and put some thought into it should be able to see thru the different manifestations of our angry minds by now. And the point is not just knowledge, but to see it, recognise it AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. And if we have a teacher or guru, it is both easiest and hardest to practice controlling anger with the guru. Why?
Its easy because the guru is unequivocally the kindest person in our lives. Its difficult because from love, the guru will press on all our most sensitive buttons. So just like in the example of Shakyamuni and Devadatta, we should not follow Devadatta’s path (his horrible end sounds painful enough without experiencing it) but do the opposite instead.
Likewise, if we know people among our friends who behave like Devadatta, don’t support them the wrong way. Support them the right way.
Thank you Rinpoche for this video and the great commentary. I learned a lot from this.
Buddha Shakyamuni is truly compassionate, to let Devadatta stay around him for decades and teach him the dharma, and one thing for sure, Buddha Shakyamuni and the senior disciples would have already foresee the negative behavior of Devadatta much much earlier, and yet Devadatta is still allowed staying with the sangha. Most likely the Buddha wanted Devadatta to collect more merits and purify his negative karma as much as possible, so that when he take rebirth in the hell, he would have some good imprints and merits to get him out of there later on.
Devadatta is like the leeches to society, he doesn’t want to work hard, instead he demand for power, fame, attention, material gain and always create schism. People like Devadatta is extremely selfish, lazy, has low self esteem and highly jealous of others.
Even though Devadatta realized his negative behavior, regretted and start praising Buddha at the moment the earth swallowed him to the Hell, Devadatta will spend a very long period in the Hell and experience all the negative karma he has created.
As a buddhist practitioner, we must always be humble, have kind heart and treat others very well. We might encounter unpleasant situation often, but we have a choice to do the right thing, and set a good motivation behind all our actions.
At the end, we are the one who is responsible for our own KARMA!
Thanks for sharing. I had known about the deceitful act of Devadatta some time ago. He was powerful and wanted to be like the Buddha. I see that the act of Devadatta towards Buddha was due to the jealousy heart of the Devadatta; which made him flourished with the bad intentions.
Yes, I did meet with people like that. Fortunately, they make me think of learning Dharma more, as I would not like to resemble them. I feel pitiful for those people who are suppressed under their greed.
I see this situation becomes more rampant in a materialistic world nowadays.
Most people put up smiling faces,good gestures,very polite but may have bad intentions and may create lots of trouble once they know what to get for their own benefits. Some even are very religious and pious. Nobody knows what they do. The ‘poor’ people who are under their feet,shouted for help,cannot be listened because these people are very good natured,great generosity to put up a good ‘make up’ for the public.
Buddha is great and has no effect on what bad intentions Devadatta did on him.
A self-check is important to be liberated from Devadatta act towards our love ones and others.
Thank you for reminding us Rinpoche. I feel happy with the Kecharians under the supervision of Rinpoche. Rinpoche teaches well and I really can feel his presence even I have not talked to him personally. T thank you all.
I always like to go to Kechara House but because of the time constraints, I can only spend few hours puja at Kechara Viva Home.
Perhaps is my own Karma that I have no time for my loved ones,and the things that I would like to do, but is buried with work.
In our lives, we have become “Devadatta” before.We want to get something in most easiest way, without put in effort.We become angry if rejected by other for unreasonable request. We choose to blame other instead put down our ego and think the rooftcause.Eventually our ego push us down.We must learn to let go the ego, attachment , jealousy,etc… it definitely will turn the situation towards positive way instead to make it worse. We must follow our Guru with full devotion as only Guru will tell us the truth and lead us to correct path.
In any community or organization schism creates disorder, disharmony, bad results and then when we dont achieve our individual goals (as in monetary), we blame everyone else. Yet when we consider others comments or thoughts, in which we can all benefit, we think that we have lost our standing or pride. converts to anger when the one thing we want so much is not achieved. And anger is indeed a very strong poison because it clouds our judgement and deludes us further and further. In the 50 Stanzas of Guru Devotion, if one should disparage our Guru, we will descend into Avichi. Reading the text and relating this to Devadatta brings it alive. An equivalent of Avichi on earth is if we let our anger control our minds so much that we become so unhappy,blames everyone, pushes our family members and loved ones away because we become miserable company and then everything becomes a “living hell”. In any community or organization schism creates disorder, disharmony, bad results and then when we dont achieve our individual goals (as in monetary), we blame everyone else. The Buddha’s teachings is so powerful and transcends all times.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing such a wonderful and meaningful post by using Devadatta as an example.I have read all the comment below. Very Nice and wonderful commentary.
Dear Rinpoche,
First of all thank you so much for sharing this article on Devadatta.
To me this story somehow relates to the total opposite of the Buddha and the Dharma.
Opposite in a way of the cruel and evil things he did to the Buddha.
Even though he always failed he never bothered to think how bad it is to try and kill the Buddha even though the Buddha could not be killed he proceeded with another method….
What is even worst is that somebody trying to cause trouble in the Sangha…. and to me it is worst than trying to kill the Buddha because the Sangha consists of more than thousands of Monks and Nuns but the Buddha is only a single person.
Why I think that causing trouble to the Sangha is worst than killing the Buddha? This is because the Sangha is the future of the Buddha, the Holy Representatives of the Buddha and the Dharma.
Thank you so much Rinpoche for sharing with all of us this article!
Love
Juika
Devadatta was very fortunate that he was able to be so close to the Buddha, but very unfortunately he did not appreciate it. This reminds me about one of my friends. I have this friend who kept blaming our teacher for not giving her better grades. The reason that the teacher did not give her better grades was simply because she did not hand in her homework in time. And so she kept scolding and blaming the teacher for that. I think that is very wrong! You can’t blame others when you’re the one who caused that to happen.. People can be so proud and arrogant to admit their faults..
Thank You for sharing Rinpoche.
Thank you Rinpoche for this in-depth write up.
From the story, I have learnt the follow points:
1. The guru would push their student to their limits. During this, there are different ways the student would react. One, accept and allow the transformation in self to happen. Two, the student fights back, creating schism or defaming their own guru. At the same time, leaving their guru who loved and cared for them, just for their personal “gain”.
2. We will never succeed in anything if we allow our emotions to take control of our mentality, speech or actions.
3. When a Guru says something or do something to the student, it is a test to the student’s mind, to see if they would be willing to reflect on themselves and change. Or they would just stick to their old ways and are not willing to change.
4. We should not always go back to our security blankets when we are faced with a problem. We should learn to face it ourselves, solving it, and maturing along the way.
5. It is very easy for us to create schism among our dharma brothers and sisters. Just through what we say unintentionally would be able to influence others. We should never say things that we would not be able to take back.
6. We should reflect our actions when our requests are rejected, and understand why we were being rejected and learn, improving ourselves.
Blaming others for getting not we want is usually the very react from the people, just like what Rinpoche mentioned, it came from our own habituation since young. Just like a kid will throw tantrums and cry when wanted a toy or even ice cream. That cry calls out for help and parents who give in because of love and heartache seeing the kid cried and suffered actually helped them to develop the habit more eventually it becomes natural.
This story tells a monk coated with a holy image but deep inside greed has overpowered his mind. Not denying the fact that many even know the dharma not necessarily practice or realize. It is sad in a way that we don’t usually work for us but instead hoping that people work for us instead. This is what the society is demanding today, as long as I have money, power and status, I demand the best service, quality and the equal praise. Hence, actual practice and realization are much more important than coating ourselves with nice words, pleasant image and pretending to be good. I suppose the best is to remember why do we need dharma and not why dharma needs us.
After reading this post, I feel that Devadatta was so fortunate to be close to Buddha for decades. But yet his laziness to change and his untransformed ego and pride have finally ruin him. It is unbelievable to note Devadatta’s reaction to Buddha when his wish was not granted. His several attempts to kill Buddha was totally inexcusable.
In the end, Devadatta’s action has led him fell into avici hell and has to go through severe suffering for a long life span.
Ego, anger, laziness and jealousy are some of the main obstacles in our spiritual practice. Rinpoche has taught us and also always reminded us that we need to transform and think of benefiting others rather than ourselves. Work hard to achieve success. It is always not how long the student has followed the Guru, but how fast he can take his teacher’s advice and transform. This article on Devadatta has proven Rinpoche’s teaching as perfectly correct.
One can imagine the type of negative actions that was created our own ego, pride and jealous mind. Out of ego, pride and jealousy, one can do many things that harm others to the extent by blaming others, creating schism and even hurting the Buddha. This shows how dangerous to have this type of mind and the importance to curb the thinking as thinking leads to actions. Therefore it is very important to control what we think and do not let our mind be influenced with negative values.
One can imagine how hurt Buddha can be feeling when his own cousin and student would betray him. Let this be the story that can change people’s thinking and be a lesson to all walks of life to create a better society in wherever that we are living. It is indeed a story that can be applied in modern era as it is more apparent among humans who were too indulged into themselves.
Dear Tsem Tulku
I really like your article because it helped me to reflect about some aspects of myself that I have been doing
Recently I faced a situation in which I lived inside this temple in thailand, but I am a mahayana practitioner. I started to work in an office inside this temple in a very nice project. But what happened is that I started to see sometimes not very nice or ethical treatment towards very specific people from inside the community. As also some negative comments about mahayana and vajrayana practices, as also the fact that I am a girl, between other things.
I grew angry and decided not to help them anymore, because somehow I wanted them to change their behaviour or I was demanding more integrity. but I wasn’t brave enough to talk to them face by face, so I just decided to stay in a position inside in which I could help others but not compromise myself to be very in touch with the persons I considered not to be very ethical.
When this happens how can you deal with this without dividing the sangha? Should you go and talk to the spiritual guide and tell your discomfort, even if this person is acting in a way that you don’t consider ethical? Demand ethics and integrity? Or this is because of our defilements too?
Thank you Tulku
What struck me the most from the video was how detailed the work of christian missionaries were, during the late eighteen century to late nineteen century across South East Asia . How they were faced with the greatest difficulty in converting Buddhist to Christianity due to the very fact that Devadatta’s story was consistently recounted across Asian countries such as Burma and Thailand , thanks to the Dharmapadha Sutta . It would really have been quite interesting to see the puzzled faces of those missionaries when they were proclaiming to those Buddhist that their god was crucified and those Buddhist simply said that it reminded them of Devadatta . Thus , the Buddhists rejected the cross as unworthy of refuge as compared to the three jewels , rejoice that they knew about the story of Devadatta . Thanks to the diligent Sangha in expounding the Dharmapadha Sutta !
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing this story with us, we should learn from this historical story.
3 poison always is the main cause to make us collect negative karma. Our ignorance make us get anger easily hence increase our desire to chase on name, wealth, car ect. During the methods to fulfill our desire we may easily make many stupid action that increase our negative karma.
Most of us been doing wrong before but we must appreciate our second chance with fully regret and then try to avoid the mistake again. It seen will be very hard in samsara, but we have to step out first step after we know Dharma then only the second step can be follow.
We should request Manjushri to lessen down our ignorance then automatically anger and desire will be lessen also. Hence we will lessen down the chance to collect negative karma also.
As we can talk less do more, sure we can lessen the chances of create negative karma hence collect more Merits…
We are the sole creator of our own situation or problem.No one can make us do anything that we do not want to do…it’s always easier to find a scapegoat or blame others with or without reason for the mistakes we made………It’s time to own up. We made our own choices……If Devadatta had taken the rejection positively and apologise then he will be more respected for his faith and devotion to Buddha and also it requires alot of courage to admit ones faults but Anger have blinded and blurred his positve motivation / dharma practice……The moral of the story:- If we admit and apologise for the mistake or faults on the spot then the problem will be solved and we also will be respected for honesty and integrity…. and there wont’ be any repeated bad habitual that will cause alot of harm to others.
Thanks Rinpoche to sharing this great teaching.
I did find our own ego is hard to overcome, and recently i did find i have ego and laziness problem arise in me. from this Rinpoche’s blog i realize i should apologize to people who i might offence and people who i cause them in trouble too.
With folded hands, thank Rinpoche.
学习佛法不只是看或听，而是要正确的应用在我们日常生活里。不应因自己的自私和自大， 而破坏团队的和谐。
当自己的要求和建议被拒绝，我们得重新思考自己的学习态度, 并要求意见.
而不是企图破坏，离间它人的关系，以得到自己的目的。
我们必须记住的学习佛法的用意，是让其他人感到快乐。
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this meaningful teaching. What I have learned through this post are desire, ego and anger are the root of evil,it is really bring us a lot of suffering!! We are very fortunate can meet our Guru in this life, We should appreciate our Guru’s kindness & compassionate.
We must put in great effort to improve ourselves and excel in our learning of dharma to become better person and can benefit more others!! I believe everything from our Guru do for us are for our own good, follow our Guru’s step never goes wrong!!
Below message from Rinpoche made me ponder more on our own mind,
“Anger is a choice. The easy and best solution for these people now and even during Devadatta’s time is to apologize. Apologize for their lack of effort, face their insecurities and fears and get back into working for what they want. Be it to achieve fame, love, care, money, a cause, compassion, success and so on. You won’t achieve what you want ranting and raging against your perceived enemy for the rest of your life. No one can ruin your life except you.”
Whenever our Guru pressed our button is to train us and wanting us to transform, if we look at it negatively and react in anger and in rage or choose to blame on others, simply is that there is doubt in our guru.
The story on Devadatta has taught me the following:
1) Number of years in dharma does not determine qualification in dharma but the motivation of doing dharma must be pure and genuine. Dharma certainly is not to show off power etc.
2) When we receive Real dharma from our Guru, we have to be humble and 100% trust in our guru and also prepare to surrender. Surrender our pride, greed and ego etc.
3) Never have doubts in BUDDHA/Guru.
Everyone has their opportunities and chances in life. It’s whether you want to do it or not. Complaining is great when you do something and achieve something, otherwise who likes to listen to a broken record. A broken record is a broken record no matter how ‘right’ you are.
Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing
感谢仁波切的分享
别把愤怒和嗔恨发在别人，親人及佛陀身上，今生的苦乐都是前生的业力所造成的，不要抱怨他人，错误的动机可造成无比的伤害。
感谢仁波切的分享
从事佛法事业是需要非常好的动机，态度非常重要。千万别做出伤人害己的事情，否则后果不堪设想。
We are all trained to focus out whenever we feel threatened. It is our survival instinct without which we would have died at birth. Therefore whenever there is danger such as when we come face to face with a lion, we automatically switch on our flight or fight mode. This reaction is governed by the reptilian part of our brain that we cannot deny. This is our basic nature but it cannot be the master of our life. If it is, we will be living in constant fear of extinction and be dictated by anxiety, disharmony and confusion. However the truth is that mankind is currently administered by our fear of disintegration. We spend so much of time, effort and money to preserve our youth, beauty, wealth, power, opinions and control over everything that we are constantly driven by anger when we can’t get what we want.
In Devatta’s case and as in nearly everyone’s, our actions and intentions are mostly motivated by our survival instincts. So long as we don’t die or are annihilated, we will get along just fine with the world. We are kind, caring and considerate. But the real test comes when we no longer get what we want. Our Guru pays more attention to a group of new students. We immediately feel threatened as we are no longer important and our first reaction is to fight such as cause schisms or flight, leave the organisation feeling embittered and angry. Then like Devadatta, we attack the Buddha and the members of Sangha to falsely preserve ourselves, our views and need to be right. So there is a Devadatta in us waiting to manifest.
What does this happen? Because we are delusional of the fact that the Self is real and unchanging. We are mistaken that our views and status define us. These are merely my personal opinions but to me when Buddha set out to find ways to bypass old age and death, it was based on the need for preservation of the physical body. And thus the Buddha then went through a tough 6 years of physical torture but was not able to escape the self-cherishing trap until he let go of himself.
When we let go, we are essentially telling our reptilian brain to relax. There is no imminent danger or threat. My girlfriend talking to another guy does not mean she is having an affair. It posts no tangible threat to our relationship. So don’t get angry and beat her up.
This is mind transformation – where we no longer live in fear. This is liberation – when we no longer blame others and take full responsibility. This is enlightenment – when we no longer fear our extinction. Then we are fearless and everything we do benefits not only ourselves but the world.
我感到難過，因為佛陀沒有想到他的學生，特別是祂的表兄弟，背叛他。它是如此的傷心，
提婆達多的罪我認為任何人都不應該犯的罪惡。他建立僧伽分裂和傷害佛。兩個令人髮指的行為。他的故事是一個警世故事佛法醫生。
提婆達多就是”螃蟹心里“ 什么螃蟹心里？每一只螃蟹都不愿同类跑在自己前面，当一只螃蟹开始往上爬的时候，另一只螃蟹就会挤下来。最终它们都成了餐桌上的美味佳肴。
嫉妒是心灵上的地狱，嫉妒的人总是拿别人的优点来折磨自己。
谢谢上師，这段历史给了我们一个很大的啟示，那就是千万不可以在僧团或是佛教团体制造同修间的不和，分帮立派！那只是显示了制造者的内心没有向善的轉化，反而让内心的嗔恨加强，就只有自食其果，受悪果之苦。
在佛佗时代为什么还有祂身边的弟子都没被调伏其心呢？因为佛佗以身示教，授予我们佛法（药），就看我们愿不愿意内心向善，（服药）乃至成佛。
Devadatta was too consumed with assuming the role of leader of the Sangha that he was too blinded to see that he was on the wrong path.
We are like Devadatta in more ways than one. If we do not tame our mind, curb our anger and ego, then when things go wrong and don’t go our way the way we want/expect it to, we start the pointing-game — out goes one finger but we do forget the other fingers pointing back at ourselves.
The Avici Hell is true. I once have a vivid vision of myself in Avici Hell before dawn breaks. There was nothing but flames and beings like myself can only scream and scream. There is no distinction between the flame and our bodies, and that was before I even knew about that in the Lam Rim. I heard a voice saying that this was my destiny for two kalpas. While others suffered whilst standing, I was sitting on an iron stool. The voice told me that was due to my merit that I have the stool. And what a stool it was!
Thanks for sharing. My issue is the reverse, I always blame myself. Whatever mishap is always my fault, that my existence in samsara is a mistake from the beginning. A high lama once said, a nihilistic universe without reincarnation and nirvana is a better universe. I share his sentiments. I wish I could be extinguished eternally like the flame of a candle. No more and nothing left.
Anyway, Devadatta is an enlightened being. After his descend into hell, the disciples asked Buddha why no attempt is made to save the traitor. The Buddha replied that it is Devadatta who does not want to be saved. The disciples subsequently went to hell in disbelief and when they saw Devadatta engulfed by extreme tortures, they were chased away by the man. “Be gone! Be gone! I am in the third Jnanic ecstasy! Tell the old man Gautama to mind his own business!” In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha even prophesied that Devadatta will be a Buddha known as the Heavenly Lord Tathagata. In the Jatakas, Devadatta has attained enlightenment before the Buddha. It is his vow to create obstacles for Buddha to speed up the latter’s enlightenment.
Devadatta has a lot of merits to serve the Buddha so closely as a monk for many decades and yet he never improved his practice and transformed himself, instead he has become arrogant, wanted fame and power so much so when he couldn’t get it, he became angry and created a lot of negative karma,he asked his supporters to kill Buddha and he himself also tried to kill the Buddha as well but failed. Eventually when Devadatta died he went straight to avici and had to remain there for a very long time.This is the lesson we must really keep in mind and must not repeat what Devadatta did by committing the heinous crimes.
“Truth comes in so many methods. Listen to it without being hung up on how it’s told. Not everything is on a silver platter. We do everything to carry out our anger against everything in our path because we are not given what we want and told the truth … in fact you should respect him more that he dares to tell you the truth. That’s a real friend. Perhaps you don’t like the truth at this time. Perhaps you don’t like the method in which it was told. Nevertheless it has been told and you do what you will with it because in time you will have to face the truth your holy guru told you. You will have to face the truth one day and let’s hope it won’t be too late when your ego swallows up your last chances.”
The above explanation makes a lot of sense and is often the cause of much disharmony in all sorts of relationships. We are often in denial of not wanting to hear negative things about us because we are too lazy to put in the real effort to change for the better. This is the bottom line of our “sufferings”.
Everything around us change. What’s trendy and cool 10 years ago is no longer the case now. So when we are stuck in our own “time” zone, we start to live in a world of our own fantasies. Obviously, reality will keep slapping us but some of us will still choose to live in further denial. I know of so many people who are living like this. I for one is guilty of this as well.
What I’ve recently learnt is to not be afraid of putting in lots of effort in changing my attitudes that do not serve me. At the end of the day, the “suffering” of not adapting and changing for the better is much greater than the “sufferings” of putting in the effort to change. So it’s better to just change.
This story of Devadatta is quite interesting. For despite Devadatta had been a deciple of Buddha for many decates one expect him to have some attainment or his mind would be very much calm down. For all these years he had been with the Buddha he definately had learned the Dharma but never practise so it only make him look good.
His ego,desire, anger, ambition were still inside him. He was waiting for the opportunity and of course Buddha saw it inside him. So when he asked to take control and have fame. He wanted power. Buddha rejected him and he turned back to his untransformed ego mind.
Thank you Rinpoche for telling us Devadatta’s story to teach us the dharma.
Think about Avici , there is so scary place… After read Devadatta story , no matter how long we learn Dharma and practice , once we have negative thought and deceive our Guru , bad karma will follow us . We need transform ourselves ,learn Dharma teaching and hundred percent faith in Guru , so that we can free from suffering .
Everything which was happened with Devadatta and Buddha in the past are reflects Buddha teaching of compassion and anger, the positive and negative, white and black, practitioner and non-practitioner, good and bad etc. And it made to be easy to understand more with teaching from Rinpoche along with examples.
How importance of mind transformation or even control the mind. How long in dharma, how much dharma knowledge, how close with the teacher who full with great compassion, all of these does not matter anymore when the mind never been transformed as when something happen, the choice will be the easy way out without thinking about others.
I can see that what Devadatta did in the past still occur right now and even more because of degenerating mind of people now. Devadatta reflects as our un-tamed minds which full with negative thoughts which need to change to opposite side like Buddha mind.
Buddha’s teaching is still valid in this time and age that it would change the course of mankind if his teachings are included in schools all over the world.
getting angry easily of not getting what we want? Being offended easily with words that is not nice? felt losing of face in front of public? Not working hard enough but wanted everything? Being jealous of others having more than us? does this sound familiar in today’s world? Is this happening to us or the people around us?
Yes, The story of Devadatta may be 2500 years ago, but his attitude and action has no difference as compare to today’s world. Whenever things goes wrong, we can easily point our finger to others and blame it to others. Even to someone who has benefited us so much, but once we don’t get any ‘benefit’ we expected, immediately we turn against them, how much selfishness is this, being it a sangha or lay person, it makes no difference.
Wearing a sangha’s robe doesn’t make us holier than others, because a sangha’s robe is just a robe, it carries no meaning if we do not take the practice seriously and transform our mind. At the end of the day, everything will be back to square one. Instead of progressing, we deprogress on our spiritual growth, and worse still, when we walk the path against the Buddha’s teaching, we degenerate even faster. what scariest most is not the suffering we going through in this life, but the countless lifetime of suffering we are going through after death.
Creating schism among the sangha and the guru is very very bad, because we are creating the cause of people gaining enlightenment but not able to anymore, what worse can this be anymore? gaining enlightenment is the dream of every sangha, that’s why they wear on the robe, so if we don’t to, why destroy theirs just because of us not getting it?
When we do things that indirectly harm others, other people may not know about it, but it doesn’t mean we are safe and can do it again, every single things we did, even it is behind people’s back, our karma has the full record of it, no one can escape from this record, this record has detailed of our doings and a timeline has set beside it, so when the time is due, we are going to face it, it’s real and it’s coming faster than what we thought.
If we want to come out from these unending suffering, the exit way is the path that Buddha has shown us, this is the path and it is also the only path. Sad to say it, but there is no shortcut towards the final goal. If you want? then you walk the path, but if you not willing to? then leave it and continue to suffer until one day you come back to this path again.
The story about Devadatta and the Buddha’s is a classic and has been told and shared in all buddhist traditions. But Rinpoche presented and related it to what he has experienced. Although it happens 2500 years ago, its still happening now. Rinpoche’s wrote about his experiences and ‘closed encounters’ with the people he has met and worked with. From his writings, he received more disappointments than encouragements.
Looking back on Devadatta, i am wondering if he has ever thought about the Buddha qualities. He was being ordained and in the order with many of other Buddha disciples and have witness how Buddha display compassion and love through actions. Devadatta never sees his GURU (The Buddha) as a teacher at all, he sees him as a normal person like him, an enemy and a threat. He wanted all the good things happening to the Buddha to be transferred to himself. However, situation will change good if he sees glimpse of Buddha qualities and works towards his own transformation, his eagerness of ‘quickfix’ to his desires had brought him to Avici hell, which was a path he had chose, or maybe not; he do not know he is going down to hell because he do not choose to believe in the Buddha anyways.
In this present degenerated age, most of us have worked with people in secular and some with people in Dharma. Things hasnt changed much from what has been described by Rinpoche, our mental afflictions is still the same as in Buddhas’ time, it doesnt reduces or changes (it does not mean permanent, but is impermanent because we see devadatta unstable mind changes to what he ‘sees’ as real and beneficial as permanent to him) until we make the right effort to change and transform. Such events repeated itself over and over again and makes it difficult for Teachers to teach and Dharma to grow.
As I have heard, the human mind is so defiled with ignorance, pride and hatred that it cannot and does not want to accept truth from falsity. Ignorance leads to ego arising, anger and hatred, and these revolve around each other like a tornado okelyiDr whirlpool. The mind may become so defiled that negative action is the result. Just like Devadatta who had been in dharma for decades yet dharma was not in him when it came to the crunch. It is not about being judgmental but a good example, from a bad action, that teaches me what Buddha has taught.
We may read Devadatta’s story and wonder how someone who has been in the Dharma for decades, and have the good merits to be so close to the Buddha himself harbor such base aims. And it is here that we have to examine ourselves against Devadatta’s story, in particular our journey in Dharma and our relationship with our Guru.
Many would instantly say that he/she would never want to kill the Buddha or the Guru and usurp his authority. But the point of Devadatta’s story is not only that he wanted to kill the Buddha, but also that Devadatta harbored such ego and hostility despite being in the Dharma and despite having the guidance of the holiest of Gurus. Indeed the object of Devadatta’s poisonous mind was not the Buddha alone as we saw how Devadatta sought to influence Prince Ajatasattu for his personal gain. The Buddha by virtue of his enlightenment was the holiest object of Devadatta’s anger, and therefore the crimes against the Buddha carried the heaviest karmic consequence.
The object of our own anger, jealousy and ego may not be the Buddha himself but we have to ask whether we, like Devadatta also do conceal similar defilements despite being in the Dharma and despite having a holy Guru with us. Being in the Dharma alone cannot eradicate our poisonous mind if we refuse to acknowledge and fight our own self-cherishing egos and so long as we fail to, whatever Dharma we may think we have acquired, will be corrupted. Are we like Devadatta secretly protecting our ego even as we study and practice the Dharma? And are we like Devadatta, concealing our displeasure against our own Guru as our training takes us into uncomfortable situations we are meant to confront and overcome? And being in the Dharma and knowing what we must do to counter our own poisonous mind, are we doing that or do we channel our efforts towards being more adept at covering our anger and jealousy?
In Devadatta’s case, we see how ego can literally drive us into hell. One of the areas of student-training that Tsem Rinpoche works very hard at, is on removing our ego and self-grasping mind. Perhaps we did not appreciate how important that is, and sometimes we even see it as a personal attack on who we are, and of course, most people do not see much wrong with who they are. And now we see in Devadatta’s case how his own ego literally robbed him of his own achievements. It was not that Devadatta did not have some success and even talent. He did, and even developed psychic powers but because his ego dominated his mind, we see that whatever success he gained through his practiced only served to make him even more arrogant and ambitious. In fact, with the ego intact, the acquisition of some powers can make one dangerous.
One can attain all kinds of special powers and still end up in Avicci because the self-serving ego was not dealt with. When the Guru works on our ego using a myriad of skillful means, we are in fact receiving very profound training. Every attack on our ego, on our self-grasping mind, on our perceptions of how things ought to be, is an act of supreme compassion on the Guru’s part. Now we see why.
Beyond that, Devadatta’s story is also about how much a Guru has to tolerate and how much harm the Guru exposes himself to, in order to teach and guide the students into proper transformation. Did the Buddha with his clairvoyance not know of Devadatta’s evil ambitions? Of course the Buddha did but instead of evicting Devadatta from the order and thus prevent imminent harm, the Buddha allowed Devadatta to be within his close circle. Similarly the Guru knows of every venomous mind in his midst and yet continues to guide and love the students. The Guru just like the Buddha would never deny any student the opportunity to change, to transform. Until then the Guru, just like the Buddha has to put up with the complaints and the dark whisperings of unhappy students and still allow them to be close to him, often at the Guru’s expense. If it weren’t out of compassion and if it weren’t for the fact that nothing prevents a student from transforming his mind, what benefit does a Guru have in keeping such poisonous minds around him? Realizing this should fill us with gratitude enough to power transformation.
Finally, Devadatta’s story tells us that transformation can in fact take place in a flash. Devadatta could have repented and changed his ways after he was rejected and after each attempt at killing the Buddha for his failures would have reminded him that an enlightened one does not have the karma to be killed. And yet we saw how Devadatta’s ego powered a sickening anger until it drove Devadatta into Avicci. The choice was always there for Devadatta to repent as we saw that he was fully capable of in the end, as the earth was swallowing him up.
Thank you for the very in depth commentary on Devadatta’s story from the Dhammapada Sutta. It is very enlightening that the teachings of Buddha from two and a half millenium ago still applies today.
I’d like to share some thoughts on this topic. The Buddha is known in the Nikayas to teach according 4 guidelines: He(the Buddha) does not speak of the untruth and what is not beneficial, He does not speak of the untruth which is beneficial, he does not speak the truth which is not beneficial but only speaks of the truth which is beneficial. This was the rule of thumb which the Buddha took in his 49 years of teaching which made up the entire corpus of Dharma we have today in the Kangyur texts. So if the Buddha responded to Devadatta in this matter, is there need to doubt what the Buddha said was really wrong? I dont think so.
Some of us might question the Buddha’s intent but if the Buddha solely existed for our benefit, whatever he says, does or thinks is totally for our benefit. It is kinda worrying that 2,500 years ago this sort of challenge of authority against an enlightened master such as the Buddha was present and is still prevalent within Buddhist centres and spiritual organizations today. The underlying factor is the attitude instilled in spiritual(sometimes not so spiritual) aspirants of the way.
As time passes, we see ourselves sinking deeper and deeper in Samsara as modernization, materialism and relationships with assorted forms of attachments, we take our spiritual path on a ride whenever we justify that our attachments to these things are much mor important compared to our Gurus. The ego manifests itself in many ways. In the case of Devadatta, his arrogance in wanting the fame and power ruing over the Sangha overwhelmed him to a point where he could see no point of return although having received countless teachings under the Vajra seat of the Buddha himself.
This story helped me to appreciate Rinpoche more as Rinpoche as a Dharma teacher faces the same disappointment many times when met with situations and students like Devadatta. Rinpoche shows them more care and compassion in hopes for their transformation and change for the better. It really makes me think of how much the teacher has to endure in order to ensure that the student transforms and even takes the chance of ruining the teacher’s reputation(which will cause disappointments to many who may benefit from the teacher)and even sometimes the teacher taking the risk of letting the student experience the hellish sufferings of the lower realms(such as Devadatta) before teaching them further. It is a road less chosen by teachers because that’s the edge for many.
The conclusion of the story is “If we deceive our Guru, we will end up in hell!” Hell does not necessary mean Avici after we are dead, but also applicable to us when we are still alive. Imagine if we have been learning and cared for by our Guru who pushes our button, who taught us the real dharma, who puts his life at risk to help us to conquer our ego, to finally be liberated from all our delusions, somewhere in the process we choose our ego and leave him “to find ourselves”, “to experience new ventures”, “to take a break from him” and what have you, doing all the mundane activities with all the supra-mundane qualities he has helped to develop in us, that is what I call hell!
Before we meet our guru, we were living miserably pursuing all the so called pleasurable deeds at the same time feeling unsatisfied, knowing there is more to life than to wake up each day repeating the same thing over and over again! Every day we repetitively doing facial, going to the gym, shopping, having tea, travelling, having all the money in the world to spend; working at a job to support all that, being married and losing all our freedom to do whatever we want as and when we like, producing Rahula(s) to further confine ourselves, the list can goes on and on without an end, till we meet with Dharma kindly shared by our Guru. It was hell before for sure, but guess what – most of us thought that real hell has only just begun when we have started to follow our Guru.
Real hell now means we have to look inwardly, learn to face ourselves, to live in harmony with ourselves, to see all the temporary flaws we have and starting to learn to accept it, to love it, to be at peace with it. The Guru’s job is to show us all that so that we can wipe them off our system, but the method he uses might not be acceptable in many cases by our temporary deluded mind. It is really difficult to face inwardly as we are so used to facing outward for as long as we have existed in samsara. We are so used to seeking solace in human and things, not wanting to admit that all our problems actually arise from within. A typical example is when we point our finger at someone – we always have 1 finger pointing out but 4 pointing at ourselves. This might seems somewhat natural, but if we really think about it, it is a reflection of the habit for not taking responsibilities.
Another typical example is when we are questioned at work for a certain task that was not done, instead of admitting that it was our fault and take ownership of it, we push the responsibilities to someone else, often the person who is new or who is under us. The best part is, we get away with it, because it is a dog eats dog world, we do whatever to WIN! In that world, if we take ownership, we are seen as a loser, someone stupid, a “stepping stone”, a door mat, or whatever that contributes to others’ success. So the people we live with, learn from and deal with all taught us to develop this habit of not taking responsibility. It has deeply ingrained in our system and our society so much so that it is OK for us to behave in this way. Everything suddenly becomes so natural, so right, but wait – why are we so angry when this is being pointed out to us?
It’s very simple, our ego is being challenged and we deny the fact that our self-created delusion of ok to be irresponsible is wrong, because everyone is like that anyway! We just want to win! Everyone wanted to be with the majority, we wanted to be “trendy”, we wanted to be fitted in the “value system” and we fear to be different, to be the minority who speak out, who go against the grain, who share a different set of values. We just wanted to belong to a label because we lacked the confidence to have our own signature range, we copy everything to cover and push our anger that arises for knowing we should be something else further. We dress in the same way, we talk the same, we eat the same – everything is just the same with everyone else! How ironic is it that we keep chasing after all those external labels, forgoing our very own label – to be our very unique self, and to be angry all at the same time! This is precisely why we are angry, why it is really hell for us to continue to live like this for not wanting to do something about it.
How sad and unbearable is this? How much longer do we want to live in hell and keep on thinking that hell only happens when we die, in Avici for this instance? We will continue to create causes that resemble results to live and born in hell, if we continue to deny the fact that we are responsible for whom we are and what we did. Karma is inevitable, it will bear results regardless. The good news is that before the result is crystallized, we still stand a chance of reducing the impact! Take Prince Ajatasattu mentioned in Prof. Lopez’s video for instant. He had killed his own father, King Bimbisara, manipulated by Devadatta. The story goes like this in the one of the Buddhist traditions. King Bimbisara and Queen Kolasa Devi wanted to have an heir to the throne, but they can’t seem to have one after so many years. Finally, King Bimbisara consulted an old wise man who had told him that his son-to-be was still alive meditating in the mountain. So the king sent his people to the mountain to search for that yogi and ask the yogi to die. The yogi ignored their request, so the king went himself and killed the yogi.
As predicted, Queen Kosala had bore a child after few months of the assassination. After their son is born, the king was reminded of what he has done previously, so out of fear that his son might kill him in return, he threw his son out of the window resulted in breaking one of his son’s finger. Hence the son is named Ajatasattu. Fast forward to Prince Ajatasattu locking King Bimbisara into the dungeon and took over the king’s inheritance thanks to Devadatta. One day, the now King Ajatasattu’s prince was crying in pain for cutting his wee finger. King Ajatasattu quickly sucked the blood to stop the bleeding. Tears flow from his mother’s (Queen Kosala) eyes and she told King Ajatasattu how once his father has done similar thing and reminded him on his father’s love. King Ajatasattu suddenly realised, after being a father himself, how much love his father had for him.
It was all too late to release his father who had died in shocked hearing King Ajatasattu calling him from far. He thought King Ajatasattu was going to kill him. King Ajatasattu regretted greatly for his wrong deeds and went to Shakyamuni Buddha for remedies. The Buddha taught King Ajatasattu to repent and remorse, as well as to do a certain practise that eventually saved him from going to Avici. As for Devadatta who persuaded Ajatasattu to kill his father, according to some accounts, although Devadatta was reborn in hell due to 4 out of 5 heinous actions he has done, he mind was at peace in Avici, not affected by any of the sufferings he had to bear – having his body indistinguishable from the fire that never goes out on top of being pinned onto the wall by steel bars from both sides.
So from the story of Prince Ajatasattu and Devadatta, we understand that when our ego is challenged and we deceive our Guru, the result of that karma is definitely to go to hell whether alive or dead. On the other hand, if we swallow our pride and apologise, although we have done wrong out of ignorance, we still have a second chance to change our final destiny, provided if our Guru is still alive. Yes, everyone deserves a second chance, but do not procrastinate in taking the chance assuming that our Guru is going to live forever! Always remind ourselves that a qualified and attained Guru might shorten his current life for a bigger purpose. Our Guru is not confined by time, but we are!
There is so much to learn from this story of Devadatta and the clear commentary from Rinpoche. My personal realisation is that of all that is explained I am guilty of. It had always been easy to get angry and then blame others and delete the people who had wronged me out of my mind. Such profound IGNORANCE when challenging the independent nature of all phenomena is the key of Buddhist wisdom.
I remember clearly last year, I was like Devadatta, having been with Rinpoche and Kechara for more than 3 years and still not changed my mode of operation as a person, until with great compassion Rinpoche taught me the real Dharma. I got flustered and begin to ask why me? The only good thing I held onto was my stubbornness which was if I choose to be in Dharma, I cannot give up. As the teachings got more and more intense, I kept into myself and in a way went into self pity but thank Buddha, I did not turn vicious and retaliate or worst for me, run away. With time, I realised that if I don’t make great efforts to change, I will never make it to benefit others and myself.
With that realisation, I kept praying to my protector for help. I do not know where I am now but will need to check on results to see if I am improving.
From this story, it is so apparent and real that true Dharma is very beneficial to everyone, but to revoke all our practices and long habituations is truly not an easy path to travel but to take the single small step is so vital for eternal happiness within.
“You earn what you get” “Anger is a choice” “Create your worth” are such precious words and in contemplating on them will make you realise the power of the Dharma. Unlike Christianity, all you do is to depend on GOD and go on your journey of life with so little responsibilities as to who you are and what you are doing. Consequences of your actions will be placed on the poor GOD, whom will be like our families and loved ones on whom we blame if we are not happy.
The Dharma is so empowering, you get the opportunity to right what is wrong with you and with a great Guru, like Rinpoche, we learn to be our own creators of our short life in this world of great samsaric values and temptations.
“You earn what you get” is the lay man’s term of Karma, the cause and effects of all that we do. Everyone of us has the Buddha nature, let’s us all explore that, let it manifest and may the world be a better place.
With folded hands, I thank Rinpoche for this wonderful teaching.
Dear Datuk May, I would like to add my humble observance that quite often, physical pain begets anger and anger of course begets anger.
In Malaysia, I find that good airconditioning promotes cooler heads and a good environment for concentration. Research has proven increased productivity in cooler environments. Kechara House gets an “A” for this.
I have also experienced many people, including my beloved family, get angry easily because of physical pain, particularly lower back pain and migraine/headache. Indeed I had a Senior GM whom I reported to who suffered from chronic backache and as a result, we all suffered too.
Finally, I read that Rinpoche has recently been suffering from pain in the coccyx area. This can be relieved by doing some easy exercise – squats and clam shell exercise. A very close family member suffered from this and got better quickly by doing these two exercises. http://www.coccyx.org/treatmen/exercise.htm
A monk is great and holy until he starts teaching you the real Dharma..
Let me remember here the most important thing about stories, they are only stories: I judge, “I like”, “i don’t like”, they please, “I feel good”, “I feel bad”..this is indeed the risk of teaching, making people feeling good and satisfy about it. That might not be enough, experiencing ultimate reality is not a story and then we realize that there is One that’s it. There is no story about this Ultimate Reality. Dividing the Shanga? We are all dividing it as long as there is a “I”. Religions divide the Shanga, “I” divide the Shanga, Dharma doesn’t exist, IT IS. Bouddha and all the enlighten one knows that and the only way to honor them is not to believe in stories but to experience Ultimate Reality and try not to forget it. Stories might guide us but they are only stories and yes teaching the Dharma is a risky business for Ego is no far. I do believe Boudhha had a lot of compassion for the blindness of his cousin and would have accept to die if it could have save him. We do not get it even though it is so evident, the illusion of life is that we believe we are alive when we are dead to Awareness. The good news is that succeeding in “thinking nothing” open our Eye and this is the most simple thing to do when we know that our “I” will do everything to make it impossible.. 🙂
感谢仁波切的分享
造成佛法兄弟和姐妹之间不和谐，还造成僧众分裂的不和谐，就会导致我们下阿鼻地狱的因果。阿鼻地狱是没有中断，没有阶段，在阿鼻地狱中，我们的身体就会变成火焰，只听到我们痛苦的叫喊声音。
从这个故事中，我也明白道，一个错误的动机与想法，就导致面对可怕的死亡
如果我们不改变消极的一面，将被困在自我的世界里。
For me the story of Devadatta sends this strong message, no matter how long you are in dharma, or even ordained as a monk like him for decades, once the mind is not transformed and controlled, it can influence us to do the worst of the worst actions.
A cousin of Buddha, Devadatta was an intelligent and smart person but he is a strong example of someone who was ruled by his ego. The 8 worldly dharmas / concerns were his main refuges. So when he was denied by the Buddha, his shame & anger blinded his logical mind.
This situation can happen to many of us as well if we are not careful. That is why it is very important that we must guard our mind closely when we are in not too pleasant situation. We must always step back, look at it & analyse the consequences that entail each of our next action.
Check our mind always for it can sometimes trick us into negative thoughts. For students with a spiritual guide, we must always remember the kindness we’ve received and contemplate the actions of our Guru to benefit others. This will put us on track.
[…] Devadatta & blaming others… (tsemtulku.com) […]
Devadatta has followed Buddha for many, many years and I am sure is considered as a senior member of the sangha. How close Buddha kept him is perhaps not known but close enough and often enough for Devadatta to even propose himself to take on leadership of the Sangha and influential enough to recruit a few hundred members in the presence of Buddha himself.
The few years in Dharma has taught me the importance to stay focused on my Guru, irregardless of what goes on around…be it from new or senior members. It is not easy to be in Dharma as it is about staying true, honest, learn to take on and let go, be affected yet unaffected. “Devadatta” as the embodiment of the 3 poisons and 8 worldly dharmas are in all of us who are unattained. If there can be a Devadatta in the midst of Buddha, there certainly can be many Devadattas in dharma centres under the guidance of highly attained lamas. It is not about the lamas, it is not about the Buddha… it is about us having to recognize the Devadattas in us and continuously work on it.
Here’s a fantastic book for those who are new to Rinpoche’s teachings. Gurus for Hire, Enlightenment for Sale is a must read. http://vajrasecrets.com/books/english-books/gurus-for-hire-enlightenment-for-sale.html
It is very helpful for people who are new and searching for a Guru and a dharma centre as it sets one on the right path. It is very helpful for people who have joined a dharma centre and has a Guru as it further provide guidelines to manage expectations and foster a healthy spiritual journey.
Thank you Rinpoche for this wonderful and useful teaching, i love Rinpoche way of writing this blog injecting and giving examples in between Devadatta’s story.
It is very important for a person to know and check when one is performing a certain task, what is the true motivation in their mind. In Devadatta case he definitely wanted something more for himself instead of the benefit to spread the Dharma. We often expect something from a certain task when it is assigned to us after completing it. If we think we did well and expected more from it and it didn’t suits to our expectation we get upset and starts complaining this and that. We might not have the bad intention when we were telling our story to others but it is very dangerous if we kept on looking at things outside instead of contemplate from the inside.
Devadatta indeed have his motivation to be who he wants to be. But by serving the Lord Himself for so long it is very sad to learn that he learn nothing and don’t talk about transforming which he did not. So near yet so far. I envy for some to be able to work for Dharma, and with the capability to understand and be able to teach others and yet they chose to surrender to their ego and anger. Not judging here because it is definitely not easy to face our own self, just feels that it is wasted to throw in a white towel to the ring because of we are afraid to lose for that split seconds.
But no matter how unsatisfied and angry we are we should not kill. And Devadatta did just that, to kill an enlightened being was definitely created a huge sin and bad karma. So sorry to learn that he is suffering in the worst hell of all not be able to move with so many iron was stucked in his body. May he realized his mistake from the past and move on.
Thank You Rinpoche.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing such a wonderful and meaningful post by using Devadatta as an example.
Since young, my parents were away most of the time and I learned to be independent in many ways. Although it was not easy but it was something I had to do to take care of myself and make sure my parents know I am ok. And thru being independent, I learned a lot although not all good. As I grew up, I didnt realise that I was unhappy in so many ways. Always throwing tantrums for not getting what I want and hating my parents for not allowing me to do what I want. Selfishness and ego are dangerous! They make you do and say mean things. I actually left home because of this and as years passed I realized my parents only did it because they love me and want me to be happy. Just like what Rinpoche does. It is so logical the way Rinpoche explained it. I am so ashamed to have done what I did.
How can being in samsara be happiness? What is wrong with changing and letting our teacher tell us what is wrong with us? Nothing for them to gain but for me to lose. I truly believe because of care and love that people tell us what is wrong with us because they want us to change and be better. How can it be the other way round?
Because of Rinpoche, I am able to let go of old anger and work on it instead of blaming everyone who made it wrong. Thank you Rinpoche for pushing my buttons whenever I lax…
nice
Thank you Rinpoche by sharing and teaching us this story.
This is so true that our ego and anger is so powerful that put us into real test on our spiritual journey. Especially when we are challenged, are we able to take the challenge positively or we can change and transform.
Devadatta who is so close to Buddha also can turn around and against Buddha. I also see some Dharma friends who seems so stable and practiced for years but at the end left their Guru and centre when their ego is challenged. This is so sad that they have the opportunity to learn and practice Dharma but at the end all go to vain. Since I am so fortunate to have the chance to do Dharma work, I should keep practicing to be more humble and patience. Accumulate more merits at the same time to develop the right views and wisdom so that it can support me to be always near to Guru, always able to serve our Guru and do not have wrong view that pull us away from Dharma and our Guru.
Besides, I should also always be aware and alert for not creating any schism or gossip among the Sangha community or among our department and my Dharma Brother & Sister. I remember Rinpoche always teach us, “do not complain” and “do our work well and have integrity”. Will always keep that in mind.
Even though this story of Devadatta and Buddha occurred over two thousands years ago, it’s relevance still rings true in today’s modern times. People or rather mankind don’t change.Ego,selfishness, laziness etc. existed then and still exist today. Hence, we can all relate to the story and see how everything described in it rings so true for most if not all of us. Rinpoche’s descriptive commentary has effectively served to highlight how egotistical, selfish and lazy we all can be with devastating results. And unless we make sincere efforts to transform ourselves and make practical choices not to let our egos rule our lives, we can all likely end up in Avici, just like Devadatta.
anger is the root of evil as it will cause us to degenerate.Thank you Rinpoche for sharing with us this story.
Very inspiring, I wish I can learn all these teachings that Buddha had given you. Thanks for the wonderful read.
提婆达多是跟随佛陀多年来的资深弟子。可是到头来他却为了要领取掌管僧团的主权而选择了背叛和伤害佛陀。在当中提婆达多还犯了两舌即是在僧团里搞混乱企图也让其它的僧人离开佛陀而跟随他。当然到最后这些僧人还是回到佛陀的僧团里继续修行。当中我也看见了佛陀的慈悲。佛陀依然接受最后回来的这些曾经离开过佛陀的僧人。同时间也没对提婆达多起嗔恨心虽然提婆达多犯下了出佛身血如此大罪。此罪视为非常严重足以直接下阿鼻地狱。
这故事虽然是发生在佛陀时代跨越了甚多世纪。但事实上这些事情并每天在我们的身边一直重复发生乃至发生在自己身上却不晓得。看了仁波切的文章我学到必须经常提醒自己不要被嗔恨牵着走因为当生气的时候一切眼前所看到的事物都是丑陋的。然而也可以观想上师，老师是文殊菩萨的显现并谦虚的摄取教诲以让自己有更多进步的空间。
感谢仁波切与我们分享那么好的故事同时也启发了很多人。
“Pride turned into anger was Devadatta ‘s problem, not the Buddha-being direct in him. Devadatta was not inherently evil ,just lazy to change as many of us are”.
Just pondering on these words from Rinpoche’s commentary on Devadatta, makes me realize how our laziness to change , stemming from our fear that change would diminish us, will pull us down relentlessly(like they did Devadatta). Laziness to change or an unwillingness to get out of one’s comfort zone is a subtle form of egotism or self-absorption.Pride turned into anger – is the other side of the same coin.
Like Devadatta in the past, if we,in the present, can only realize that it doesn’t serve us at all to walk down the same path of ego, pride- turning-into-anger and laziness. If only we can realize this in time and begin to truly change and transform. We must not be dragged to the point of abandoning our Guru, source of all our hopes and eternal joy.
To me, the only thing that will really scare me into coming out of my delusory state(of fearing change and fearing pain ) is the constant meditation and reflection on Devadatta in Avici, held tight in an iron shield and impaled by iron stakes, endlessly burning ,his body indistinguishable from the fire!
Also , I believe I must work, ceaselessly, on my merit accumulation and purification of negativities and obscurations, as the Lamrim reminds us.Hence , the practice of Guru Devotion and Dharma work must be undertaken with a passion and a pure motive of benefiting others and lessening their suffering. Thus, even when the Guru scolds or denies us, we will see it as purification and accept it as part of practice and mind-training and transformation for the good of all.
Blaming others is always the first choice for the lazy and ego people because it is convenient at that moment. They can avoid bearing their responsibility, the effort to think of a solution and swallow their ego at that moment. They are even lazy to think about what is the result of this moment of avoidance could bring. It is like trying to cover a fire with paper. It is a wrong method, but their ego doesn’t allow them to admit and turn to a correct method. So in the end, more and more paper made the fire bigger and eventually burned themselves. Our Guru may set a little fire on our ego and see whether we know how to put down the fire. The Guru will continue doing that until we know the correct method so that we will not burn ourselves in the future.
Devadetta had the great fortune to be with the Buddha and received the Buddha’s teachings directly yet all these years with the Buddha did not tamed his mind. His ego and anger caused him to be revengeful and he betrayed the Buddha who compassionately took care of him. Very ungrateful.
From this story, we too are like Devadetta, in one way or another. We have this strong desire of just “wanting” but not able to give. We get upset when things don’t turn out the way we want. We point fingers at others but not ourselves and we don’t take responsibility to solve our problems.
Being near a Guru and listening to the Buddha’s teachings but not applying the teachings into our lives lead us nowhere. No transformation; no change. When our Guru presses our buttons, we must understand that it is out of compassion to help us to change; to improve. As a student, we must not have wrong views of our Guru and feel hurt with revengeful thoughts as it will not lead us to
enlightenment but straight directly to the lower realms like Devadetta.
Thanks Rinpoche for giving us the in-depth commentary for the story. For me, it’s one more commentary to strengthen that how precisely karma works.
For my friends who are not into religions, I don’t tell them Buddha or anything Dharma but I just tell them that action resembles results, which is so true and everyone cannot deny the logic. Even the thought in our mind will affect our life.
What we do is what we get. I can’t thanks the Refuge Vows enough for guarding us not to create more suffering for ourselves.
And it’s so true that our anger could be so big to blind us from the kindness of our Guru. Selfishness is growing within us, which we measure everything base on our own emotion and will. This is a sign of degenerating as people will not find ultimate happiness through selfishness but just to avoid the truth or suffering. Selflessness set us free.
I still have a long long way to go in practicing Dharma, but got to make sure I abide the Refuge Vows well from time to time before talk about any further practice.
Thank you Rinpoche _/\_
Thank you for sharing this teaching with us. It is true that if we need help from others and they can’t help us, we cannot put the blame/anger to them because they have already tried their best to help. So, try to solve our problems on our own if really we cannot at least we tried
Thank You Rinpoche of this commentary and in itself a teaching applicable to the present degenerate world. I find this teaching perhaps the one that is needed the most for us students, volunteers and the general public at large.
Devadatta’s stories is definitely very applicable and is indeed rather common and dangerous in the modern times especially with regard to causing schism within the Sangha and with the Guru. It is dangerous also because many do not realize that idle gossip, speculation and outright malice intent of speech can cause others to break away from the Sangha and the Guru. It can seem be very “innocent” when one is speaking such words because of our strong negative karma and habituations.
A Guru is a Guru because he teaches and point out to us our most negative habits so that we can recognize the problems and provide also in His teachings the methods to stop and change it. It is then up to us to apply the methods to alleviate, overcome and transform the problem into something positive or be rid of it.
I have witnessed people who seemed to be very stable in their practice but left because they cannot accept what appears to be criticism or demands on them. To me that kind of reaction seems baffling. I asked myself, “why can’t they just hang on at least?” Even if the ego is strong, just do not feed it. Just do nothing if one cannot apologize and accept the criticism. Bid your time and change or prove yourself. This is exactly what Rinpoche said in this article.
I wil contemplate everyday as I have done almost everyday in the past years for the time the Guru points out my inner most secret faults and be ready to respond positively. Even better, transform now, knowing this inner most secret faults before the Guru points it out.
Such behaviour derives from a strong chilhood habituation, placated with a “reward”. In modern society, we call these people “spolt-sprat”. Yes, initially they enjoy the so called sympathy given by others innocently, but as time goes on they will lose all respects of those long trusted helpful friends. Quick truthful self-realisation and follow by geniune apolgies may solve the situation, but must be on a serious nature, if one wants to save himself! Like the blog said, “The sooner they realize the better that is, assuming they even had goals or know how to achieve it”. This blog is indeed a representation of many true life situation in today’s society and good Dharma lesson for all beings to learn.
Thank you for sharing such profound and mind provoking commentary, Rinpoche. Yes, who promised us a rose garden when we took rebirth? Does happiness come that easily if we don’t put in effort and strike for it? When we are coated with huge ego, we will have narrow mind with strong selfishness that we want things our way. When things doesn’t turn out the way we want, we get angry and throw back the responsibility to others. This is the easiest way-out to tell the world “I bear no responsibility for my life but the society or the people around me does!”
I strongly believe that the childhood habituations has molded who we are today and if we don’t change the negative sides of us, we will be trapped in self denial. Everyone wants happiness on different levels. Just like Devadatta, for half of his life he has been a loyal Sangha until he thought if he could take over the lead of Sanghas, it would fulfill his big ego and power game. With wrong motivations, Devadatta failed and even died horribly.
A spiritual teacher is here to teach us the path to cessation of all sufferings. When we claim that we want happiness, the process of reaching the goal is surely “suffering” because we are taught to face all our downfalls which we have been trying to cover. With determination, we learn, unlearn, relearn and practice it. As a higher being, a Guru is kind and compassionate enough to use different ways to help us purify our Karma, therefore, when we receive an instructions, big or small is equally important to complete it on time and fold our hands to thank our Guru.
This is an “ancient” Buddhist story, yet there are so much wisdom which we can apply in our daily life and work place.
From this story, I learn that many times my ego risen because I wasn’t given what I wanted and instead of working hard to get what I want, I started to blame others. It is so easy to blame others (an easy way out), but it doesn’t get me anywhere, except leading me to frustration and anger.
It is also important to mix around people who will bring us up instead of brining us down. When our ego and anger get into our way, it is important that we have some good friends whom we can trust to give us a poke and wake us up, calm our mind, back down, regret and continue our practice, instead of blaming others and running away.
This story and comments from Rinpoche also reminds me one of the 50 stanzas of Guru Devotion:
“(If from a lack of awareness you have shown disrespect) to your Guru, reverently present an offering to him and seek his forgiveness. Then in the future such harm as plagues will not befall you”
Devadatta failed to do this and hence causing a lot of suffering for himself.
Also, out of the 5 heinous: Killing one’s father, mother, arhat, drawing blood from a Buddha (harm) and creating schism within the sangha, I think the most “easy” to commit among them is creating schism (usually one doesn’t kill his/her parents), because we can just drop a word here and there and create separation among others. Therefore, we need to be very careful about our speech because it can has very heavy negative karma if we are not mindful.
Devadatta is famous for creating the first schism within the Sangha by convincing 500 new monks to join him in forming a new order. But these followers were later brought back to the order. This shows how kind and forgiving the Buddha was. All his life, He was only interested in benefitting others so much so that He only slept one hour a day! So it is not true what Devadatta said about the Buddha being “lax”. Devadatta’s actions are a reminder that creating schism in the Sangha and causing harm to a Buddha will bring about severe karmic retribution.
谢谢仁波切把这一个故事分享给我们。
Ｌｏｐｅｚ教授讲解之后，再加上仁波切的分析， 让我越看越激动！我不停的把每一小段分享到我面子书上！我相信， 这都是日常生活每天都在发生的东西。而且还越来越严重！
如果小朋友没有教好，他们犯错了， 会说：“爸妈不在家， ＫＡＫＡＫ没有教我。”
长大了，功课没做好， 会说：”老师都没有讲清楚！同学又不会， 我就没做咯！“
工作时：“老板没有交代清楚， 我不知道，我还以为是其他人做！”
到家里。。。。。。。。
你看到吗？ 今天我们教导的小朋友！
不负责任、懒惰、逃避、推卸、陷害等等。。。。。 都是令人难以接受的。就算有佛陀可以原谅我们， 我们的恶业也不会放过我们！
Devadatta 在要死之前后悔了，但是也太迟了！因为他犯了非常重的错！杀害出僧人，而且还误导僧人造成分解。 这对于学佛的人是天地不容的！
我希望看到这一个文章的朋友，会为自己所做的感到后悔，改过自身！如果没有做过这种事的，可以提醒自己不要犯这些过错！
Looking at Devadatta, i rejoice for his good karma to be able to be in the presence of Buddha Shakyamuni. Unfortunately, Devadatta didn’t have sufficient merit to benefit from Lord Buddha directly. How sad! Devadatta had deeply rooted habituation and big ego that had cost him the greatest opportunity of his entire lives to train directly with Lord Buddha. It is so rare to be in the physical presence of a Buddha!
Lord Buddha had the ominiscience to know about the past, present and future of Devadatta. It is not Lord Buddha’s failure to transform Devadatta. It is Devadatta’s own negativities and past accumulations of heavy negative karma that had prevented him to tranform. Devadatta had regretted just before his death. And he had praised Lord Buddha as the most perfect refuge! That is a good sign of transformation however small it may seem!
It is so natural for most of us to blame others for whatever difficulties, problems or sufferings that we may encounter in our daily lives. We fail to realise when we point our finger towards others, four other fingers are pointing back at us! In reality, we are the cause of our own problems. We must take personal responsibility to solve all our problems because all our problems will not go away if we blame others. Devadatta is the classic example of this. Devadatta had failed to realise this truth!
Devadatta had taught us much Dharma here. May Devadatta be free from his sufferings and gain liberation from samsara.
It is easy to blame others for our mistakes and to pinpoint someone else for the cause of our problems!Learning is not easy,especially when the lessons we are given calls for looking deep inside ourselves.As the case of Devadatta,being the Buddha’s disciple for decades,he didn’t transform due to his ego,jealousy,power hungry attitude and wanted to harm Buddha when his wishes are denied.
There is no denying that those who performed heinous act,and they do have to suffer in the end.
However in Buddhism,evildoers are redeemable even if not necessary within this lifetime.As the case of Devadatta who repent in the end did benefit others (I think) who read his story.
Thank you Rinpoche for this incredible sharing.
Shelly tai on 12 June at 1110am
Dear Rinpoche thank you for sharing this teaching with us, I fully agree with what it said because of our anger it bring us a lot of suffering. The pain and suffering does not come from outside bit come from ourselves is very fortunate for us to know the dharma and understand the dharma then we pratices it so that we do not suffer even more. I feel so happy and release because all the negetive emotion that we have in actual fact can be taken away by using the dharma . Thank you Rinpoche for teaching us again and again .
It is so scary to listen to Professor Lopez discriptions of the tortures Devadatta had to go through in Avici hell for causing all the intended harms and death of Lord Buddha. All the bad intentions of Devadatta arosed after his requests to the Buddha was turned down. It sparked a lot of anger in him when all of his plots to harm the Buddha did not work,to the point of his intention to kill Buddha. However, all of these failed and Devadatta got even more upset.
As we all know, Devadatta was brought up in a royal household, in which he would get all his wishes and requests granted without much effort from his side. It is so sad to know that all the decades he lived as a sangha did not help in taming his mind to realize that he should not blame others for his failure to have his wishes fulfilled.
Fast forward to more than two thousand years later, we are still afflicted by the very same disease that sent Devadatta to hell. There are still those who claimed their Guru is wrong and this also meant that highly attained masters like Naropa, Trijang Rinpoche, Pabongka Rinpoche and many other highly attained beings are all deluded like us.
For myself, the lesson learnt here is to kill our ego and to follow our Guru sincerely no matter what for our Guru only wants the best for us.
Thank you Rinpoche for having this teaching on blog post for us. May we have the wisdom and merits to not fall into this awful situation.ilgiver inland
What I’ve learned from Devadatta’s story:
We have both strong negative and positive imprints from many life times of existence and we came into this world without that realization. Due to childhood habituation, we did not learn to take responsibility for our self till we became adult, unless someone had taught us that right from the start. Most of us were also not taught how to show care and love others and be responsible. We just learn How to Take.
Taking up responsibility is a tough and painful process as challenges our inner thoughts of our mind but we are Lazy to take that action to make that Change. We rather leave the “problem” to others to solve for us. We think we can escape from this irresponsible behavior all the time but soon, someone beside us watched closely and loose their respect on us due to this manner.
For the receiver of these behavior – Who liketo be scolded at always, get blamed, running away escaping from them self and others when we cannot handle the issue and not react back?
If the person loves and cares for us, like a Guru, they will be able to see through our weaknesses and help us out with their best effort. But we need to make the choice of staying and accepting the guidance the Guru gives us, including instructions, for these methods or ways will help us make the Change in our self.
We are the creator of our own happiness and this responsibility does not fall onto others but our self. We make the choice.
If we stay and be cared for, we would have to take the Bitter Medicine, swallow it and continue the journey of Change to see transformation and better results, provided we accept that.
Thank you Rinpoche for the great teachings.
This teaches us that we must never have bad habituation from the very beginning as habit is the one thing which is the hardest to change.
As the saying goes, what you are at 3 years old will be what you are till you are 80. Therefore parents must instil in their children good values from a young age.
Sometimes we may be tempted to go the wrong way, but its actually about our ego. I will learn from the above teachings and contemplate on my actions past, present and future.
因为想要!而得不到，其实都会发生在每个人的身上，我们不能因为自己的身份，地位，学历，外貌，关系，来衡量我们是自在必得的，因为有很多东西，不是靠这些而得来的。
世上没有不劳而获的东西，很多东西都需要靠自己的努力，方法，态度，诚恳来让别人觉得，能给我们机会去胜任或得到。就算我们尽力了，事情还是不是自己想像的，那就是我们的因果了，我们该是想尽办法去改过，而不是用尽脑汁去报仇，想歪点子而得到自己的目的。
在佛学了，如果因为我们想要得到某件东西，而去伤害，欺骗，离间别人的关系，是很不好的行为，这会带给自己很不好的业力。如果我们伤的是自己的父母亲，上师和同修，那是百倍的严重，百倍的不应该。甚至导致我们无法投胎成人。
希望大家能三思而后行。
I’ve listen to the long version of the talk and found that its more of how Christians tried different methods to gain foothold into China and North Asia. I think in trying to conform to suit local customs, they have lost some of their truth. Anyway, as pointed out later by Prof. James, Buddhism came much earlier. But I think this is not the real topic here.
As I read Rinpoche’s teaching on Devadatta, the first thing that came to mind that most of us have some of Devadatta in us, only in more or lesser degree. Basically I feel that is the very reason of degeneration today…the “want” not matching the effort put in. I can’t deny that I too have much of Devadatta’s traits before I started receiving Rinpoche’s teachings, being unhappy when things don’t go my way, etc.. And boy, I must have been a real schismatic in my previous life as most of the karma described seem to fit me (most, but not all, phew!). I am glad to say that I have taken Rinpoche’s teachings to heart and applied them as best I can in my daily life. Of course, still have much to work on but most times now, I am able to walk away when faced with negative thoughts to calm down and think my way through before going back to the situation with a clearer mind. This definitely helps to prevent creating karma in speech/action. It is true that after proper change in thoughts, how minor or miniscule the matter actually turns out to be.
I took refuge with Rinpoche knowing that he is a compassionate and kind Guru, who is able to teach me to be a better and happier person. Overtime, as my faith increases with deeper growth of my understanding, I do see him as one with all the Buddhas. As such, my faith is that Rinpoche can do no wrong, having only our best interest/spiritual growth at heart. So whenever, I come across something/actions that may seem contradictory, I would start from the fact that my Guru is always right and work backwards until I understand or at least, seem to understand why he had done it (which is always to our benefit…change for the better). Initially when I first joined Kechara, its seems that everyone was receiving this and that from Rinpoche and I had never been given anything at all. Of course I was kinda upset, but then again, after a while, I’ve learnt, why would I need gifts from him when the greatest gift he could give me is the Dharma that he teaches. Understanding and practising his teachings for my mind to transform and being able to help others thru dharma would be the greatest gift. Now I understand that receiving the physical gifts really pale in comparison as they would probably boost my ego and blind me to the real practise. Having said this, pls don’t be offended as it only applies to me. As it had been said, Buddha knows the best method to help.
As for dharma brothers and sisters, well, we are all in the same boat, seeking happiness and enlightenment. To me Dharma means being humble, seeking the correct answers when faced with doubts, practising patience, seeing things from others’ point of views to understand what & why they do/say, gently helping those who hold wrong views when possible, most importantly developing own’s spirituality correctly and of course, put Rinpoches’s teachinga into action & share with others (hoping that they will start their own dharmic path too).
Oh, I still do get angry and complain here & there, but am working on those. Now, gossip is what I need to work on most (mostly receiving gossip, haha!).
May I never develope wrong views of my Guru and continue to purge the Devadatta in me.
To Rinpoche, my thanks can never be enough, other than to spread your teachings to others to help them start their journey in dharma.
I have every bit of schism of myself when Rinpoche gave a commentary on Devadatta’s relationship with the Buddha. Even if we don’t create schism outwardly we create schism within ourselves by doubting our ability which we cannot show it because we haven’t accomplish much in our lives. Coupled with what we want without putting much effort into obtaining what we want because we want it instantly, our own dissatisfaction manifest it as anger and that we justified ourselves as the victim and others have do us wrong. In fact it is a clear sign that we need to accomplish much much more for the sake others.
I echoed your sentiments that we don’t receive as much material gifts by comparing what others has received because we have something higher to receive which is Dharma. It points to the fact that when we are somewhat ‘ready’ to give to others because what is inside of us, we have moved beyond the stage for material gifts. Receiving gifts might do us more harm than good.
[…] had us writers watch this video today of Professor Donald S Lopez narrating the story of Devadatta. Whilst the Professor’s narration was very clear, I have to say that it was our discussion […]
It’s amazing to listen to this story because you would never expect this to happen to someone like the Buddha yet it did! It reminds me of real life scenarios which happens in every Dharma organisation and even with Rinpoche.
It is really amazing how from anger and our ego being bruised, a student for dacades like Devadatta could turn against the Buddha and seek avenge. This is how our ego is put to test and how our ego betrays us that makes us do actions that are harmful to ourselves and everyone else. All the good that Buddha did for Devadatta was totally forgotten and only the bad experience was remembered. This goes to show that even if you are in Dharma for many years, done many good works, it does not mean you are doing any Dharma practice and hence the negative mind set of wrong view, the anger and the ego arise.
I felt that when Buddha insulted Devadatta calling him a “clod of spittle”, it was to take a chance to see if Devadatta had practice the Dharma and how much he has transformed and if not to stop him from “taking the order of monks” which could have been detrimental for the sangha and Dharma. Obviously he was not ready!
From this story I also understand how causing schism amongst the sangha community which is also amongst one’s dharma brothers and sisters, causing divisions, disharmony can create the causes for us to be in the Avici hell of no interruption, no intervening stages where our bodies become one with the fire flames and only our voice is heard.
This story is so appropriate for all of us to reflect on our speech and our action and especially our mind especially crucial when we are in a Dharma organisation.
Tsem Rinpoche’s commentary to the story of Devadatta is an amazing teaching, profound but knowable. The fact that we become angry when we don’t get what we want, the feelings we experience towards the other should be, in my opinion, an eye-opening mirror. We get angry not because the situation actually demands it, but that it hits a sense of that deep seated habituation in ourselves. We have a feeling that it is not all that good but go with it anyway. The whole idea of someone not giving you what you want makes you angry because deep down you realise that you have actually been doing this yourself. Maybe you know that you should have helped someone or done the work yourself to get the outcome you desired, but you didn’t. In my opinion, this is what makes you angry.
Rinpoche mentions that these sorts of people always fall back on their ‘security blankets’, parents, friends, partners, etc, and that people always long for someone to come along to ‘fix’ their problems. This idea (mistaken ideal?) is SO ingrained into the fabric of our society that we don’t even realise that there is a problem. Why do we wait for the Knight in Shining Armour or the Woman of Our Dreams? (by this I don’t just mean in a romantic sense). Why are we still perpetuating this blatantly self-hindering view? Take the example of people who are successful, in whatever field, did they wait for someone to come along and fix things? Or did they take the responsibility to get things done, with or without the help of others? Yes, this is harder said than done but as Buddhists, or anybody else for that matter, our aim should be the transformation of our mind and this transformation takes place by realising how your emotions arise and catching yourself when they do…being mindful. If we spend years by the teacher’s side, receiving teachings, yet you cannot catch yourself in the act and make a concerted effort to change, can you really call yourself a student or are you there for another reason? This is a true waste. Even to be close to a spiritual guide is so difficult to achieve for some. If people have the chance and waste it, they create even more negative karma and ultimately bind themselves further in this incessantly continuing existence that is samsara; it is a great shame.
But, it is possible with the love and care of the Spiritual Guide, you can change your mind, only if you realise what is being taught and how to apply this in your life. This delusion is stopping us from progressing and making something of our lives. Overcome by the practice of the Dharma, as long as you make the effort to change, one can alter the outcome of any situation.
I just wanted to add to my previous comment. This is probably going to be a bit off topic, so I apologise but I thought I would add this part in. I mentioned that this need to wait for others to fix our problem is deeply ingrained within our society, and for the most part this stops people from transforming as they are unable to see what their actions lead to and the subsequent consequences. I thought more about it. We are actually even teaching our own children about it. Recall the story of Cinderella, taught to children all over the world. Did she work herself out of her dire situation? No. She relied on her fairy godmother and later, prince charming. Children are being taught that it’s ok to wait for someone to fix problems rather than fixing them yourselves. Fairy tales and myths were usually created to convey ideas/ideals to others, prevalent in the times they were coined. But this does not necessarily mean that they are actually beneficial in any way, shape or form.
This brings me to a something I once heard said: “Samsara is the mind looking outwards, lost in its own projections of thought, while Nirvana is the mind looking inwards seeing the true nature of reality.” So, are the Devadattas out there really looking for Nirvana or are they still in Samsara, working in Dharma organisations or working closely with Spiritual Guides because of their ego…to look good? Whatever the reason if you have the merits to work in a Dharma institution or closely with your Guru, don’t waste it! If you haven’t already thought about this if you’re in the Dharma, ask yourself why, think and then make a decision. The right decision and go all the way with it.
Dear Niral,
I like very much what you shared. I like very much also that you came back to do another comment which showed you contemplated and thought about it further.
When you take the posts seriously and contemplate, it is really fulfilling to me the blogger. Because the posts are ways that might further your thoughts, dharma and deeper thinking.
I like your style Niral. You are indeed refreshing where your comments are not perfunctory but really well thought out.
Much care,
Tsem Rinpoche
Thank you Rinpoche,
When I was mulling over what you had written, I got engulfed in thinking about this issue. I had more thoughts, therefore I posted a 2nd comment.
The more I read and learn, the more I understand how secular life, especially the ‘modern’ world we live in is part and parcel of the problem. We are no longer taught to think, just do what you are ‘supposed to’. In school these days it’s all about knowing what you need to pass your exam – not thinking; and usually in work, it’s about performing your role and usually nothing else – again not thinking.
This division of labour is fantastic for increasing productivity and profits, but surely it binds us even further into Samara – desire for more, hatred for those who have more or who stop you getting more and ignorance of what you’re doing and of course, the nature of existence.
Maybe people join Dharma organisations for these reasons and not really to transform their minds. That’s why I appreciate your efforts in sharing the teachings and your own thoughts. You are helping others shake of their complacency in accepting ideals and challenging them to become better people – Thank You.
With folded hands,
Niral
Dear Niral, I was having similar thoughts after reading Rinpoche’s note above. Couldn’t appreciate the video as was having problems with his accent. But indeed the story rings so true. And when you mentioned division of labor above, it really hit me that we were on a similar track.
The “big question” that came to my mind is how Buddha would allocate scarce earthly resources. We know that today, most of us spend our time doing nothing, that’s right, doing nothing. What do we actually contribute to society? To our own and others’ spiritual development along the continuum of our soul?
We are being made into machines by this socio-econmic system that we live in. Without spiritual development, that’s what we are becoming – machines, without soul. We will devour each other, fight, cheat, climb over, bring down, etc. like ants in the forest.
But we wonder what the alternative might be. Many other systems have failed miserably and capitalism too is showing signs of big failure. So how?
For now, I really live in a Jekyll and Hyde world where I consciously know that the material and spiritual objectives do not meet. I’m working hard and smart to survive in the material world that we live in today but also ensuring that my family gets spiritual nourishment too.
Is there a balance? Where can I find a balance? What would Buddhanomics be like?
Dear Niral,
Really appreaciate your comment here as I think it was insightful and I loved how you had weaved the basis of what society teaches and of quick fixes, materialism and so forth and how he tied it with concepts of Samsara, nirvana and of Dharma work. I thought it was brilliant and I would like to commit the meaning of what you wrote to memory so I can share it with others.
Dear Niral,
Your comments really hit the nail onto the head and made me think further on our own problems that we create ourselves without us knowing it.
I believe that another danger is that personally I need to change this aspect of my mind. I still do have the mentality of blaming others. However, with this teaching and your comments, I realize that I need to further strengthen my mind to become even more mindful and contemplate on obstacles and situations on a daily basis as I take on the journey of mind transformation.
Thank you Rinpoche, Niral and all the Pastors in Kechare who are so ever willing to help anyone to have mind transformation.
With folded hands
Lum Kok Luen
I read the whole commentary… and the one liner at the end “A monk is holy and great until he starts teaching you the real dharma. ~Tsem Rinpoche” sums up everything that was written.
We have always been living in our delusions, believing in things even before we know what it is and we made a fixed projection of how things would be like. And thus the picture that we paint in our minds on how a parent should be, how a friend should be and how our teacher should be, has been printed in our minds from a falsity that even we do not realize it…
This falsity arises from the very core of our delusions… the fact that we think more of ourselves than the rest of the world, thinking that everything revolves around us and nothing else, a delusion that had fed our ego until it is became huge… so huge we can’t see past the mountain of ill thoughts we have for everything that do not go our way. The grass is greener on the other side is an understatement… we like our grass the way it is, and we’re like a blind man standing on our lawn scolding the gardener for helping him to weed out the wild grass.
The very reason why people never seem to give up on family and friends is because, like everyone else they too are deluded… They too live in a falsity that sticking together and silently at the back of their mind, there are ways to use these people around them for the things they wish to achieve. This is where the phrase “give and take” comes from, unfortunately, in the samsaric world, the motivation does not surround something virtuous as giving for Dharma and taking wisdom in return. Give and take in the real world actually means, you owe me so you better give me something in return. With such deeds that comes with insincere expectations, how does one stay happy regardless whether you’re the one giving or taking? All in all, the people we have been so closely associated with, thinking they gave us happiness is in actuality, nurturing our biggest enemy, the ego.
However, you know Dharma is in people when there are no expectations placed on you by them, except for your sincere transformation to be a happier person. When we are with our Guru, He is a friend, a teacher, and a parent to us… the only difference between a Guru and all of our other samsaric acquaintances is, our Guru is here to kill our ego, not nurture it. It is for this reason that many people find it so difficult to be around their Guru… because our Guru, like Manjushri, slices our ignorance away, something that we are not accustomed to.
But the good news is… everything is possible, and change is possible. Whether we want it or not, that’s a choice we must make and stand firm with it.
Thank you Rinpoche for the in-depth post, teaching us on the effects and results of our choice in unwanting to change, or even being in the Dharma for reasons that are all but to benefit others.
From the moment Devadatta stood infront of the entire order of Sangha to request the Buddha, I found it extremely arrogant how he rose and threw his upper robe over his shoulder and approached the Buddha. If it was out of humility and respect, Devadatta should have instead written a request to the Buddha, or request the Buddha when he is alone with the Buddha or during a private audience. It need not have to be done infront of the entire assembly of Sangha.. it was like he was setting up himself. Being an enligtened being, the Buddha with his clairvoyance would’ve already had Devadatta in mind if Devadatta was a suitable candidate. If you don’t trust your guru’s judgement and guidance for you, then why even be with your guru and pretend. Devadatta’s insincere practise and lack of transformation eventhough he has been with the Buddha for so long shows that he was in it for the wrong reasons. It is like a young person getting married to a wealthy older person, hating it but waiting it out with the motivation of getting inheritance at the end. It is always for themselves.
My god, in the presence of even the Buddha, Devadatta’s mind towards his guru was flippant, imagine the people of today. Also, he expected the Buddha to grant him his request, as proven by Devadatta requesting the Buddha THREE times. After the first time being rejected, he should have already reflected as to why it was rejected, and not challenge the Buddha based on the preconceived expectations of the answer he had.
Whether one is Sangha or a layperson, the mind works the same. Arrogance, greed, hatred, anger, desire, jealousy, pride, ignorance will still engulf your mind if you don’t recognize it in you and want to change it. If you are so fortunate to have a teacher to luminate your flaws and guide you to change it, then you should go all the way, through the ups and the downs. If you want only a certain way of being taught and guided, as you deem fit, then you will be the best teacher for yourself. You don’t need a teacher.
The quote at the end ” Since he sinned towards an unchanging Buddha, let him endure torture unchangingly ” summed it up well. The Buddha’s or any sincere teacher’s motivation for you will not change from day one, because it is for you, and not for themselves. If their motivation towards you changes, then their consistency will reflect the same. The methods may be different but the motivation remains unchanging. Therefore, not wanting to follow and change yourself only ends up in you experiencing tremendous suffering with your own mind and karma in samsara. Samsara is endless suffering unless you choose otherwise. So if you don’t want to change, you are only putting yourself up to perpetual suffering and torture wherever your karma takes you to and it remains unchanging if you choose to remain that way.
You can blame the whole world, but you alone will have to suffer the consequence of your actions eventually. Nobody takes charge of your own life but you. The anger, the greed, jealousy etc will pass, but in the end, where will it lead you to?
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing with us this story. I have learned a few things here:
1. The number of years a student spends with the teacher does not have a direct relationship with the level of spirituality advancement of the student. Devadatta spent many years next to the Buddha but yet he was full of anger, greed and jealousy.
2. When a student hold anger towards his guru, that is when wrong views start to manifest in the student mind. In the end, instead of attaining enlightenment in the fastest way, the student goes straight down to in the fastest way.
3. To be a leader, one has to earn it, not to ask for it. We must demonstrate qualities of a leader to have others listen to us.
4. If others criticize us, contemplate why and improve. Do not be defensive and blame others.
5. When we have the fortune to be close with a guru, have faith in him. Do not have doubts and negative thoughts about the guru. Our guru is here to bring us to enlightenment, not to hurt us. If we feel hurt, we have to contemplate why and improve.
Thank you Rinpoche for the deep and elaborate commentary. I do believe that anger is the root of evil as it will cause us to degenerate further if we continue to fuel it with more and more excuses and reasons to be angry. All it needs is a cool mind to take a step back and think of why we are angry in the first place. Like what Rinpoche said, if we are angry for the wrong reasons, then it is ok to admit our wrong doings and work harder to become right. Earn the right to be right. Then people will respect us for what we have done is from our hard work and not our bloated ego which expects all things to be handed over in a silver platter.
I guess it we want something bad enough, we have to work harder at it and not give lame excuses for people to agree with us easily. Even if the BUddha has given the order of the Sangha to Devadatta, in the short term he may be able to control the order but in the long run, people will see through Devadatta and the Sanghas will not respect him. Sooner or later, disharmony will be created and that will be a worse outcome than the Buddha rejecting Devadatta in a harsh way.So as much as it pains the Buddha to reject Devadatta a loyal student for decades, the long term outcome will be an even more painful experience for the Buddha and all around him.
A monk is holy and great until he starts teaching you the real dharma. ~Tsem Rinpoche
The above saying is so true. It has happened to Buddha himself and also Rinpoche. I have been working with Rinpoche for almost 5 years now and I see this almost every other day. How students when they do not like what Rinpoche says which is the truth, they run, some close up and some even rage against Rinpoche. Of course, Rinpoche do have students who transform also and how they are actually much happier now. I am also very sure all high lamas experience the same as Rinpoche and Buddha. I have heard of stories from the household of other highly attained lamas on how badly the students treat their teacher.
The story on Devadatta has taught me the below
1. That it is very important to have good motivation when u are doing dharma work cause Devadatta was a monk and still the results of him being a monk backfire
2. To always be humble and if u are wrong, apologies and move on. No need to dwell into our ego/pride & etc cause it will be worst.
3. Never ever harm a sangha by your action both physically or verbally.
Thank u
Rinpoche’s commentary on Devadatta is very logical and simply makes sense. It gives more depth and a modern day application to this well known story of Devadatta and the Buddha. As Buddha is clairvoyant, he would have known that Devadatta would have reacted angrily to Buddha’s rejection of him as the head of the order, and the ensuing attempted assassinations. I believe that Buddha would have done the best he could for Devadatta, as the Buddha would only act to benefit. So even though superficially it would seem strange that the Buddha would deliberately provoke Devadatta, because of the Buddha’s enlightened nature, we need to trust that it was only for Devadatta as well as the sangha’s benefit. And the story still continues to benefit us til this day 2600 years later!
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the story, giving the commentary and explaining our neuroses so well.
china is our home as is our home is chinas home
know your own faith and in the goodness of
humanity and hope for he bodhisattva
become the man or the woman that is
is required to deliver answers
for the greater of all people
I think that Devadatta’s sins are sins that no one should commit. He creates schism in the Sangha and hurt the Buddha. Two of the heinous acts. His story is a cautionary tale to Dharma practitioners.
I feel sad for the Buddha as he did not expect on his students, especially his cousin, to betray him so. It is so sad.
Professor Lopez is indeed a great speaker.
After reading this article, I need to confess all my heaviest negative Karma created by the eight worldly concerns and five poisons. I will always feel unhappy and felt sadly when I unable to meet Rinpoche when i was volunteering at KFR. I will stop blaming myself anymore because I knew that all these unhappy and sadly emotions are all created by my own ego, pride and jealous mind. At the first my motivation already polluted and I am only keeping on creating heaviest negative Karma and not creating any virtuous deeds. I am not only blaming myself but also the guru who loves us. I am not going to seek for any forgiveness from Rinpoche but I will totally shut up and put it into action instead of keeping blaming myself and others. I felt shameful because I am the one who does the Manjushri retreat but I did not really change much. That is why until today i still cannot please my guru and only disappointed him. OM BENZASATTO HUM
Dear Hecelus,
I cannot tell how lucky we are to meet the Guru and work closely with the Guru! To be able to volunteer in KFR where the Guru resides is extremely lucky and the lucky is beyond words. If we study more Dharma books like Lamrim, when we understand the preciousness more, then we wouldn’t feel unhappy for not able to meet the Guru in person but we are actually working in His mandala.
Yes you’re right. You don’t have to keep blaming yourself or others. There is no one to blame including yourself. When we know more, have more knowledge, we will know how to deal with the negative feelings or emotions.
And to be near with the Guru doesn’t mean we have to be near physically. Some near with the Guru physically for years but never transform or still as bad as last time before he/she meets the Dharma or the Guru, that doesn’t mean they are near with the Guru. The point is be near with the Guru by transforming ourselves and trust the Guru by following His words.
See you next weekend in KFR! I know you do enjoy volunteering in KFR! 🙂
I must say that a lot can be gleaned from this amazing story and teaching. I feel for the Buddha because I am sure the Buddha must have felt deeply hurt that a close cousin and student would betray him like that. I know that Rinpoche has had a few naughty students that have desserted and some have created dissension in the past for Rinpoche.
This is indeed very sad and it is clear that they would only think negatively and would not want to dwell on anything positive. I think ultimately, they just not getting what they want and when Rinpoche or any lama for that fact pushes their buttons or say things that are contrary to what pleases them, they would turn on even their lama who had only been kind to them.
It is sad but that’s the truth of the matter. Some of them to regret later but the damage has been done and not many have the courage to own up and would think of making amends. The best is to stop ourselves the moment we have negative thoughts of our lamas and contemplate of all the teachings, gifts and effort the lama had spent on us.
[…] The following is my comments after watching the video of Prof. Donald S Lopez explaining about Devadatta in Tsem Rinpoche’s blog:- http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/devadatta-blaming-others.html […]
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