[Buddha-l] A Different Take on Devadatta

[jkirk]

Yes, all true.  Sangha politics might have had a lot to do with
his characterization and the various stories. However, I was
dealing with the texts as a kind of folkloric narrative. 
I wrote:  nothing > in the tales of Devadatta to indicate an
original good nature of any > sort.  

Even if he was an exemplary monk and a brilliant teacher, he
might possibly also have been some kind of a fanatic who
eventually committed some wrongs, someone who did not exhibit an
'original good nature'.
Or it all, as you say, could have been the result of political
control over the narratives and later narrative reflections of
anger at schisms in the sangha (Devadatta monasteries).
Joanna
=============


In the Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, Mallalasekera lists
numerous passages in which Devadatta is portrayed as an exemplary
monk and a brilliant teacher. Centuries after the Buddha died,
Chinese pilgrims reported that there were monasteries who
followed Devadatta rather than the Buddha. So there is quite a
bit of evidence available that he was regarded as a fine teacher
and a leader. This suggests that the portrayal of him as a
traitor were politically motivated. The specific political issue
apparently had to do with laxity in discipline. 

--
Richard Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico

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