[Buddha-l] A Different Take on Devadatta

[Franz Metcalf]

Joanna et al.,

You quoted me and commented:

> "I think Devadatta is very reasonably righteous about both these
> matters. "
>
> Either that, or being a very fanatical puritan and nosy to boot.
>
> Cheers, Joanna

Well, yes, that too. I'm definitely on the Buddha's side in the book, 
regarding the asceticism of the sangha. I think they needed to follow a 
middle way, even if that meant losing some cultural cachet for their 
tapas. As for the abandonment of Siddhattha's wife and 
child--Devadatta's sister and nephew, I'm more on Devadatta's side. Of 
course it was less of a big deal back then in that culture, but 
still...

The wonderfully murky depth to these characters is why, after all these 
years, people still write papers and novels about them.

Franz