Following yesterday’s Rahula and Yaśodharā and Cause and Effect from volume 8 of Master Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra, I offer Master Hsuan Hua’s explanation of why Śākyamuni and Devadatta were linked together in lifetime after lifetime.

What’s the meaning of the name Devadatta? It means “heat of the heavens.” During his lifetime, Devadatta specialized in helping people by opposing them; his generosity would incite heated emotions in its recipients. That, in turn, would cause the “heat of the heavens.” This is an example of naming someone according to causes and conditions. With this cause and condition, his name was Heat of the Heavens. Why did Devadatta, in a backhanded way, come to aid Śākyamuni Buddha to accomplish Buddhahood? Another factor was also at play. I’ll talk about that first.

Long ago there was a wealthy elder named Sudatta who had an immense fortune, including specimens of the rare and precious seven treasures. His eldest son was called Sumati. When his wife died, Sudatta, though advanced in years, remarried and had another son named Suvyā. The elder became older and older, and he passed away when his younger son was only about eighteen or twenty. The two sons proceeded to divide their father’s riches. But Sumati, the elder brother, decided he didn’t want to give half the riches to his younger brother. So he came up with a scheme. What kind of scheme?

Sumati said to Suvyā, “Vulture Peak has many sources of entertainment. Let’s plan to go there someday.” Suvyā replied, “Yes, I’ve long been hoping to have a trip there. Let’s go there for a vacation, do some outdoor activities, or have a barbecue!” So the two brothers decided to go there together. When they got near the top of the mountain, Sumati pushed his younger brother off a cliff, so his younger brother fell into the creek at the base of the mountain, breaking his skull and other bones. Then Sumati smashed Suvyā body into pieces with rocks, murdering him. Sumati then returned home and took possession of all his father’s wealth.

Who was Sumati? Don’t think that Śākyamuni Buddha never did anything wrong. He, too, took someone’s life. Sumati was Śākyamuni Buddha in a former life. Who was Suvyā? He was Devadatta in a former life. Who was the father, Sudatta? He was King Ajātaśatru, son of Vaidehi. Ajātaśatru locked his father up in jail with seven sets of gates. In life after life, Śākyamuni Buddha was involved with these people in different relationships, so even after he became a Buddha, they continued to give him trouble.

[Chapter 12] doesn’t discuss these events, but does tell how Devadatta helped the Buddha attain Buddhahood. You could see this as a case of the suffering of being around those whom one hates. However, it would be more correct to call it the joy of being around those whom one hates. Why so? The more Devadatta opposed the Buddha, the more the Buddha liked it. So it’s not really a case of hatred. If they had truly hated one another, then they wouldn’t have been together life after life. Since there was no hatred between them, they met and helped each other life after life. Two people who hate one another would draw further and further apart; they wouldn’t be together. This indicates that the relationship between Devadatta and the Buddha was not a case of dislike.

Following yesterday’s Using Śāriputra’s Failure to Explain the Meaning of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva, I offer another example of how Master Hsuan Hua’s retelling of stories in his commentary on the Lotus Sutra produces new information.

Rahula was the Buddha’s son. In Sanskrit, his name means “to cover” or “to obstruct.” Why was he given this name? He was given this name because of his karmic obstacles. In the past, he’d been a cultivator. One time, while he was meditating, he was disturbed by the noise of a mouse gnawing at some wood. Cultivators like quiet. He thought, “You’re making too much noise!” So he plugged up the mouse hole. He left it that way for six days.

During those six days, each time he meditated, he thought about the mouse inside the hole and wondered whether or not it had died. On the sixth day, he started to feel uneasy. Why did he feel uneasy? Driven by his conscience, he thought, “If the mouse were to die inside the hole that I blocked, wouldn’t I have violated the precept against killing?” He felt compassion for the mouse and uncovered the hole. As retribution for those six days, in his present life, he had to stay in his mother’s womb for six years.

How did Rahula come into this world? Yaśodharā didn’t conceive her child in the normal way. When Prince Siddhartha decided to leave the household life, she said to him, “You may leave the household life, but first you must give me a son.” The prince pointed at her belly and said, “You shall have a baby.” That was how she became pregnant. It was very unusual! After being conceived, this child had to wait six years before coming into the world. For the six years that Yasodhara carried the baby in her womb, Śākyamuni Buddha meditated in the snowy mountains.

Rahula brought about many troubles after his birth. What kind of troubles? During this time, the culture in India was very conservative. Śākyamuni Buddha had renounced his household life and was away meditating in the snowy mountains for six years before his son was born. People from the Śākya clan said, “Humph! She’s a bad woman! Her husband hasn’t been around, so how could she have a child? She must’ve had an affair.” The people wanted to burn Yaśodharā and Rahula to death. Yaśodharā challenged them, saying, “If this child is really Prince Siddhartha’s, then the fire won’t burn us. If he isn’t, we’ll both die.” When they entered the fire, it turned into a lotus that held mother and son aloft, so they were spared. Seeing this, the people realized that they’d misjudged her.

In Buddhism, all phenomena are subject to cause and effect. Even the Buddha’s son, the Venerable Rahula, couldn’t escape the laws of cause and effect. Because in a past life he plugged up a mouse hole for six days, he had to stay in his mother’s womb for six years. For this reason, he was named Cover and Obstruct. Because of the circumstances of his birth, he almost caused his mother to be burned to death. Fortunately, the Bodhisattvas intervened and protected her, so she was spared.