20 Lies About the Buddha
The distance in time, the oral culture in which he lived and the fantastic legends creators of the myth were configuring a deified character of who was extraordinary human being.
The Buddha was a prince, son of Suddhodhana, king of the Sakyas.
His father worked in the fields, but he was a rich landowner
Then, prince, I remembered: ‘One day, when my father, of the clan of the sakyas, was working, I was sitting taking the fresh one in the shade of a tree.
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
Gentlemen, the Gotama inmate came out and abandoned a lot of gold and ingots stored in vaults and lofts.
MN 95. Canki Sutta
The mother of the Buddha, Queen Mahā Māyā, died during childbirth.
If his mother says goodbye, she could not be dead.
The Buddha was married to his cousin .
There is no mention of women or children. Also, he did not say goodbye to them, if they existed it would not be logical.
The Buddha had a son named Rahula .
Rahula means «impediment» strange name to put a son, but suitable for the legend. There is a monk named Rahula, but the Buddha does not refer to him with any kind of familiarity.
«Later, when I was young, a man with black hair, endowed with the blessing of youth, in the first fruits of life, although my mother and father wanted something else and shed tears, I shaved my head and beard, I put myself the yellow habit and I left home to assume a homeless lifestyle.
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
Gentlemen, inmate Gotama left his home and became homeless when he was still young, a young man with black hair and blessed with youth, at the height of life.Gentlemen, inmate Gotama shaved his hair and beard, put on his yellow robe, and went from family life to homelessness, although his mother and father wanted the opposite and cried with tearful faces. […] Gentlemen, the Gotama prisoner came from a rich family, from a family of great wealth and great possessions.
MN 95. Canki Sutta
The Buddha achieved Enlightenment by practicing Vipāssana .
This is also false. The Buddha used the jhānas. «Vipassana» is an aggregate of exercises devised in the eighteenth century CE by Mendawi, a Burmese monk who wanted his body to mummify. He was declared heretical by the official Sangha in his time. Later it became popular mainly among Westerners eager for meditation exercises.
The Buddha was called Siddhartha .
Siddhatta or Siddharta is an adjective that means «He who got it». It is another adjective like Buddha that means «Awakened».
In fact, he never wanted his name to be known to note that the achievement was achieved by himself, not by his crib, family or any other circumstance of his birth.
The Buddha was born in Lumbini .
The perpetrator of the fraud was Dr. Führer, a well-known scoundrel who sold contrails of Asoka made by himself to the places that wanted spiritual tourism in imperial India at the beginning of the 20th century. He was denounced by the British authorities themselves, but the business he started was too juicy to be discarded.
The Buddha was a chubby gentleman with curly hair.
He was very handsome, which is not compatible with the Hellenistic figures that made him centuries later. In addition, the renouncers shaved their hair and ate what they were given and only once a day.
«Gentlemen, the Gotama inmate is handsome, elegant and graceful, possesses a supreme beauty of complexion. With sublime beauty and sublime presence, remarkable to the eye.
MN 95. Canki Sutta
The Buddha belonged to the Gotama Gotra .
This is also false. Gotama is, even to this day, a Brahmin surname and the Buddha made it clear that he was not a Brahmin. He was given the last name because he was one of the most prestigious of his time.
‘Truly, sirs, Samaṇa Gotama believes in Karma, and in action, he is the one who puts justice in the foreground (of his exhortations) to the Brahman race. […] «In truth, gentlemen, the Samana Gotama came out of a primal distinguished family among the Kshatriya clans.
DN4 To Sonadanda
Mahapajapati Gotami was her aunt and adoptive mother.
I did not need any adoptive mother. Mahapajapati was his first and most outstanding bhikkhuni, possessing extraordinary faculties, but he was not related to the Buddha. Notice that she could not be her mother’s sister calling herself Gotama like him. This is due to a crude machista maneuver to attribute the excellence of Mahapajapati to his alleged «magic» family.
«Monks, the first among my disciples nuns in the manor is Mahapajapati Gotama.
AN 1.235-247. Fifth subchapter
The Buddha lit up under the Bodhi tree .
With the heat that makes in India, it is normal for the Buddha to be placed under a shadow. What we do know, and this is very important, is that he went to live in Uruvela, a very pleasant place in a charming forest with a river of clear waters and gentle riverbanks. Having water running where you meditate is very important, the species of one or the other tree, no.
«Continuing with the quest, prince, for what is healthy, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace, I toured the country of Magadha in parts, until finally I arrived at Uruvela, in Senanigama. There I saw a pleasant terrain, a lovely forest, with a river of clear waters with pleasant and gentle riverbanks, which was near a village where to obtain the food of alms. Then, I considered this: ‘This is a nice piece of land, this is a lovely forest, with a river of clear waters with pleasant and gentle riverbanks, which is close to the village where you can get the food of the alms. This will be appropriate for the clan’s son to make the effort, to try to make an effort. « And I sat there thinking: ‘This will be appropriate to make the effort.’
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
The Buddha, just before his enlightenment, decided to eat to save his life .
The Buddha was exhausted when he discovered that the way to attain enlightenment was to attain the jhānas. Then he realized that he could not generate enough «happiness that has nothing to do with the senses», that is, the neurotransmitter called serotonin generated directly without using the senses, if he did not eat its precursor which is the amino acid tryptophan, as well as vitamin B6 and glucose. That’s why he did not eat anything, but rice and curd. Something that did not understand the renunciants that accompanied him.
«Then, prince, I remembered: ‘One day, when my father, of the clan of the sakyas, was working, I was sitting taking the fresh one in the shade of a tree. There, apart from the desires of the senses, apart from what is harmful, I reached and remained in the first meditative abstraction, in which there is joy and happiness born of isolation and is accompanied by ideation and reflection. Could not that be the path to enlightenment? ‘
«And, in the light of that memory, I understood: ‘This is the path to enlightenment.’
«Then I thought: ‘Why fear a happiness that has nothing to do with the pleasures of the senses or with what is harmful?’
«And I said to myself: ‘I do not fear that happiness that has nothing to do with the pleasures of the senses or with the detrimental.’
«Then, prince, I thought: ‘It is not easy to achieve that happiness with a body reached to such exhaustion, and if I ate something solid, rice boiled and curdled?’
«So I ate something solid, boiled and curdled rice. On that occasion I was accompanied by five monks who thought: ‘If the ascetic Gotama achieves the Teaching, he will tell us.’ But, to take something solid, rice and curd, disappointed with me and left thinking: ‘The ascetic Gotama sticks the good life, has put aside the effort giving to the good life’.
«So, after eating solid food and regaining strength, away from the desires of the senses, away from what is harmful, I reached and remained in the first meditative abstraction, in which there is joy and happiness born of the separation, and goes accompanied by ideation and reflection. «
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
The Buddha was a humble and egoless person .
The Buddha was not lying, so he did not walk around with false modesty.Humility was not a virtue that adorned him. Virtue is hypocrisy, the Buddha was not hypocritical.
«Then, I responded to Ajivaka Upaka in verse:
«Victorious, above all, knowledgeable about everything, it’s me, between all incorruptible things, leaving everything, free from death and greed, knowing for myself, who could I follow?
For me, there is no teacher, one like me, does not exist, in this world with his devas, There is no one like me.
Since I am perfect in the world, the supreme teacher is me. I am only the Awake to everything, I became serene, to reach Nibbana.
To set the wheel of Dhamma in motion, I go to the city of Kasi, playing the drum of immortality, in the world that came to be blinded. «
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
The Buddha was kind and kind .
We could say that it was just the opposite. He had a lot of character, could not bear to be contradicted by anyone and did not hesitate to insult anyone who showed misconceptions.
«Foolish man, have you ever heard me preach the Teaching this way to someone?Foolish man, have I not said in many ways that consciousness arises dependently and that without condition there is no arising from consciousness? However, you, a foolish man, with your misinterpretation, you slander us, you damage yourself and you generate much demerit. This will bring you harm and suffering for a long time. «
Then the Blessed One said to the monks:
«What do you think, monks? Has the monk Sāti, the son of the fisherman, the Teaching and the Discipline?
«How could it be, venerable sir? No, venerable sir. «
Having said this, the monk Sāti, the fisherman’s son, sat silent, perplexed, his shoulders slumped, his head downcast, sad and speechless. Then the Blessed One, knowing this, said to him thus:
«Foolish man, you will be known by your own pernicious opinion. Now I will ask the monks. «
Then, the Blessed One said to the monks:
«Monks, do you understand the preaching of the Teaching as does the monk Sāti, the fisherman’s son, who, with his misinterpretation, slanders us, harms himself and generates much demerit?»
«No, venerable sir, the Blessed One has said in many ways that consciousness arises dependently and that without condition there is no arising from consciousness.»
«Well, monks, it is good that you understand the preaching of the Teaching in this way, because I have said in many ways that consciousness arises dependently and that without condition there is no arising from consciousness.
«However the monk Sāti, the son of the fisherman, a foolish man, by his misinterpretation slanders us, harms himself and generates much demerit. This will bring harm and suffering for a long time.
MN 38. Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta
15. The Buddha died of old age .
No. The Buddha was already very tired and tired of maintaining a life only for others to be enlightened. When he saw that the goal was already accomplished, he committed suicide. Suicide is the normal way for the arahants to enter their parinibbāna.
After spending the night, Cunda the Blacksmith, in his own residence, having prepared excellent food, and a large quantity of tender pork, announced the moment to the Blessed One, saying «It is time, reverend sir, the food is ready».
Then, the Chosen one, after having dressed at the time of the morning, after picking up his bowl and his tunic, together with the Community of monks, approached the residence of the Cunda Herrero and, after approaching, sat down in the seat prepared. Having sat down, the Blessed One went to Cunda the Blacksmith, saying
«Serve me with the tender pork you have prepared, Cunda, but serve the Community of monks with the other foods that have been prepared.»
«Very well, reverend sir,» said Cunda the Herrero, and after answering the Blessed One, he served the Blessed One with the tender pork that had been prepared, but he served the Community of monks with the other foods that had been prepared. Then the Blessed One went to Cunda the Blacksmith, saying:
«Throw that tender pork meat into a pit, Cunda, because I do not see, Cunda, in the world with its Divinities, Māra and Brahmā, in this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, princes and men, one who, having eaten it, could digest it completely, except one done. «
«Very well, reverend sir,» said the Blacksmith Cunda, and after answering the Blessed One, and throwing what was left of that tender pork into a pit, he approached the Blessed One, and after approaching and worshiping the Blessed One, sat to the side.
While seated aside, the Blessed One instructed, awakened, enthused and encouraged Cunda the Blacksmith, who spoke about the Teaching and got up from the seat, left.
Then, for the Blessed One, after eating the food of Cunda the Herrero, a painful affliction arose, there was a bloody dysentery and strong feelings, like the end of death. There the Blessed One, consciously, with full consciousness, endured those pains without worrying. Then the Blessed One addressed the venerable Ānanda, saying: «Come, Ānanda, come to Kusinara».
«Very well, reverend sir,» the venerable Ānanda replied to the Blessed One. «Having eaten the food of Cunda the Blacksmith, I heard, The Firm experienced a very strong affliction, as death ends.
For the Master, who had eaten tender pork, a very strong disease emerged.
While still purging the Compassionate One said: ‘I am going to the city of Kusinara’ «.
DN 16. Mah āparinibb āna sutta
The favorite disciples of the Buddha were Ananda and Mahākassapa.
The favorite disciples of the Buddha and his best friends were Sāriputta and Moggallana.
Ananda was his servant, not his cousin. For his part Mahākassapa was an important monk in the sangha and was not Sariputta’s brother. Just as Ananda had not achieved any level of illumination. At the last moment, the Buddha reproaches Ananda for his failure and leaves no one his sangha, something Mahakassapa expected for himself. Ananda was very popular because he was very close to the Buddha, but he had not achieved anything. These two characters, after the parinibbāna of the Blessed One, take all the leading role in directing the first council with half of the monks, the rest abandoned them when considering the conclusions deviated from it.
Sāriputta was the main disciple of the Buddha. It is also called Upatissa, which was evidently his personal name. Sāriputta was a great friend of Mahāmoggallāna. After leaving together under Sañjaya, he heard the essence of Assaji’s Dhamma, and together with Moggallāna they became monks under the Buddha. This was shortly after the awakening of the Buddha. Sāriputta soon became enlightened and became a popular teacher, highly respected by the other monks and often praised by the Buddha. He appears in many suttas as a teacher. He died shortly before the Buddha.
Moggallana was the second of the Principal Disciples of Buddha. He and Sāriputta came out as disciples of Sanjaya. After a time, Sāriputta, wandering in Rājagaha, met Assaji, was converted by him to the Buddha’s faith, and became a sotāpanna. He met Moggallāna and repeated the verse he had heard from Assaji ye dhammā hetuppabhavā , etc., and Moggallāna also became sotāpanna. Then, the two decided to visit the Buddha in Veḷuvana, after an unsuccessful attempt to persuade Sañjaya to accompany them. The disciples of Sanjaya, however, five hundred in number, agreed to go, and all came to Veuvana. The Buddha preached to them, and ordered them saying: «Come, monks.» Vin.i.39 ff. Moggallāna went to the village of Kallavāla AN.iv.85 f. in Māgadha, and there, on the seventh day after his ordination, the drowsiness overcame him as he sat down to meditate. The Buddha knew it and, appearing before him, exhorted him to be jealous.That same day reached the state of Arahant.
It is stated that Sāriputta and Moggallāna are the ideal disciples whose example others should try to follow. SN.ii.235 AN.i.88 In the Saccavibhaṅga Sutta MN.iii.248, the Buddha thus distinguishes these «twin brothers» from the others: «Sāriputta is like the one who produces and Moggallāna is like the nurse of what bring ahead; Sāriputta trains in the fruits of conversion, Moggallāna trains in the supreme good. « The preeminence of Moggallāna was in his psychic power. AN.i.23 When the Buddha and his monks could not obtain alms in Verañja, Moggallāna offered to go around the earth, so that the essence of the earth, which was on the lower surface, could serve as food. He also offered to open a path from Nalerupu, so that the monks could easily go to beg; but this offer was rejected by the Buddha. Vin.iii.7
Several instances of this special display of iddhi are given. Once, at the request of the Buddha, with his big toe, he shook the Migāramātupāsāda, and made it sound to terrify some monks who sat on the ground floor of the building, speaking vaguely and frivolously, despite the fact that that the Buddha was on the top floor. SN.v.269 ff.
In the Māratajjanīya Sutta MN.i.332 ff. We are told how Māra worried Moggallāna by entering his womb, but Moggallāna ordered him to go out and told him how he had once been Māra called Dūsī whose sister Kāḷī was the mother of the current Māra. Dūsī incited the family heads against the Buddha Kakusandha and, as a result, he was born in purgatory.
Moggallāna could see petas and other spirits invisible to the ordinary mortal eye. SN.ii.254 ff. They say SN.v.366 f. that the visits of Moggallāna to the deva worlds were very well received by the devas.
The Buddha complied with the preaching powers of Moggallāna when, after having preached to the Sākyans in his new Mote Hall in Kapilavatthu, he asked Moggallāna, after his departure, to speak with the monks, since he himself was tired . And Moggallāna told them about the desires and the means to get rid of them. At the end of the sermon, the Buddha praised him warmly. SN.iv.183 ff. It is mentioned elsewhere SN.iv.262-26 9 of eloquent sermons preached by him about the jhānas, about the qualities that lead to true emancipation, AN.v.155 et seq. And about the visits Sakka made to him in company of many other gods to hear him preach. Other devas also went to hear him, for example, Candana, Suyāma, Santusita, Sunimitta and Vasavatti SN.iv.269-2 80 He was also consulted by those like Vacchagotta, SN.iv.391 et seq. and Vappa, AN.ii.196 ff. Wanting to learn from him the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha placed great faith in his two main disciples and looked at them to keep the Order pure. There is a recorded case of Moggallāna taking an evil monk, pushing out and closing the door. AN.iv.204 ff. Once, when a monk accused Sāriputta of having offended him when he was about to begin a journey, Moggallāna and Ānanda went to lodge instead to summon the monks so that they could hear Sāriputta vindicate themselves. Vin.ii.236 AN.iv.374
His fame had even reached the Brahma world, since we found Tudu Brahmā singing his praises, much to the annoyance of the monk Kokalika.AN.v.170 ff. Snp.p.231 ff. When Devadatta created a schism among the monks and brought five hundred of them to Gayāsīsa, the Buddha sent Sāriputta and Moggallāna to return them. They succeeded in this mission.Kakudha Koliyaputta, once a servant of Moggallāna and later born in a great manomayakāya, warned Moggallāna of the intrigues of Devadatta against the Buddha, but Buddha ignored this information that Moggallāna had brought him. Vin.ii.185 AN.iii.122 ff. Moggallāna seems to have carried out diligently the accusation that the Buddha imposed on him to take care of the well-being of the monks.
The love that existed between Moggallāna and Sāriputta was mutual, as was admiration. The verses of Sāriputta in praise of Moggallāna Thag.1178-1181 are even more eloquent than those of Moggallāna in praise of Sāriputta. Thag.1176 Their strongest bond was the love of each one for the Buddha; when they were away from him, they related to each other how they had been conversing with him through the divine ear and the divine eye. SN.ii.275 ff. Moggallāna elsewhere also SN.ii.273 f. He tells the monks of a conversation he had with the Buddha through these divine powers. For another discussion between Sāriputta and Moggallāna, see. AN.ii.154 f.
In the Mahāgosiṅga Sutta MN.i.212 we find them housed in the Gosiṅgasālavana in the company of Mahā Kassapa, Ānanda, Revata and Anuruddha, engaging in a friendly discussion, referring their conclusions to the Buddha for their opinion. Sāriputta, Moggallāna and Anuruddha are mentioned again SN.v.174 f. SN.v.299 as staying in the Ketakīvana in Sāketa. Among the discussions between Anuruddha and Moggallāna there is one in which Anuruddha talks about the value of cultivating the four satipaṭṭhānas. SN.v.294 f. It seems that it was usual for Sāriputta and Moggallāna, in their travels, to travel together at the head of the monks, and the lay disciples, who gave alms to the monks, were eager to include them in their invitations. AN.iii.336 AN.iv.63.
Sāriputta dies before Moggallāna. Moggallāna, evidently, dies before the Buddha, since the Saṃyutta contains a reference to the Buddha who speaks of both as dead. However, the first texts do not contain any record of the circumstances of Moggallāna’s death.
«On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Vajjans at Ukkacela, on the bank of the Ganges River, together with a great Sangha of monks, not long after Sariputta and Moggallana had reached the final Nibbana. Now, on that occasion the Blessed One was sitting outside in the midst of the monks. Then, the Blessed One, having observed the silence of the Sangha, addressed the monks thus:
«Certainly, monks, now that Sariputta and Moggallana reached final Nibbana, this assembly appears empty to me. Before, monks, this assembly did not appear empty for me, and I did not worry about the place where Sariputta and Moggallana were dwelling. «
«The Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened-who arose in the past-also had only a couple of supreme disciples, as I had in Sariputta and Moggallana. The Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened-who will arise in the future-will also have only a couple of supreme disciples, as I had in Sariputta and Moggallana.
SN 47.14. Ukkacela Sutta
The Buddha had the 32 marks of the great man .
The myth of the 32 brands already appears in Babylon in the hero Gilgamesh. From that moment, no South Asian hero, god or demigod could not stop possessing them. This joke, if it does not have a malicious connotation, by attributing his achievement to his birth, not to his effort.The myth is introduced into the suttas leaving ridiculous situations:
So the brahmin Brahmayu went with the Blessed One. And the assembly saw him arrive from a distance and opened the way to him as a famous and well-known person. But the Brahmin Brahmayu said to the assembly: «Enough gentlemen, let each one sit down to his seat. I will sit here after the ascetic Gotama. «
He then approached the Blessed One and exchanged cordial greetings with him.And when these kind and polite words of welcome were over, he sat down on one side and looked at the body of the Blessed One to find out if he possessed the thirty-two marks of the Great Man. And he saw more or less the thirty-two marks of the Great Man in the body of the Blessed One except two; since he was hesitant and insecure about two of the marks, and could not decide in his mind about them: about whether the reproductive organ was enclosed in a scabbard and about the length of the tongue.
Then Brahmin Brahmayu addressed the Blessed One in verse:
I’ve learned that the thirty-two brands They are signs of the Great Man; I have not seen two of them yet On your body, oh Gotama.
Is that what must be hidden by clothes Enclosed in a scabbard, oh the greatest men? Although called with the female gender, Maybe your language is manly: Maybe your language is long too According to what we learned.
Please, put it out a little To heal me of the doubt For the welfare here and now And for the happiness in the life to come.
And now we long to ask permission to ask For something that we aspire to know.
Then, the Blessed One came up with this: «this brahmin Brahmayu sees more or less the thirty-two marks of the Great Man upon me except two; since he is hesitant and insecure about two of the marks, and can not decide in his mind about them: about whether the reproductive organ is enclosed in a sheath and about the length of the tongue. «
Then, the Blessed One did a feat with his supernatural powers such, that Brahmin Brahmayu saw that the reproductive organ of the Blessed One was enclosed in a scabbard. Then the Blessed One stuck out his tongue and repeatedly touched both holes in his ears and nostrils, and covered his entire forehead with his tongue.
MN 91. Brahmayu Sutta
The Buddha was a vegetarian .
No. A renunciant can only eat what they offer without discriminating or choosing or indicating or ordering a certain type of food. Therefore, if you throw a frog, eat it. A renunciate can not afford to demand one type or another of food.
The idea of vegetarianism is based on the misconception that only animals suffer and that eating the carcasses of animals causes the animal’s death retroactively. The Buddha left norms of protection to the plants in his rules of the Patimokkha so that they do not harm them or the seeds. A corpse can not be harmed, no matter how many people argue otherwise.
The Buddha prohibited the killing of an animal for the specific purpose of feeding a monk, that is, a monk is forbidden to eat meat if the one who offers it kills the animal to feed it. Or eat live animals, like certain molluscs.
Devadatta was a monk, a close relative of the Buddha, who divided the Sangha and tried to overthrow the Buddha and kill him. In a passage in Vinaya, Vin.ii.189 Devadatta is spoken of as Godhiputta, the son of Godhi.
When the Buddha visited Kapilavatthu after the Enlightenment and preached to the Sakyans, Devadatta became along with his friends Ānanda, Bhagu, Kimbila, Bhaddiya, Anuruddha and his barber, Upāli, and sought the Buddha in Anupiya and entered the Order. Vin.ii.182 During the rainy season that followed, Devadatta acquired the power of iddhi possible for those who are still of the puthujjānika-iddhi world. Vin.ii.183 It is mentioned that Sāriputta has done Rājagaha by singing the praises of Devadatta. Vin.ii.189 Devadatta was later suspected of evil desires.SN.ii.156
About eight years before the death of the Buddha, Devadatta, eager for gain and favor and jealous of the Buddha’s fame, tried to win over Prince Ajātasattu. Vin.ii.184 ff. Vin.iii.171 f. Vin.iii.174 f. Vin.iv.71 AN.iii.123 AN.iii.402 AN.ii.73 AN.iv.160
He assumed the form of a child with a band of snakes, and suddenly appeared in the lap of Ajātasattu, scaring him. Then he resumed his own form, and Ajātasattu, very impressed, did him a great honor and, it is said, visited him tomorrow and afternoon with five hundred cars and sent him five hundred plates of food daily.
Some time later, Devadatta went to the Buddha and suggested that he be given the leadership of the Order in view of the old age approaching the Buddha. The Buddha despised the suggestion, saying: «Neither Sāriputta nor Moggallāna would give you the Order, and then you, vile, to be vomit like a saliva?» Vin.ii.188 MN.i.393. Devadatta showed great resentment and swore revenge. Then, at the suggestion of the Buddha, a proclamation was issued to the Sangha that in everything Devadatta did in the name of Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, Devadatta would be recognized only.
It was at this time that Devadatta prompted Ajātasattu to kill his father, King Bimbisāra, while he himself was preparing to kill the Buddha.Ajātasattu agreed, and gave Devadatta royal archers to shoot the Buddha.These were placed in different ways, one on one path, two on another, and so on up to sixteen, and the plan was set up so that none of them survived to tell the story. But when the Buddha approached the first man, the Buddha’s majesty terrified him and his body stiffened. The Buddha spoke to him with kindness, and the man, throwing down his arms, confessed his crime. Then the Buddha preached to him and, having converted him, sent him down a different path. The other groups of archers, tired of waiting, abandoned the vigil and left one after the other. The different groups were led to the Buddha by their iddhi power, and he preached and converted them. The first man returned to Devadatta saying that he could not kill the Buddha because of his great iddhi power.
Devadatta then decided to kill the Buddha himself. One day, when the Buddha was walking on the slopes of Gijjhakūṭa, he threw a large rock over him. Two peaks sprouted from the ground, thus stopping their accelerated advance, but a splinter hit the Buddha’s foot, causing the blood to flow.With great pain, he was taken to Maddakucchi, and from there to Ambavana de Jīvaka, where Jīvaka attended him. After this event, the monks wished that the Buddha had a guard, but he refused, saying that it was impossible for someone to deprive a Tathāgata of his life.
Devadatta’s next attempt in the life of the Buddha was to persuade the elephant keepers to release a ferocious elephant, Nalāgiri (or Dhanapāla), drunk with Toddy, on the path by which Buddha would pass. The news spread quickly, and Buddha was warned, but refused to back down. As the elephant advanced, it impregnated him with love and, therefore, subjected him completely.
This indignation made Devadatta very unpopular, and even Ajātasattu was forced by public opinion to withdraw his patronage of Devadatta, whose gain and honor diminished. Then, with the help of others, Kokālika, Katamoraka-tissa, Khaṇḍadeviyāputta and Samuddadatta, decided to create a schism in the Order. These five were in agreement with the Buddha and requested the imposition of five rules on all the members of Saṅgha.
that the monks lived all their life in the forest,
that they do not accept invitations to meals, but that they live entirely from alms obtained from begging,
that they only wear clothes made of discarded cloths and do not accept clothes of the laity,
so that they live at the foot of a tree and not under a roof,
that they abstain completely from fish and meat.
The Buddha’s response was that those who felt so inclined could follow these rules, except to sleep under a tree during the rainy season, but he refused to make the rules obligatory. This refusal delighted Devadatta, who left with his group, declaring that the Buddha was prone to luxury and abundance. It was believed by fools, and despite Buddha’s warning against the grave sin of causing a schism in the Order, Devadatta informed Ananda of his intention to hold a meeting of Uposatha without Buddha, and, having persuaded five hundred newly ordained monks from Vesāli he joined him and went to Gayāsīsa. After this event, three suttas, the two Devadatta and the Mahāsāropama, were preached.
The Buddha sent Sāriputta and Moggallāna to Gayāsīsa to bring back the deceived. Devadatta, believing that they had come to join him, rejoiced and, despite Kokālika’s warning, welcomed them. That night he preached very late to the monks and, wishing to rest, he asked Sāriputta to address the assembly. Sāriputta and Moggallāna preached to that effect that they persuaded the five hundred monks to return with them. Kokālika kicked Devadatta in the chest to wake him up and tell him the news. When Devadatta discovered what had happened, hot blood came out of his mouth, and for nine months he was seriously ill.
As his end drew near, he wanted to see the Buddha, although the latter had declared that it would not be possible in this life. Devadatta, however, began the journey in a litter, but upon arriving in Jetavana, he stopped the garbage on the banks of the pond and went out to wash. The earth opened and he was swallowed in Avīci.
Only once is AN.iv.402 mentioned f. of the text of a sermon by Devadatta. Candikāputta informs this to Sāriputta, who makes it an occasion to talk with the monks.
The Buddha created a religion
For starters, nothing has to do with Dependent Origination with something resembling a religion. Religion comes from relinking, from re-linking men with a supposed god or gods angry or alienated from men. This is totally alien to the philosophy of the Buddha.
In addition, the doctrine of the Buddha is the same as that of all the Buddhas of the past, which have been happening throughout the centuries. What the Buddha exposes was already exposed in antiquity. He does not create a doctrine, he only discovers it and exposes it.
By the very nature of Dhamma, it must be seen and discovered by everyone, it is useless for someone to tell you about things you have never experienced. The objective of the doctrine, the only objective, is enlightenment, which consists in the eradication of existence in order not to be reborn in Samsara. There is no other objective.
Enlightenment is achieved either by discovering the Dhamma by oneself, thus becoming a Buddha, or through a Buddha who shows it to you. The value and work and dedication of a Buddha is not replaced by writings, courses, lectures or classes of ordinary people. Equating an ordinary individual with a perfectly enlightened Buddha is absurd.
Before dying, the Buddha does not leave the Sangha to anyone because there is no other Buddha among them, he makes a last effort to teach the last monk who would then become enlightened and, once disappeared, it is no longer possible for anyone else to be enlightened. Only his disciples, those he knew could later in the present life achieve it, but nobody else. It does not make sense to make a compilation of their speeches so that they can hear them again, the ones who heard them, who are the only ones who can take advantage of them.
If the Buddha had wanted an anthology of discourses to be made, he would have organized it himself before reaching his parinibbana. He never did.
Buddhism is the religion of the Buddha
Buddhism was born from the first council meeting at three months and five days of the Parinibbāna of the Buddha, and was sponsored by the king of Magadha Ajātasattu.
Son of Bimbisāra, king of Māgadha, and therefore half brother of Abhayarājakumāra, Ajātasattu assassinated his father, very friend of the Buddha, to gain the throne, and conspired with Devadatta to kill the Buddha, but later he became. He had a Udāyibhadda son. DN.i.50
Ajātasattu was very impressed by the powers of Iddhi of Devadatta and became his devoted follower. Vin.ii.185 He built a monastery for him in Gayāsīsa and attended it in the morning and in the afternoon bringing food, sometimes up to five hundred cartons in five hundred cooking containers. SN.ii.242
Devadatta urged him to take the throne, killing his father if necessary.When Bimbisāra learned of the prince’s intentions, he abdicated on his behalf. But Devadatta was not satisfied until Bimbisāra, who was one of the main supporters of the Buddha, was killed. Ajātasattu helped Devadatta in several of the latter’s attempts to kill the Buddha.
Later he was filled with remorse for these past bad deeds when he confesses; DN.i.85 but evidently, to shame, he refrained from visiting the Buddha until he was persecuted by the persuasions of his physician Jīvaka Komārabhacca. And when he finally went to Buddha, he felt great fear and trembling; so nervous was he that he imagined the conspirators in the same silence that surrounded the Buddha where he lived in the monastery, in the Mango forest of Jīvaka in Rājagaha. DN.i.49-50
It was on the occasion of this visit that the Sāmaññaphala Sutta was preached. The king admits that he had been with several masters before, but had not found satisfaction in his teachings. It is noteworthy that the Buddha cordially greets the king upon his arrival and makes no mention of the king’s impiety. On the other hand, when Ajātasattu expresses his repentance at the end of the discourse, the Buddha accepts his confession and lets it go almost lightly.
But after the king had left, the Buddha told the monks how the king’s evil deeds had caused his downfall both in this world and in the next, since, if he had not been guilty of them, the Eye of the Truth would have opened for him on the occasion. of this sermon. DN.i.85-86
Bimbisāra had married a sister of Pasenadi, and when he was killed, she died of grief.
About a year before the Buddha’s death, Ajātasattu sent his chief of government and confidant, the Brahmin Vassakāra, to the Buddha to make known to him his desire to wage war on the Vajjans and find out what the Buddha’s prediction would be about his chances of victory. The Buddha informed the brahmin that the Vajjans practiced the seven conditions of well-being that they had learned from him and that, therefore, they were invincible. DN.ii.72 f. The Saṃyutta Nikāya mentions the Buddha who said that the time would come when the Vajjans would renounce their strenuous lifestyle and then the opportunity of Ajātasattu would come. SN.ii.268
It was he who built the fortress of Pāṭāliputta, which later became the capital of Māgadha.
Ajātasattu was more in favor of Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, than of the Buddha himself. Once he entered his parinibbāna, he took the opportunity to call a meeting of all the monks he could gather in the cave of Rajagriha in Sotapanna. There he sought Mahākassapa, who held a grudge for not having been chosen to replace the Buddha at the head of the Sangha to lead him. He in turn took hold of the Buddha’s servant, Ananda who had just been recriminated by the Buddha for having failed as a disciple, to expose the Dhamma, and of Upāli, a layman who once asked the Buddha about the usefulness of rules of Patimokkha, for Discipline.
The format was of questions and answers. After the meeting, the council called him, they looked for the rest of the monks, a similar number, who rejected the conclusions of the council because they did not adapt to what the Buddha said.
Everything that was Buddhism came out of that meeting called by a king of more than dubious reputation, a snubbed organizer, a Dhamma speaker who had demonstrated his failure and a layman talking about the discipline of the monks.
Nothing to do with the Buddha.