There will be a person who hates the Buddha physically, verbally, and mentally for as long as a kalpa like Devadatta. The Buddha was the crown prince of King Śuddhodana while Devadatta was a prince of Doroṇodana, and therefore the Buddha and Devadatta were first cousins. In the past as well as today, among sages as well as ordinary people, a breakdown of human relations arises more often from the dispute over women than anything else. When Śākyamuni Buddha was Crown Prince Siddhārtha, Devadatta was also a crown prince. Minister Ya’o had a daughter called Yaśodharā, who was the most beautiful girl in the whole India, and whose beauty was known throughout the world. As Crown Prince Siddhārtha and Devadatta fought for her hand, their relationship turned sour.

Thereafter, Prince Siddhārtha entered the priesthood becoming the Buddha, and Devadatta, too, entered the priesthood under the guidance of Monk Sūdra. As the Buddha observed the 250 precepts and maintained the 3,000 proper demeanors of a priest, all the heavenly beings and the people adored and respected Him. However, no one respected Devadatta, causing him to ponder over a way to win a better reputation than the Buddha among the people in the world. In the end Devadatta began to assert that there were five points that proved that he should be more respected than the Buddha. It is preached in the Fourfold Precepts that a Buddhist monk should always 1. wear a robe made of rags; 2. beg for alms; 3. take a meal only once a day; 4. sit in the open; and 5. not take the five kinds of seasoning such as salt. Thus Devadatta publicized them saying, “The Buddha accepts the robes donated by people, but I wear a robe made of ragged pieces of cloth; the Buddha takes the food offered by people, but I have to beg for alms to feed myself; the Buddha has a meal three times a day, but I have it only once a day; the Buddha takes a rest in the shade of a rock or under a tree, but I, Devadatta, always sit in the open during the day; and the Buddha sometimes tastes the five kinds of flavors (sour, bitter, sweet, peppery, and salty), but I have never taken them.” As a result the people in the world were led to believe that Devadatta was incomparably superior to the Buddha.

While Devadatta was trying to demean the Buddha’s reputation, King Bimbisāra in Magadha, a follower of the Buddha, was sending 500 wagons full of donations to the Buddha and his disciples every day without fail for several years. Envious of this royal donation, Devadatta incited Crown Prince Ajātaśatru to murder his own father, King Bimbisāra, while he himself tried to kill the Buddha by hurling a rock at Him. His act of trying to kill the Buddha with a rock constitutes committing the sin of an evil physical act; while accusing the Buddha of deceiving people is an evil verbal act; and thinking of the Buddha as a loathsome enemy from a previous life is an evil mental act. The evil acts of Devadatta, consisting of physical, verbal, and mental acts, are the most serious sins ever to appear.

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 43-44

This tale, of course, underlines why it is so important that even Devadatta should be promised eventually to become a Buddha. But my ulterior motive for reprinting this is to consider the timeless message: “In the past as well as today, among sages as well as ordinary people, a breakdown of human relations arises more often from the dispute over women than anything else.”