Devadatta
Devadatta (T. lhas sbyin ལྷས་སྦྱིན་; C. tipodaduo 提婆達多) was a cousin of Gautama Buddha who became an early disciple, but later turned against the Buddha and became a bitter rival.
According to tradition, Devadatta became a disciple of the Buddha at the same time as Ananda and others. Devadatta soon attained mundane supranormal powers through the pracitce of meditation, and he was initially admired by the other monks in the Buddha's sangha.[1]
However, Devadatta later became extremely jealous of the Buddha and sought to undermine him. Devadatta worked to sow division in the sangha and even sought to have the Buddha killed.[1] According to traditional accounts, Devadatta was reborn in a hell realm as a result of the negative karma he accumulated during his lifetime.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Devadatta.
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University