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Numbered Discourses · AN 4.68

  • Numbered Discourses 4.68Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.68
  • 7. Fitting Deeds7. Pattakammavagga

DevadattaDevadattasutta

At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain, not long after Devadatta had left.Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati gijjhakūṭe pabbate acirapakkante devadatte. There the Buddha spoke to the mendicants about Devadatta:Tatra kho bhagavā devadattaṁ ārabbha bhikkhū āmantesi:

“Possessions, honor, and popularity came to Devadatta for his own ruin and downfall.“attavadhāya, bhikkhave, devadattassa lābhasakkārasiloko udapādi.

It’s like a banana plant …Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, kadalī attavadhāya phalaṁ deti, parābhavāya phalaṁ deti; or a bamboo …Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, veḷu attavadhāya phalaṁ deti, parābhavāya phalaṁ deti; or a reed, all of which bear fruit to their own ruin and downfall …Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, naḷo attavadhāya phalaṁ deti, parābhavāya phalaṁ deti;

It’s like a mule, which becomes pregnant to its own ruin and downfall.Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, assatarī attavadhāya gabbhaṁ gaṇhāti, parābhavāya gabbhaṁ gaṇhāti; In the same way, possessions, honor, and popularity came to Devadatta for his own ruin and downfall.evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, attavadhāya devadattassa lābhasakkārasiloko udapādi, parābhavāya devadattassa lābhasakkārasiloko udapādīti.

The banana plant is destroyed by its own fruit,Phalaṁ ve kadaliṁ hanti, as are the bamboo and the reed.phalaṁ veḷuṁ phalaṁ naḷaṁ; Honor destroys a reprobate,Sakkāro kāpurisaṁ hanti, as pregnancy destroys a mule.”gabbho assatariṁ yathā”ti.

Similar passages elsewhere

Found by meaning, not by citation: the passages in other texts whose wording sits closest to a passage here.

  1. SN 17.35 Shortly After He Left 0.78near 0.1Linked Discourses 17.35 Chapter Four Shortly After He Left At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain, not long after Devadatta had left. There the Buddha spoke to the mendicants abo…
  2. SN 6.12 About Devadatta 0.71near 0.1Linked Discourses 6.12 Chapter Two About Devadatta So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain, not long after Devadatta had left. Then, late at night, the glorious d…
  3. AN 8.7 Devadatta’s Failure 0.55near 0.1Numbered Discourses 8.7 1. Love Devadatta’s Failure At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain, not long after Devadatta had left. There the Buddha spoke to the mendicants about Deva…