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前期提示：為什麼提婆達多對釋迦牟尼佛這樣子來反面上幫助他成道業呢？
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過去，有一個大富長者，這個大富長者叫什麼呢？叫須曇。這個須曇，富有奇珍，家裡頭有七種寶貝，很富有的。他有一個兒子叫須摩提，不是須菩提，須摩提是他大兒子。但是他太太死了，他又討一個小老婆，就又有一個第二的太太。這第二太太又生了一個兒子，叫什麼呢？叫修毗耶。生了這小兒子，這個爸爸就老啦！等這個小兒子大約十八、九歲，二十來歲年紀不太大時，他就死了。死了，這兩兄弟就要分家呀！要分這個財寶，給你多少，我要多少的，就要分這個財產。
須摩提一想：「我若分給你一半，這我不是少了嗎？」就想一個方法。想什麼方法呢？說是：「靈鷲山那個地方很好玩的，我和你到靈鷲山上去玩一玩啦！」這修毗耶說：「好哇！我也早就想到那個地方去玩一玩的。或者到那個地方去 vacation holiday（度假），或者到那兒去做一個露天的玩耍，或者到那個地方去做一個barbecue（野宴）。」
那麼兩兄弟一商量好了，就一起去野宴了。到那兒就往山上走，一走走到高山的一個澗，須摩提就把這個小弟弟推到那個山澗裡邊去了。這一拽到山澗裡邊，頭也拽碎了，骨頭也爛了，他又用石頭把他的身體打了很多塊，就給弄死了。弄死後回來，他把家產全都佔了。
這個須摩提是誰呢？你不要以為釋迦牟尼佛都盡做好事啊！他也殺過人的，他就是釋迦牟尼佛。這個修毗耶是誰呢？就是提婆達多。他爸爸須曇是誰呢？就是阿闍世王。你記得那個緯提希的兒子阿闍世王嗎？他把父親圈到七道門的監牢裡邊，就是這個王。這和釋迦牟尼佛生生世世都有種種的關係、種種的因緣，所以釋迦牟尼佛成佛了，他們也還來給他麻煩。這就是提婆達多，但是這一品上所說的不是這一些事情，這是說提婆達多幫助釋迦牟尼佛成佛的。可以說是有怨憎會苦（八苦之一），但是這不叫怨憎會苦，這叫怨憎會樂，怎麼樂呢？釋迦牟尼佛是提婆達多越反對他，他越歡喜，所以這不是怨。如果是怨，就不會生生世世都遇到一起；因為它不是怨，所以他們生生世世都生在一處，大家互相幫助。若怨的話，好像兩個人不相和，你往這邊走，他往那邊走，越走越遠，不會走在一起，所以這證明不是怨。
→待續
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From last issue: Why did Devadatta oppose Shakyamuni Buddha in order to help him realize the Way?
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L
ong ago there was a wealthy elder named Xu Tan whose fortune in the seven treasures was abundant. His eldest son was called Xu Moti. Don’t get his name mixed up with Subhuti. When his wife died, the elder Xu Tan remarried and had another son named Xiu Piye by his second wife. When this second son was born, Xu Tan was already advanced in years; and when Xiu Piye reached the age of eighteen, or nineteen or twenty, his father Xu Tan passed away. The two brothers proceeded to divide up their father’s riches. They were trying to decide how much of the riches should go to each of them.
Xu Moti thought to himself, “If I let you have half the riches, then I would have that much less for myself.” So he thought of a plan. He said to his little brother, “Vulture Peak is a lot of fun. Let’s go there and enjoy ourselves!” Xiu Piye said, “Okay! I’ve always wanted to go there for a visit. Maybe we can go there for a vacation or holiday, or have some sort of outdoor game or hold a barbecue there.”
The two brothers discussed it between themselves and decided to go there for a picnic. When they reached the mountain, they started making the ascent. They walked high up into the mountains and came to a mountain ravine. At that point, Xu Moti pushed his younger brother over the edge, so that he toppled down into the ravine, bashing his head and breaking his bones on the rocks below. After throwing some more rocks on top of him to make sure he was dead, Xu Moti went back and appropriated all the family riches for himself.
Who was Xu Moti? You shouldn’t think that Shakyamuni Buddha always did good deeds! He also committed murder in the past. Xu Moti was Shakyamuni Buddha’s former incarnation. And who was Xiu Piye? He was Devadatta’s former incarnation. Who was the elder Xu Tan? He was the former incarnation of King Ajatashatru, the son of Vaidehi, who locked his parents in a jail with seven doors. Life after life, Shakyamuni Buddha had been involved with these people in varying combinations of affinities, and so even after he became a Buddha, they still came and gave him trouble. This chapter doesn’t discuss these events, but it does tell how Devadatta helped the Buddha accomplish Buddhahood.
You could say this was a case of “the suffering of being joined to what you hate” [one of the Eight Sufferings]. Actually, it would be more correct to call it “the happiness of being joined to what you hate”! How is this? The more Devadatta opposed him, the more the Buddha liked it. If they had truly hated one another, they wouldn’t have encountered one another in every life. Since it wasn’t really a case of dislike, life after life they met one another and helped each other. If two people disliked each other and didn’t get along together, they would walk in opposite directions and draw farther and farther apart; they would not walk together. This proves that there was no hatred between the Buddha and Devadatta.
→To be continued
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