At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Because his mind was overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, Devadatta provoked a schism in the Saṅgha. So dreadful, Bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”
… “Because his mind was overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, Devadatta’s wholesome root was cut off….”
… “Because his mind was overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, Devadatta’s wholesome nature was cut off….”
… “Because his mind was overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, Devadatta’s bright nature was cut off….”
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling in Rājagaha on Mount Vulture Peak not long after Devadatta had left. There, with reference to Devadatta, the Blessed One addressed the Bhikkhus thus:
“Bhikkhus, Devadatta’s gain, honour, and praise arose to his own downfall and destruction. Just as a plantain tree, a bamboo, or a reed yields fruit to its own downfall and destruction, so Devadatta’s gain, honour, and praise arose to his own downfall and destruction. Just as a mule becomes pregnant to its own downfall and destruction, so Devadatta’s gain, honour, and praise arose to his own downfall and destruction. So dreadful, Bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”
This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this:
“As its own fruit brings destruction
To the plantain, bamboo, and reed,
As its embryo destroys the mule,
So do honours destroy the scoundrel.”
While dwelling at Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrel Sanctuary. Now on that occasion Prince Ajātasattu was going to attend upon Devadatta morning and evening with five hundred carts, and an offering of food was conveyed to him in five hundred pots. Then a number of Bhikkhus approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and reported this matter to the Blessed One. [The Blessed One said:]
“Bhikkhus, do not be envious of Devadatta’s gain, honour, and praise. As long as Prince Ajātasattu goes to attend upon Devadatta morning and evening with five hundred carts, and an offering of food is conveyed to him in five hundred pots, only decline can be expected of Devadatta in regard to wholesome states, not growth.
“Just as a wild dog becomes even wilder when they sprinkle bile over its nose, so too, Bhikkhus, so long as Prince Ajātasattu goes to attend upon Devadatta … only decline can be expected of Devadatta in regard to wholesome states, not growth. So dreadful, Bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”
37 (7)–43 (13) Mother Sutta, Etc.
At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise, bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Bhikkhus, I have known of a certain person here, whose mind I have encompassed with my own mind: ‘This venerable one would not tell a deliberate lie even for the sake of his mother … even for the sake of his father … even for the sake of his brother … his sister … his son … his daughter … his wife.’ Yet some time later I see him, his mind overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, telling a deliberate lie. So dreadful, Bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise, so bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Therefore, Bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will abandon the arisen gain, honour, and praise, and we will not let the arisen gain, honour, and praise persist obsessing our minds.’ Thus should you train yourselves.”