‘Venerable Nāgasena, is the consequence the same to him who does good and to him who does evil, or is there any difference in the two cases?’

‘There is a difference, O king, between good and evil. Good works have a happy result, and lead to Sagga, and evil works have an unhappy result, and lead to Niraya.’

‘But, venerable Nāgasena, your people say that Devadatta was altogether wicked, full of wicked dispositions, and that the Bodisat was altogether pure, full of pure dispositions. And yet Devadatta, through successive existences, was not only quite equal to the Bodisat, but even sometimes superior to him, both in reputation and in the number of his adherents.

‘Thus, Nāgasena, when Devadatta became the Purohita (family Brāhman, royal chaplain) of Brahmadatta, the king, in the city of Benares, then the Bodisat was a wretched Kaṇḍāla (outcast) who knew by heart a magic spell. And by repeating his spell he produced mango fruits out of season. This is one case in which the Bodisat was inferior to Devadatta in birth, inferior to him in reputation.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a king, a mighty monarch of the earth, living in the enjoyment of all the pleasures of sense, then the Bodisat was an elephant, decked with all manner of ornaments that the king might make use of them. And the king, being put out of temper at the sight of his graceful and pleasant style of pace and motion, said to the elephant trainer with the hope of bringing about the death of the elephant: “Trainer, this elephant has not been properly trained, make him perform the trick called ‘Sky walking.’” In that case too the Bodisat was inferior to Devadatta—was a mere foolish animal.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a man who gained his living by winnowing grain, then The Bodisat was a monkey called “the broad earth.” Here again we have the difference between an animal and a man, and the Bodisat was inferior in birth to Devadatta.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a man, by name Soṇuttara, a Nesāda (one of an outcast tribe of aborigines, who lived by hunting), and was of great strength and bodily power, like an elephant, then the Bodisat was the king of elephants under the name of the “Six-tusked.” And in that birth, the hunter slew the elephant. In that case too Devadatta was the superior.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a man, a wanderer in the woods, without a home, then the Bodisat was a bird, a partridge who knew the Vedic hymns. And in that birth too the woodman killed the bird. So in that case also Devadatta was the superior by birth.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became the king of Benares, by name Kalābu, then the Bodisat was an ascetic who preached kindness to animals. And the king (who was fond of sport), enraged with the ascetic, had his hands and feet cut off like so many bambū sprouts. In that birth, too, Devadatta was the superior, both in birth and in reputation among men.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a man, a woodman, then the Bodisat was Nandiya the monkey king. And in that birth too the man killed the monkey, and his mother besides, and his younger brother. So in that case also it was Devadatta who was the superior in birth.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a man, a naked ascetic, by name Kārambhiya, then the Bodisat was a snake king called “the Yellow one.” So in that case too it was Devadatta who was the superior in birth.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a man, a crafty ascetic with long matted hair, then the Bodisat was a famous pig, by name “the Carpenter.” So in that case too it was Devadatta who was the superior in birth.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a king among the cetas, by name Sura Paricara, who had the power of travelling through the air at a level above men’s heads, then the Bodisat was a Brahman named Kapila. So in that case too it was Devadatta who was the superior in birth and in reputation.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a man, by name Sāma, then the Bodisat was a king among the deer, by name Ruru. So in that case too it was Devadatta who was the superior in birth.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a man, a hunter wandering in the woods, then the Bodisat was a male elephant, and that hunter seven times broke off and took away the teeth of the elephant. So in that case too it was Devadatta who was the superior in respect of the class of beings into which he was born.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a jackal who wanted to conquer the world, and brought the kings of all the countries in India under his control, then the Bodisat was a wise man, by name Vidhura. So in that case too it was Devadatta who was the superior in glory.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became the elephant who destroyed the young of the Chinese partridge, then the Bodisat was also an elephant, the leader of his herd. So in that case they were both on a par.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a, yakkha, by name Unrighteous, then the Bodisat too was a yakkha, by name Righteous. So in that case too they were both on a par.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a sailor, the chief of five hundred families, then the Bodisat too was a sailor, the chief of five hundred families. So in that case too they were both on a par.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a caravan leader, the lord of five hundred waggons, then the Bodisat too was a caravan leader, the lord of five hundred waggons. So in that case too they were both on a par.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a king of deer, by name Sākha, then the Bodisat was a king of deer, by name Nigrodha. So in that case too they were both on a par.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a commander-in-chief by name Sākha, then the Bodisat was a king, by name Nigrodha. So in that case too they were both on a par.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a brahman, by name Khaṇḍahāla, then the Bodisat was a prince, by name canda. So in that case that Khaṇḍahāla was the superior.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a king, by name Brahmadatta, then the Bodisat was his son, the prince called Mahā Paduma. In that case the king had his son cast down seven times, from the precipice from which robbers were thrown down. And inasmuch as fathers are superior to and above their sons, in that case too it was Devadatta was the superior.’

‘And again, when Devadatta became a king, by name Mahā Patāpa, then the Bodisat was his son, Prince Dhamma-pāla; and that king had the hands and feet and head of his son cut off. So in that case too Devadatta was the superior.’

‘And now again, in this life, they were in the Sākya clan, and the Bodisat became a Buddha, all wise, the leader of the world, and Devadatta having left the world to join the Order founded by Him who is above the god of gods, and having attained to the powers of Iddhi, was filled with lust to become himself the Buddha. Come now, most venerable Nāgasena! Is not all that I have said true, and just, and accurate?’

‘All the many things which you, great king, have now propounded, are so, and not otherwise.’

‘Then, Nāgasena, unless black and white are the same in kind, it follows that good and evil bear equal fruit.’

‘Nay, not so, great king! Good and evil have not the same result. Devadatta was opposed by everybody. No one was hostile to the Bodisat. And the hostility which Devadatta felt towards the Bodisat, that came to maturity and bore fruit in each successive birth. And so also as Devadatta, when he was established in lordship over the world, was a protection to the poor, put up bridges and courts of justice and rest-houses for the people, and gave gifts according to his bent to Samanas and Brahmans, to the poor and needy and the wayfarers, it was by the result of that conduct that, from existence to existence, he came into the enjoyment of so much prosperity. For of whom, O king, can it be said that without generosity and self-restraint, without self-control and the observance of the Uposatha, he can reach prosperity?

‘And when, O king, you say that Devadatta and the Bodisat accompanied one another in the passage from birth to birth, that meeting together of theirs took place not, only at the end of a hundred, or a thousand, or a hundred thousand births, but was in fact constantly and frequently taking place through an immeasurable period of time. For you should regard that matter in the light of the comparison drawn by the Blessed One between the case of the purblind tortoise and the attainment of the condition of a human being. And it was not only with Devadatta that such union took place. Sāriputta the Elder also, O king, was through thousands of births the father, or the grandfather, or the uncle, or the brother, or the son, or the nephew, or the friend of the Bodisat; and the Bodisat was the father, or the grandfather, or the uncle, or the brother, or the son, or the nephew, or the friend of Sāriputta the Elder.

‘All beings in fact, O king, who, in various forms as creatures, are carried down the stream of transmigration, meet, as they are whirled along in it, both with pleasant companions and with disagreeable ones-just as water whirled along in a stream meets with pure and impure substances, with the beautiful and with the ugly.

‘And when, O king, Devadatta as the god, had been himself Unrighteous, and had led others into unrighteousness of life, he was burnt in purgatory for an immeasurable period of time. But the Bodisat, who, as the god, had been himself Righteous, and had led others into righteousness of life, lived in all the bliss of heaven for a like immeasurable period of time. And whilst in this life, Devadatta, who had plotted injury against the Buddha, and had created a schism in the Order, was swallowed up by the earth, the Tathāgata, knowing all that can be known, arrived at the insight of Buddhahood, and was completely set free (from the necessity of becoming) by the destruction of all that leads to re-existence.’

‘Very good, Nāgasena! That is so, and I accept it as you say.’

Here ends the dilemma as to Devadatta’s superiority to the Bodisat in previous births.