The Buddha From Babylon

by Harvey Kraft

  Many indigenous Greeks commonly worked on ships and transport vehicles. Because they traveled and settled in the Persian Empire, Babylon boasted a large Greek community. Darius reasoned that because Greeks abroad were already familiar with his rule, he would find support among Greek city-states. Hoping to divide and conquer the Greeks, he would try to minimize their will to resist by increasing the likelihood that Greek localities would find few, if any, allies to help them.

  Most of the clergy in the Greek religious community, including the seers of the Oracle at Delphi, appeared resigned to the coming takeover and even encouraged acceptance of Persian rule. Some may have been bribed or when visited by their counterparts, the Zoroastrian Magi, may have received promises of good treatment after the Persians inevitably took charge. But those Greek city-states who welcomed the Persians with open arms soon regretted it when their men were given the choice to either join the Persian army against other Greeks or be killed.

  His insatiable appetite for domination, the awesome military resources at his disposal and his reputation for punishing resistance made Darius appear invincible. But in the city of Athens the exciting new idea of self-governance by council had taken root, as it had in India in places like Kuru. They were not inclined to give up autonomy and revert to the rule of a tyrant.

  They may have argued about what to do, but knowing the cruelty he was capable of, they were clearly wary of Darius. Despite the odds against them they decided to resist.

  In September of 490 BCE the Persians landed at Marathon on the outskirts of Athens. For five days their army had plundered the surrounding countryside when unexpectedly the Athenians attacked them. Darius suffered heavy losses and withdrew, but the defeat was a local one. It did not deter the Persian plan for seizing control of the European side of the Aegean Sea. Darius intended to return to Athens with a bigger force, but he died four years later in 486 BCE.

  His beeswax-sealed body was placed in a coffin and entombed in a rock mortuary carved into a cliff near Persepolis with this accompanying epitaph:

  Ahuramazda, when he saw this earth in commotion, bestowed it upon me, and made me king. By the favor of Ahuramazda I put [the world] down in its place . . . If you are wondering, "How many countries did Emperor Darius conquer?" . . . then let it become known to you: the spear of a Persian man has gone forth to battle [in many lands] far indeed from Persia.

  FORGIVENESS

  Darius the Great repeatedly thanked Assura Mazda for choosing him to be the King of Kings and for supporting his conquests, but in managing the far-flung kingdoms under Persian rule, Darius had to be flexible about religion. Wise to the lessons of history, he knew that mandating specific religious rituals and agendas would foster rebellion. Zoroaster, in accordance, did not call for the state to impose the adoption of his strict moral rules of behavior, although he did encourage his believers to proselytize in conquered lands.

  The spread of Persian power did open some new areas for the Zoroastrian Magi to exploit. They were building an "army of immortals" in anticipation of an apocalyptic war between the forces of light and darkness when Mazda would rid the world of the Devil God Manyu.

  Although Zoroaster liberally borrowed from Arya mythic tales and Vedic divine concepts, he pointedly judged these religious competitors to be evil and his renditions to be sacred. The core of his disdain was reserved for Vedic-based religions, such as Rishi, Brahmin, and Sramana (Jaina and Buddhist), because their practices revolved around what he considered to be a blasphemous attempt to elevate man to the status of deity. He regarded rebirth and their "liberations from rebirth" to be a profound insult to God. Zoroaster reserved his greatest wrath for the Buddha, who he deemed to be the 'Devil God whose demon followers willingly have given up their souls.'

  The Zoroastrian scriptures captured Zarathustra's emotional vituperation towards his competitors in a curse directed at a teacher named Grahma the Karpan. Just as Buddhist and Elamite references to the name Devadatta appeared to be an alternate reference to Zarathustra Spitamas, in Zoroaster's Yasna the "popular" preacher Grahma seemed to be Gautama, the Buddha. A series of quotes attributed to Zoroaster accused the Karpan246 preacher of unforgivable, sinful acts, as follows:

  The Daevas (evil spirits) are warned to renounce the actions and teachings of the rival prophet Grahma (Gautama). However high he stands at present, he invites eternal punishment, for meat eating, and for many other misdeeds. [In death] when he is brought into hell in the company of his rich [friends], he will beg [belatedly to convert to] the message of Zarathustra, who nevertheless will [be obliged to] hinder Grahma (Gautama) from beholding Asha (Universal Truth).247

  Zoroaster, convinced of his ultimate victory over other beliefs, charged the Buddha with sinful beef eating,248 disdained the Buddha's wealthy supporters, and, most importantly, expressed his determination never to forgive his rival's trespasses both in this life and the afterlife. Ironically, this scornful statement made in public testified to the frustration Zoroaster may have felt because of the increasing popularity of the Sage of the Saka.

  The conversion of Zoroaster into the character of Devadatta in Buddhist literature may have been inspired by the Darius-Zoroaster conspiracy to overthrow Siddhartha Gautama from the Babylonian throne. The Devadatta in Buddhist lore was portrayed as a self-aggrandizing competitor who regarded himself to be the real Buddha. He plotted to pull away disciples and kill Sakamuni Buddha.

  The title, Devadatta, which meant "Messenger of God's Law," had been used in Persia (including Elam, Medes, and Kamboja) as a namesake to honor Zoroaster. But in conversations, ancient Buddhists may have referred to him as Daevadatta, which in Persian meant "Exorcist of Demons," mirroring the guidelines Zoroaster provided in the Vi- Daeva-datta, for ridding the world of their kind of "evil religion."

  In spite of Persian efforts to hide their political hand in the orchestration, the episode in Babylon would have been general knowledge. However the Buddha never personally criticized Devadatta, or expressed any opinion or emotion for or against him.

  Sakamuni showed no interest in being drawn into religious conflict with Zoroaster or any other religious leader of his time. But once when the Buddha was asked about the fate of his detractor he observed only that Devadatta would cause his own downfall. Some disciples, however, found it difficult to ignore the idea that punishment must fit the crime. In their view, recorded in the Ekottaragama Sutra, the fall of Devadatta was recounted as follows:

  Devadatta [was] pulled downward into the great earth below, consumed in flames, as he [was] dragged down into the Avici Hell.

  Swallowed alive by the earth, he fell into the Hell of No Intervals (Skt. Avici), a dimension of doom between birth and death where one manifested repeatedly as a newborn infant only to experience a painful death during childbirth. Again and again, just before drawing the first breath of life, the perpetrator would be awakened by the pain of his aborted birthing. Trapped in this incessant nightmarish cycle for untold eons, he would have no respite from repeated death during birth.

  Later in that same sutra, however, it was predicted that in some distant future Devadatta would expiate the transgressions he had carved for himself in this lifetime, and after serving his punishment in Cosmic Time he would repent and attain enlightenment as a Paccekabuddha.

  The death of Darius (486 BCE) coincides with the estimated date for the passing of Zoroaster, although actual dating of the religious leader's departure appears lost to history. In the Lotus Sutra the character of Devadatta is a literary fusion of both Zarathustra Spitamas and Darius the Great. The reason for this may be found in their coordinated coup and purge more than forty years earlier.

  Assuming that 486 BCE marked the passing of Devadatta, the event would have occurred in the midst of the sermon on the Lotus Sutra. Could this have been the reason why at that time Sakamuni decided to reveal the extent of his past life relationship with Devadatta?

  In his eulogy for Devadatta, the Buddha addressed the issue of Reward, Pun
ishment, and Forgiveness, in illustrating the grand scope of Karma across Transmigration. Surprisingly, the Buddha predicted that Devadatta would become a Buddha in the future, the same destiny he had predicted for all attendees in the Lotus Sutra:

  After innumerable Eons have passed Devadatta will become a Buddha.249

  Although the Lotus Sutra made no mention of the Hell of No Intervals (Skt. Avici), the phrase "after innumerable Eons have passed" subtly acknowledged that the damages perpetrated by Darius and Zoroaster upon past, current and future generations would have long-term Karmic consequences. But in the same breadth Sakamuni immediately shifted to a positive outcome, a testament to the Buddha's profound capacity for moving on with forgiveness. The stunned audience needed an explanation.

  Sakamuni divulged that Devadatta had been his teacher in a past life:

  At that time long ago, in a far away place, Gautama had been a king who renounced his throne to become a disciple of a seer, Asita (Devadatta's name in a former incarnation). This sage had offered to teach the king how he can become a Buddha, and promised to introduce him to the Lotus Cosmology, if the king became his servant. The king agreed, abdicated his throne, and after spending a thousand years of devoted study as a servant of Asita he acquired the skillful methods he needed, and, consequently, manifested as Sakamuni Buddha in his present lifetime.

  Having gained Perfect Enlightenment with the assistance of Asita, Sakamuni Buddha felt obliged in the Lotus Sutra to credit his former mentor for the guidance that made it possible. What would become of his old friend?

  Sakamuni predicted that many eons in the future Devadatta would become a Buddha named King of Heaven, a moniker wryly befitting Zoroaster's aspiration as the champion of God in Heaven. In the future, once he becomes the King of Heaven Buddha he will teach the Lotus Cosmology to his disciples, as all Buddhas eventually do prior to their extinction. In doing so he would lead numerous seekers to liberation in a Buddha-land called Heaven's Way, where they would build a colossal seven-jeweled Sacred Tower in his honor.

  Could the Buddha's past life story of "the abdicated king" possibly have referred to the abdication of his throne at the end of his reign as "Gaumâta" the Magi appointed King-Emperor in Babylon? Was his honoring of Devadatta as an "old colleague" a veiled echo of their relationship in the interfaith Magi Order prior to the purge? Did Asita's requirement that Gautama be his servant reflect Zoroaster's view of his self-importance and desire to make Gautama an underling?

  These possibilities aside, why would the Buddha prophesize the future Perfect Enlightenment of Devadatta? Given Zoroaster's purge of the Magi Order, the large numbers of innocent people killed at the behest of Darius, and the repeated attempts to harm, kill, or injure the Buddha, on what basis did he merit a reward?

  Siddhartha Gautama's forgiveness and thankfulness seemed to flow out of the positive consequence of Devadatta's deeds, rather than his intentions. Had it not been for his "good old friend," whom he may have known since his youth, he might not have become the Buddha. If the acts of Zoroaster-Darius had not been perpetrated against him in Babylon, he might not have been "forced" to flee to the Indus where he successfully fulfilled his mission as the One-Who-Comes to Declare the Truth. From the cosmic perspective of Transmigration, "good friends" meant those who helped you advance, whether consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally.

  In that former lifetime Asita had been a seer with knowledge of the Lotus Sutra, suggesting that Zoroaster had a profound spiritual connection with the Buddha. Knowing that Gautama was destined to be reborn as the One-Who-Comes to the Declare the Truth in the Saha world, Asita may have volunteered to be born at the same time. If indeed he was a truly "good friend," Asita may have sacrificed himself, willingly drinking the poison of the mortal veil in order to fulfill his role as the antagonist needed to catalyze Gautama's accomplishment of Buddhahood.

  Whether Asita was a benevolent accomplice, or not, Devadatta was a devious villain based on Zoroaster and Darius. In the court of public opinion those two stood accused of masterminding attempts to injure and murder the Buddha. Their ambitions perpetrated religious desecrations, causing widespread destruction and mayhem and initiating a war for world dominance.

  The consequences of their actions would reach far and wide for millennia to come. Zoroaster and Darius had sown the seeds for religious- political enmity, conflict, and domination relying on pitting the forces of good against evil.

  Zoroaster created the basis for religious righteousness, the Doctrine of Good versus Evil, strictly separating his good believers from evil non-believers. For ages to come this theme would resonate among other religions. Many wars were fought and millions were killed as a result of this concept.

  In cursing Gautama to hell with an unforgiving heart, Zoroaster declared Buddhists and other "non-believers" to be infidel worshippers of the Devil God, fated to fall from the Bridge of Judgment into the pit of Hell for the sin of "aspiring to be equal to God." In contrast, the compassionate Buddha applied his universal Doctrine of Forgiveness for his "old friend." Whether as Asita he had sacrificed himself in the course of Transmigration for the sake of the Buddha, or not, Devadatta assumed the role of a fallen Buddha (the only Buddha ever deemed to have regressed from this state). Through his example, Sakamuni showed that the process of expiating Karmic debt made available the path for recovery to all who had lost their way.

  The tale of Devadatta warned that pride goes before a fall, because the Law of Cause and Effect exposes its damage. Through his example, the Buddha showed that in the Cosmos of Relativity even the wisest of men could be corrupted by pride. Enlightenment too was vulnerable and conditional. If acquired, it should be guarded and never taken for granted, as all conditions were impermanent. Therefore, all who seek it should take heed that one's awakening could be gained, lost, or regained.

  Applying the principle of "Redemption Through Atonement" across the arc of Transmigration, even the fallen and lost still qualified for Perfect Enlightenment regardless of the term or type of retribution they earned for their crimes. Because Asita had shared the Lotus Cosmology with Siddhartha in the past, he was assured of his future Buddhahood. Therefore, he would eventually find it. At some point, after atoning for his actions, he would return to the cycle of life and be free to pursue Perfect Enlightenment in Transmigration. In Buddhism there would be no eternal judgments, neither "eternal damnation" nor "eternal salvation." Buddhism offered redemption and incentives, such that one's connection with the Buddha always led to the Path of Deliverance.

  Finally, Devadatta's redemption presented a solution to the barrier imposed by the Paradox of Attainment—that only Buddhas could fathom Buddhahood. In principle, a past connection with the Lotus Cosmology, no matter how brief or shallow that encounter, constituted the possession of the seed of Buddhahood. Hence anyone who had contact with the Lotus Cosmology at any point in Cosmic Time was assured of Perfect Enlightenment.

  EXTINCTION

  Whenever and wherever they appeared in the vastness of the Radiant Universe, Buddha-Teachers would transform mortal lands into Buddha- lands. After using various vehicles to inspire self-development among beings residing in his world-system, invariably every Buddha would preach the Lotus Cosmology. Having completed his mission in this way, next he would prepare to leave the mortal world. In each case, his disciples believed, a Buddha then passes into "extinction" and enters the non-descript realm of eternal rest (Skt. Parinirvana) wherein, presumably, he would retire from birth and abide forever in a state of Buddha-bliss.

  Sakamuni observed that after the death of any Buddha anywhere in the Universe, followers would erect a tower-temple to express their boundless appreciation for their mentor's legacy and compassion, and to preserve and carry on his Teachings.

  For countless eons innumerable Buddhas throughout the Universe have passed into extinction . . .[each time they did so] after enabling people to enter, transform, and find fulfillment in the One Vehicle. In appreciation th
eir disciples built trillions of Sacred Towers to honor them . . . each memorial made with [the seven precious treasures of] gold, silver, lapis lazuli, rubies, coral, crystal, and amber . . . [at any tower-temple] those who sincerely honor a Buddha [even in the smallest way] are assured of entry into the Buddha-Dharma.250

  The paradigm of a Buddha's term in the world always consisted of a progressive pattern as follows: (1) a Buddha made his advent to inspire suffering beings to pursue the path of liberation; (2) his Teachings climaxed with the deliverance of the Lotus Cosmology; (3) its adoption caused the establishment of a Buddha-land; (4) the death of a Buddha resulted in his extinction; and (5) posthumously a Sacred Tower was built for housing the Buddha's "relics."

  A literal interpretation of the "relics" to be placed in the towers referred to the physical remains of a body after a funeral pyre reduced the mortal flesh to ashes, bones, and teeth. This custom suggested that a Buddha's cremated remains carried some supernatural spiritual power equivalent to the continuing presence of that Buddha. Indeed, it appeared to some that the sacred relics might open a channel whereby prayers could reach a Buddha in Parinirvana, above the highest Heaven of Formlessness.

  Why did disciples build Towers for Extinct Buddhas throughout the Universe?

  The aging Sakamuni Buddha suggested that these sacred structures would serve as centers for veneration where believers could honor the Teachings, and introduce the Buddha-Dharma to others. Believers would gather there to show their appreciation for the Buddha-Dharma in any number of ways, through donations, bowing, clasping hands, and offering prayers. Each of these acts were endowed with the spiritual power to cause beneficial manifestations, either in form or formless ways, as long as one's intentions were sincere without strings attached.