The Buddha alone, continuing the Devadatta case study
Form
An exact structural repeat of SN 17.31, escalating the named consequence
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — the first of a three-discourse escalation naming what Devadatta actually lost
Why this discourse
This discourse repeats SN 17.31's exact structure, escalating what Devadatta lost from an external act — splitting the Saṅgha — to an internal one: he cut off his kusalamūla, his skillful root, because his mind was overcome and overwhelmed by possessions, honor, and popularity. Where schism describes damage done to the community, this discourse names damage done to Devadatta himself, at the deepest level the tradition has vocabulary for.
Reading guide
Moving from external harm to internal severance
SN 17.31 described Devadatta's effect on others, the Saṅgha itself; this discourse turns to what happened inside Devadatta, naming a wound to his own spiritual foundation rather than to the community he damaged.
Kusalamūla as a foundational technical term
The skillful roots — traditionally non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion — are the basic wholesome foundation the entire path is built upon; naming their severance describes a failure at the most fundamental level the tradition recognizes.
Samucchedamagamā as total, not partial, loss
The verb describes something cut off completely and definitively, not merely diminished or weakened — this discourse doesn't describe Devadatta as struggling with the skillful root but as having severed it outright.
The first of a three-part escalating sequence
This discourse's claim about the skillful root recurs, with the specific term varied, in each of the two discourses immediately following it, forming a deliberate triad examining what exactly was destroyed.
The identical diagnostic cause, unchanged from SN 17.31
Despite the escalated consequence, the stated cause remains exactly the same — overcome and overwhelmed by possessions, honor, and popularity — confirming this triad traces one danger to increasingly severe internal effects.
Key terms
kusalamūlaṁ — “skillful root” — traditionally non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion, the foundational wholesome basis the entire path depends upon.
samucchedamagamā — “went to utter severance” — describing total, definitive loss rather than partial weakening.
abhibhūtassa pariyādiṇṇacittassa — “overcome and overwhelmed” — the identical diagnostic condition named in SN 17.31, unchanged despite the escalated consequence described here.
devadattassa — “Devadatta's” — the same named individual examined across this entire sequence of discourses.
dutiyaṁ — “the second” — this discourse's closing numbering tag.
The text
The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Possessions, honor, and popularity are grim … Devadatta cut off his skillful root because his mind was overcome and overwhelmed by possessions, honor, and popularity. So grim are possessions, honor, and popularity. …”
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What did Devadatta lose, according to this discourse?
Correct: A. A wound to Devadatta's own spiritual foundation, escalated from SN 17.31's external schism.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse's focus differ from SN 17.31's?
Correct: A. A shift from consequence for the community to consequence for the individual.
Question 3 of 10
What do the traditional skillful roots consist of?
Correct: A. The foundational wholesome basis the entire path is built upon.
Question 4 of 10
What does samucchedamagamā describe about this loss?
Correct: A. Complete severance, not a struggle or diminishment.
Question 5 of 10
What position does this discourse hold in a larger pattern within Catutthavagga?
Correct: A. Followed by two more discourses varying the specific term for what was lost.
Question 6 of 10
Does the stated cause of Devadatta's loss change from SN 17.31 to this discourse?
Correct: A. The same danger, traced to an increasingly severe internal consequence.
Question 7 of 10
Who is examined across this entire sequence of discourses in Catutthavagga?
Correct: A. The named historical figure introduced in SN 17.31.
Question 8 of 10
Where does the Buddha deliver this teaching?
Correct: A. The setting shared with most discourses in this collection.
Question 9 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor appears.
Question 10 of 10
What numbering tag closes this discourse?
Correct: A. The second discourse of Catutthavagga.
