69. To impress the other monks and nuns and disrupt the Sangha, Devadatta asked the Buddha to make stricter rules of conduct for the Sangha. He asked that monks not be allowed to sleep in houses or eat any meat. But the Buddha refused Devadatta’s proposal. He said: “If some monks prefer to sleep in the open or not eat meat, they are free to do so. But if they do not wish to live this way they do not have to.” Finally, the Buddha said: “Devadatta, if you try to break up the Sangha you will reap the evil fruits.”
