Devadatta's story makes a compelling case for his journey to overthrow the Buddha. In traditional Buddhism, Devadatta is seen as a selfish, greedy and jealous cousin of the Buddha, who tries three different times to kill him, before falling ill. While in the Lotus Sutra, Devadatta is praised for being a good friend of the Buddha by helping him become fully endowed with the six paramitas. These six paramitas consist of piety, compassion, joy and indifference, which also include thirty-two characteristics, eighty characteristics, the ten powers, four types of courage, four methods of winning people, eighteen unshared properties, transcendental powers and the power of the way. The famous psychologist Sigmund Freud designed what he called “the structural model of the psyche,” which consisted of an id, an ego and a superego. The Id and the ego are more about this particular story, while the Id is a set of uncoordinated instinctive tendencies and the ego is the organized and realistic section of your consciousness that mediates between the id and the super ego. This story of Devadatta can be seen from a metaphorical and psychological point of view when relating Devadatta to one's Id and the Buddha to one's ego. It is inevitably the story of Good versus Evil. Furthermore, by reading this essay, you will see how Devadatta's perception changes from the beginning from traditional Indian Buddhism to Chinese Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra. Gotama “The Buddha” Before delving into the story of Devadatta, I would like to briefly provide the background of his cousin, “The Buddha”. The Buddha, also known by his governmental name Gotama, was born into luxury and privilege. Being protected by his father, owning three palaces... middle of paper... which I had talked about before with Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche, Devadatta can be seen from a metaphorical point of view as the Id and the Buddha like your ego. When we turn to the story of Devadatta told in the Lotus Sutra, we are given a completely different view of him. In the Mahayana Buddhist tradition Devadatta is seen as an essential part of the Buddha's life, as he achieves enlightenment, among many other things. The Buddha always speaks of Devadatta with respect, even referring to him as a great friend. Devadatta was seen in the Lotus Sutra: chapter 12, as the holy teacher of the Buddha who guided him on his path to Buddhahood. Although this chapter was written under the assumption that one already knows the Indian tradition, so the negative aspects can be overlooked, the Buddha spoke of Devadatta as someone without whom he could not have succeeded..