Devadatta the monks to live a rigorous lifestyle. This has led Ray to regard the story of Devadatta as a legend produced by the Sthavira group. Faxian and other Chinese pilgrims who travelled to India in the early centuries of the current era recorded the continued existence of "Gotamaka" buddhists, followers of Devadatta. Gotamaka are also referred to in Pali texts of the second and fifth centuries of the current era. The followers of Devadatta are recorded to have honored all the Buddhas previous to Śākyamuni (Gautama Buddha), but not Śākyamuni himself. According to Faxian, Xuanzang and Yijing's writings, some people
Religious offense issued by a religious leader who was religiously offended by the work. Traditionally there are three uniquely religious offenses (acts which cause religious offense): Dogma is the belief that a religion necessarily only ever expresses divine truth. Any challenge to divine authority may be homologous to treason and attract similar serious punishment, typically the death penalty. More recently the term is used in modern laws which aim promote religious tolerance by forbidding 'hate crime' such as the British Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006. To allow 'outsiders' to criticize a religion or its practice might appear to serve to weaken