Devadatta Buddha teaches that in a past life, Devadatta was his holy teacher who set him on the path, and makes a noteworthy statement about how even Devadatta will in time become a Buddha: In the Mahāmeghasūtra Devadatta is called a mahāpuruṣa (great being). In the Mahayana Buddhist text, the "Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra", Devadatta is said to have convinced Prince Ajātasattu to murder his father King Bimbisāra and ascend the throne. Ajātasattu follows the advice, and this action (another "anantarika-kamma" for killing one's own father) prevents him from attaining stream-entry at a later time, when listening to some teaching of the Buddha.
Shinji Takahashi (religious leader) a follower of the Zuihoukai, listened to Takahashi's teachings at a workshop at Mt. Izuru in Tochigi prefecture, the entire Zuihoukai religious association merged with, and converted to, the teachings of the Shinkoukai. Since the Zuihoukai was an organization that had obtained corporate status as a religious corporation, the Shinkoukai became known as the "Shinkoukai Religious Corporation". After the merger, "Shinkoukai" was renamed with an English name, the "God Light Association" (GLA), taking the internationalization of this organization into consideration. The organization became known as the GLA Religious Corporation, and the Zuihoukai became the GLA Religious Corporation Kansai Headquarters. It