Bhagavati-sutra (Viyaha-pannatti)
by K. C. Lalwani | 1973 | 185,989 words
The English translation of the Bhagavati-sutra which is the fifth Jaina Agama (canonical literature). It is a large encyclopedic work in the form of a dialogue where Mahavira replies to various question. The present form of the Sutra dates to the fifth century A.D. Abhayadeva Suri wrote a vritti (commentary) on the Bhagavati in A.D. 1071. In his J...
Part 3 - On the state of being and state of non-being
Q. 121. Bhante! Does a state of being turn into a state of being and a state of non-being into a state of non-being?
A. 121. Yes, Gautama! They do so (as you state)76.
Q. 122. Bhante! A state of being turns into a state of being, and a state of non-being turns into a state of non-being. Is it induced or spontaneous?
A. 122. Gautama! It is induced and it is also spontaneous77.
Q. 123. Bhante! As stated by you, a state of being turns into a state of being; does it follow therefrom that a state of non-being turns into a state of non-being? And as you say, a state of non-being turns into a state of non-being; does it follow therefrom that a state of being turns into a state of being?
A. 123. Gautama! As in my view, a state of being turns into a state of being, so does a state of non-being turn into a state of non-being; and, as a state of non-being turns, into a state of non-being, so does a state of being turn into a state of being78.
Q. 124. Bhante! Does a state of being enter into a state of being?
A. 124. Gautama! As has been said about ‘turning’ in the two states of being and non-being, so about entering into in both the states,...till a state of being enters into a state of being.
Q. 125. Bhante! What has been said of self, does it apply to another self? And what applies to another self, does it apply to self78?
A. 125. Gautama! One should treat self in the same manner as another self; and one should treat another self In the same manner as self.
Notes (based on commentary of Abhayadeva Sūri):
76. A state of being transforms into a state of being, as a state of non-being transforms into a state of non-being. When lamp is burning, matter looks bright; but the same matter looks dark when the lamp goes out. This does not take matter from a state of being into a state of non-being, which further means that darkness is not the outcome of the absence of something, but only a transformation of what looked bright into what now looks dark. In contrast, when we say, for instance, that a donkey grows no horn, we state a truism about a state of non-being, which is, and ever remains, so. An interesting trait of a state of being and a state of non-being is that one is not contradictory to the other, but only complementary. A finger is in a state of being as a finger, with its substance, dimension, time and nature, and hence is in a state of non-being as a jar or any other thing.
77. When a lump of clay is turned into a jar, it is a transformation of a state of being into a state of being by conscious effort; but when dark hair turns grey, a state of being transforms into a state of being by natural process. The same two, conscious effort and natural process, may also be operative in the transformation of a state of non-being into a state of non-being.
78. Can there be an exception in the face of some overwhelming force or consideration? The Lord rejects this by stating that the fundamentals take no exception, and no consideration or force is too great. Of course, matter itself has many traits, and one need not feel that the most visible and dominant trait is the only one. The most dominant trait of fire is to burn, but it goes out in contact with water. The most dominant trait of water is to cod, but it boils when placed on fire. But this is no change in the basic trait, the fundamentals remaining as they are, and a state of being transforming into a state of being and a state of non-being transforming into a state of non-being.