Part 8 - On knowing by the monks

Q. 65. Bhante! Does the omniscient know and see one who will terminate (his karma bondage) and who holds his final body?

A. 65. Yes, Gautama, he knows and sees.

Q. 66. Bhante! The omniscient knows and sees the terminator of karma bondage and the holder of the final body; does in the same manner a monk liable to lapses know one who will terminate his karma bondage and who holds his final body?

A. 66. Gautama! This is not correct. He knows by hearing and when there is some supporting proof.

Q. 67. From whom does he hear, pray?

A. 67. He hears from someone who is omniscient, who is omniscient’s male follower, who is omniscient’s female follower, who is omniscient’s male worshipper, who is omniscient’s female worshipper, from someone who is self-enlightened, his male follower, his female follower, his male worshipper, his female worshipper,—by hearing from (anyone of).these.

Q. 68. And what about the supporting proof?

A. 68. Supporting proof is stated to be of four types, which are, perception, guess, inference (from similarity) and scriptures. On this, refer to details contained in the Anuyogadvāra Sūtra...till “beyond this, no ātmāgama, no anantarāgama, (only) paramparāgama”¹⁷.

Notes (based on commentary of Abhayadeva Sūri):

17. In a strict sense, direct knowledge obtained by the soul without the aid of organs of senses is pratyakṣa pramāṇa. It covers three types of knowledge, viz., avadhi, manaḥ-paryāya and kevala. In ordinary language, however, pratyakṣa knowledge is one derived with the help of organs of senses, including mind. The former is by niścaya naya and the latter is by vyavahāra naya. Knowledge derived from some external mark is called anumāna pramāṇa. Knowledge based on similarities, is called upamāna pramāṇa. Knowledge based on canonical texts is called āgama pramāṇa.

Anumāna pramāṇa has three types, viz., apriori, aposteriori and similar. For instance, a mother recognises her lost child with the help of her apriori knowledge of his body marks. Knowing the existence of deer in a forest after hearing their sound is aposteriori knowledge. Having known the weight of a commodity, when one guesses the weight of a similar commodity, the knowledge is based on similarity.

Upamāna pramāṇa has one type only, e.g., by looking at a cow form, one may be able to say whether it is a cow, a bull or an qx.

Āgama pramāṇa may be conventional (laukika) or transcendental (lokottara). It may be pure text (sūtra), commentary (artha) or both (sūtrārtha). Another classification of āgama pramāṇa is as ātmāgama (for the Tīrthaṅkaras), anantarāgama (for the Gaṇadharas) and paramparāgama (for the followers).

These meanings are based on import (artha). On the basis of texts (sūtra), the meanings would respectively be as follows: for the Gaṇadharas, for immediate followers and for followers after the first generation.