Part 4 - On karma and hardship

Q. 254. Bhante! How many types of karma are there?

A. 254. Gautama! Eight types, from karma enshrouding knowledge, till karma causing obstruction.

Q. 255. Bhante! How many types of hardship are there?

A. 255. Gautama! Twenty-two, from hardship caused by hunger, by thirst, till by wrong faith.

Q. 256. Bhante! In what karma do these twenty-two hardships enter?

A. 256. Gautama! they enter into four types of karma, viz., karma enshrouding knowledge, karma giving experience, karma generating delusion and karma causing obstruction.

Q. 257. Bhante! How many hardships enter into karma enshrouding knowledge?

A. 257. Gautama! Two, viz., hardship to enlightenment and hardship to knowledge.

Q. 258. Bhante! How many hardships enter into karma giving experience?

A. 258. Gautama! Eleven as follows:

First five as usual plus wandering, couch, punishment, disease, prick of thorn, bodily dirt, enter into karma enshrouding knowledge these eleven.

Q. 259. Bhante! How many hardships enter into karma enshrouding faith?

A. 259. Gautama! Only one into karma enshrouding faith.

Q. 260. Bhante! How many hardships enter into karma enshrouding conduct?

A. 260. Gautama! Seven as follows:

Restlessness, nudity, women, erratic life, begging, abuse, personal honour and entertainment,—these seven enter into karma enshrouding conduct.

Q. 261. Bhante! How many hardships enter into karma causing obstruction?

A. 261. Gautama! Only one, due to non-attainment.

Q. 262. Bhante! How many hardships operate in a living being who has the bondage of seven types of karma?

A. 262. Gautama! He has all the twenty-two of which twenty operate at a time. For, while experiencing heat, he does not experience cold and vice versa; and while wardering, he does not experience rest and vice versa.

Q. 263. Bhante! How many hardships operate in a living being who has the bondage of all the eight types of karma?

A. 263. Gautama! All the twenty-two, viz., hardship due to hunger, thirst, cold, insects, till non-attainment. (Needless to add that even here operative at any time are only twenty, as above.) Such hardships enter into the bondage of eight types of karma.

Q. 264. Bhante! How many hardships operate in a chadmasta (a fresher monk) with attachment who has the bondage of six types of karma?

A. 264. Gautama! Fourteen, but at a time only twelve are operative. While hardship due to heat is in operation, that due to cold is in abeyance, and vice versa; and while hardship due to wandering is in operation, that due to rest is in abeyance, and vice versa.

Q. 265. Bhante! How many hardships operate in a chadmasta without attachment who has the bondage of a single karma?

A. 265. Gautama! Similar to one who has the bondage of six types of karma.

Q. 266. Bhante! How many hardships operate in a kevalin with activity who is still roaming on this earth and has a single karma bondage?

A. 266, Gautama! Eleven, of which nine operate at a time; the rest as in the case of one who has the bondage of six types of karma.

Q. 267 Bhante! How many hardships operate in the case of a kevalin who is without activity and without bondage, and who is still roaming on this earth?

A. 267. Gautama! Eleven, of which nine operate at a time. For, while hardship due to heat is in operetion [operation?], that due to cold is in abeyanee[?], and vice versa; and while wandering, he does not experience rest, and vice versa.

Notes (based on commentary of Abhayadeva Sūri):

(There is no commentary available for this section).