Part 2 - Body-type bondage

Q. 299. Bhante! What is this body type bondage?

A. 299. Gautama! This has two types, viz., relative to past application and relative to present application.

Q. 300. Bhante! What is a body type bondage due to past application.

A. 300. Gautama! The bondage of space-points of the infernal and all the worldly beings which is the outcome of samudghāta is body type bondage due to past application.

Q. 301. And what is a body type bondage due to present application?

A. 301. Gautama! While indulging in kevalī samudghāta and withdrawing from it, a monk with supreme knowledge, passes through a state of churning when he has the bondage, of his fiery and kārmaṇ bodies. This is the body type bondage due to present application.

Q. 302. Bhante! What is the reason for this?

A. 302. Gautama! At that time, the space-points of the soul get accumulated. This is due to the present application. Such is the body type bondage.

Q. 303. Bhante! What is bondage due to the formation (sarīra prayoga) of the body?

A. 303. Gautama! This is said to be of the types, depending on the formation of gross tody, fluid body, caloric body, fiery body and kārmaṇ body.

Q. 304. Bhante! How many are the types of bondage due to the formation of a gross body?

A. 304, Gautama! They are five, depending on one organ of sense, two organs, till five organs.

Q. 305. Bhante! How many are the types of bondage due to the formation of the gross body of an one-organ being?

A. 305. Gautama! Five types, viz., of the earth bodies, et seq. as stated in the Prajñāpaṇā Sūtra (Pada 21) on the structure of the gross body, till the bondage due to the application of the gross body of a five-organ human being, born from the womb, and with or without full attainments.

Q. 306. Bhante! What karma gives rise to the bondage due to the formation of a gross body?

A. 306. Gautama! They are energy (generated by the annihilation or reduction of karma), activity of the mind, objects like atoms, delusion, karma, activity of the body, cognition, and life-span, consequent upon the rise of karma giving a name that there is bondage due to the formation of the gross body.

Q. 307. Bhante! What karma gives rise to the bondage due to the formation of the gross body of an earth body?

A. 307. The same as stated, from the earth bodies, till plant life, also inclusive are two-organ beings, three-organ beings and four-organ beings.

Q. 308. Bhante! What karma gives rise to the bondage due to the formation of the gross body of a five-organ sub-human being (animal)?

A. 308. The same as stated.

Q. 309. Bhante! What karma gives rise to the bondage due to the formation of the gross body of a five-organ human being?

A. 309. Gautama! They are energy, activity of the mind, objects like atoms, delusion, till life-span, consequent upon the rise of karma that there is bondage due-to the formation of a gross body of a five-organ human being.

Q. 310. Bhante! Is the bondage due to the formation of the gross body a bondage of a part or of the whole?

A. 310. Gautama! It is a bondage of a part, and also of the whole.

Q. 311. Bhante! Is the bondage due to the formation of the gross body of an one-organ being a bondage of a part or of the whole?

A. 311. The same as stated. The same holds good of the earth bodies, es seq.

Q. 312. Bhante! Is the bondage due to the formation of the gross body of a five-organ human being a bondage of a part or of the whole?

A. 312. Gautama! Of a part as well as of the whole.

Q. 313. Bhante! How long does the bondage due to the formation of the gross body last?

A. 313. Gautama! The bondage of the whole lasts for a unit of countable time, while that of a part lasts for a unit of countable time in the minimum and for three palyopamas less a unit of countable time in the maximum.

Q. 314. Bhante! How long dees the bondage due to the formation of the gross body of an one-organ being last?

A. 314. Gautama! The bondage of the whole lasts for a unit of countable time, while that of a part lasts for one unit of countable time in the minimum and for 22,000 years less one unit of countable time in the maximum.

Q. 315. And how about the earth bodies with one sense organ?

A. 315. Gautama! The bondage of the whole lasts for a unit of countable time, while that of a part lasts for the smallest span in that species called kṣullaka bhava less three units of countable time in the minimum and for 22,000 years less one unit of countable time in the maximum. Likewise, for all living beings, the bondage of the whole lasts for one unit of countable time, while that of a part, fluid body apart, lasts for the smallest span in that species less three units of countable time in the minimum and for the normal span in that species less one unit of countable time in the maximum. For those who have the fluid body, the bondage of a part lasts for a unit of countable time in the minimum and for the normal span in that species less one unit of countable time in the maximum, till for human beings, the bondage of a part lasts for one unit of countable time in the minimum and for three palyopamas less one unit of countable time in the maximum. (For earth bodies, in one muhūrta, there are 12824 kṣullaka bhavas, to give an idea of what it is.)

Q. 316. Bhante! What is the time gap between one bondage and another of the gross body?

A. 316. Gautama! The time gap for the bondage of the whole is the smallest life-span in each species minus three units of countable time in the minimum and one pūrvakoti plus a unit of countable time and 33 sāgaropamas in the maximum. The time gap for the bondage of a part is one unit of countable time in the minimum and 33 sāgaropamas plus three units of countable time in the maximum,

Q. 317. Bhante! What is the position in the case of one-organ beings?

A. 317. Gautama! The time gap for the bondage of the whole is the smallest span in that species less three units of countable time in the minimum and 22,000 years plus a unit of countable time in the maximum. The time gap for the bondage of a part Is a unit of countable time in the minimum and less than a muhūrta in the maximum.

Q. 318. Bhante! What is the position in the case of the earth bodies with one sense organ?

A. 318. Gautama! In their case, the time gap for the bondage of the whole is similar to that of one-organ beings, and for the bondage of a part, it is one unit of countable time in the minimum and three units of countable time in. the maximum. Leaving aside air bodies, what has been stated about earth bodies will hold good of all beings, till the four-organ beings, except that in the case of the bondage of the whole, the time gap is as long as the normal life-span in each species plus a unit of countable time. In the case of the air bodies, the time gap for the bondage of the whole is the smallest life-span as air bodies less three units of countable time in the minimum and 3,000 years plus a unit of countable time in the maximum; the time gap for the bondage of a part is a unit of countable time in the minimum, and less than a muhūrta in the maximum.

Q. 319. Bhante! How long is the time gap between one bondage and another of the gross body in the case of sub-human beings?

A. 319. Gautama! In their case, the time gap for the bondage of the whole is as long as the smallest life-span for-each species minus three units less of countable time in the minimum and one pūrvakoti plus a unit of countable time in the maximum. The time gap for the bondage of a part for the five-organ sub-human beings is similar to that of one-organ beings. The same also holds good of human beings, till less than a muhūrta in the maximum.

Q. 320. Bhante! From one-organ being to some other species not with one organ of sense, and back to one-organ being,—what will be the time gap of the bondage due to the formation of the gross body of an one-organ being?

A. 320. Gautama! For the bondage of the whole, the minimum is two smallest life-spans for the respective species less three units of countable time, and the maximum is 2,000 sāgaropamas plus a countable number of years. For the bondage of a part, the minimum is the smallest life-span for the respective species plus a unit of countable time, and the maximum is 2,000 sāgaropamas plus a countable number of years.

Q. 321. Bhante! From an earth body to some other species, and back to earth body,—what will be the time gap of the bondage due to the formation of the gross earth body?

A. 321. Gautama! For the bondage of the whole, the minimum is two smallest life-spans for the respective species minus three [?units/down-wings?] of countable time and the maximum is an infinite time, consisting of an infinite number of upswings and [?down-swings/units?] of the time-cycle. Stated in terms of space it is as large as an infinite space,—an innumerable turn of matter, or what is called pudgala[?]parāvartana contained in an uncountable part of an āvalika. For the bondage of a part, the minimum is the smallest life-span of the respective species plus a unit of countable time and the maximum is an infinite time, till an uncountable part of an āvalikā. What has been said of the earth bodies holds good of all beings, till human beings, minus plant life. For plant life, for the bondage of the whole, the minimum is two smallest lifespans less three units of countable time, and the maximum is an infinite time, an innumerable up swings and downswings of the time-cycle, an infinite space in terms region. For the bondage of a part, (in case of plant life), the minimum is a unit added to the smallest span, and the maximum is the same as that for the earth bodies, called puḍhavi-kāla. (An infinite number of up-swings and down-swings of the time-cycle make one pudgala-parāvartana. Innumerable units of countable time make one āvalikā).

Q. 322. Bhante! Of the gross body of living beings, considering bondage of a part, bondage of the whole and nobondage, which one is more, till especially more?

A. 322. Of living beings with a gross body, smallest in number are those who have the bondage of the whole; those with no bondage are especially more; those with the bondage of a part are innumerable times more.

Notes (based on commentary of Abhayadeva Sūri):

Q. 315. The word khuddāgabhava means the shortest stay in one’s own body/ species. The finest nigoda has 65536 stays in less than a muhūrta and as many as 17 in a single respiration.

Q. 321. The terms anantam kālam, anantā logā, asaṃkhejjā poggala-pariyatta āvalikāye asaṃkhejjaibhāgo, etc., are more or less indicative of a secular period, expressed in terms of time-units, space or matter, even vanaspati.

The Jaina calculation is as follows:

Tea kotā-koti addha palyopama makes one sāgaropama.
Ten kotā-koti sāgaropamas make one up-phase of time-cycle.
Another ten kotā-koti sāgaropamas make one down-phase.
An infinite number of up and down phases make one pudgala-parāvartana.
An āvalikā consists of an innumerable number of time-units called samaya.