It remains for us to say which
consciousness
is present at the moments of death and birth.
Abhidharmakosabhasyam-Vol-2-Vasubandhu-Poussin-Pruden-1991
26) that Pratityasamutpada is defilement (klesa), aaion (karman) and a "substantial entity" (vastu).
36b-d. It is explained that defilement is like a seed, a Naga, a root,
298 a tree, a husk of grain.
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As a stalk, leaves, etc. , arise from a seed, so too defilement arises from defilement, action, and a real, substantial entity.
A pond where Nagas live does not dry up; in the same way the ocean of births where this Naga which is defilement remains does not dry up. The tree whose root is not cut off continues to grow even through
one cuts and re-cuts its greenery; in the same way, as long as this root, defilement, is not cut off, the realms of rebirth continue to grow.
A tree gives forth flowers and fruits at different times; in the same way it is not at one and the same time that this tree, the defilement, gives forth a defilement, action and a substantial entity.
Grain, even though intact, does not germinate when it is stripped of its husk; in the same way action must be associated with this husk which is defilement in order to bear fruit in a new existence.
37a-b. Action is like grain with its husk, grass, flower.
Action is like grain with its husk. It is like grass that dies when the fruit is ripe: in the same way, when the action has matured, it no longer matures any more. It is like a flower, the immediate cause of the arising of the fruit: in the same way it is the immediate cause of retribution.
2 37c. The substantial entity (vastu) is like food and drink. "
Food and drink are not reproduced in food and drink: they are not good except by being consumed: so too the "entity" which is retribution. A new retribution does not preceed from retribution, for, in this hypothesis, deliverance would then be impossible.
###
The series {samtana) of the skandhas, in its continual process, is only a succession of the four existences (bhava) that we have defined (iii. 10 and foil. ), namely intermediate existence (antardbhava), existence as arising (upapattibhava), existence in and of itself (purvakalabhava), and existence at death (naranabhava).
37d-38b. Among the four existences, existence as arising is always defiled, and by all the defilements of the sphere to which it belongs.
? It is always defiled, never good or neutral. When arising takes place in a certain sphere {bhumi: Kamadhatu, First Dhyana, etc. ), all the
500
defilements (klesa) of this sphere defile it. The Abhidharmikas say,
"Among the defilements, there is not a single one that does not defile the mind at rebirth (pratisamdhibandha); but rebirth takes place solely through defilements, not by the wrappings (jparyavasthanas) called svatantra [, through jealousy, egoism, anger, or hypocrisy, which are only associated with ignorance] (v. 47).
Although this state--the state of death--is bodily and mentally
501
"weak" (mandika), when a person has habitually practiced a certain
302
defilement, this defilement, thus "projected," becomes aaive at the
moment of death.
38c. The other existences are of three types.
Intermediate existence (antardbhava), existence in and of itself (purvakalabhava), and existence at death {maranabhava) can be good, bad, or neutral.
***
Are the four existences produced in all the Dhatus?
304 38c. Three in the Arupyas.
With the exception of intermediate existence. All four existences exist in Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu.
***
We have finished the exposition of Pratityasamutpada. Now how do beings, once they are born, last?
305 38d. Everyone lasts through food.
A Sutra says, "A dharma has been proclaimed by the Blessed One who knows and sees, that all beings last through food"
There are four foods, food by the mouthful {kavadikara ahara),
303
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contact (sparfa), mental volition {manahsarhcetand), and consciousness m
(vijndna).
Food by the mouthful is coarse or subtle. Food by the mouthful of intermediate beings (who nourish themselves on odors, from whence their name of Gandharva, iii. 30c), the food of the gods, and the food of humans at the beginning of the cosmic age (pradthamakalpika, iii. 97c) is subtle, because this food, like oil poured out into the sand, completely penetrates into the body and does not give forth any excrement
307
(nisyandddbhdvdt). Or rather the food of subtle beings is subtle, for
example a being born from moisture (yuka, etc. ), one newly-born (bdlaka), [the embryonic being,] etc
39a-b. Food by the mouthfuls exists in Kamadhatu; it consists of three ayatanas.
Only beings free from desire with regard to this food arise in the two higher Dhatus; thus this food exists only in Kamadhatu.
It consists of odors, tastes, and tangible things. In fact, odors, tastes and tangible things are put in the mouth--that is, in pindas or small balls--and then swallowed. This twofold operation is made by the mouth and the nose which separate the morsels.
But how does one attribute the quality of food to odors, etc. , which are also found in shade (chdyd) and warm light {dtapa, i. l0a), in flames
m (jvald), and in the light [of gems, etc. ] (prabhd)?
But such odors, etc. , are not put in the mouth and swallowed.
According to the School, the definition, "Food consists of three ayatanas" refers to the generality of the cases. [The odors which are found in the shade, etc. , are not food; but, in the majority of cases, odor pertains to food].
309
But we think that, even though they are not swallowed, like the
others, since they contribute to the duration of a being, these odors are included in the category of subtle food; as for example bathing and unguents {snanabhyangavat\ see i. trans, p. 103).
*##
But why is rupdyatana, a visible thing (color and figure) not a food? In fact, one swallows it by the mouthfuls.
? 39c-d Rupayatana is not food, for it comforts neither its organ 310
Food is that which comforts the organs and the primary elements (the mahabhutas) which are the support of the organs. Now a visible thing, at the moment when it is swallowed--when this food, introduced into the mouth, is eaten--does not comfort either its organ (the eye), or the primary elements which are the support of the eye. Nor does it comfort the other organs, since it is not their object. Without doubt, as long as one sees it, it causes pleasure and satisfaction, it comforts: but, what is comfort and food in this case is not the visible thing, but the agreeable contact which has the visible thing for its object. The explanation that we formulate here is confirmed by the fact that an agreeable visible thing does not comfort those liberated beings who see it. [If a visible thing were to perform the function of food when one sees it, it would comfort persons delivered from the desire for mouthfuls of food, namely the Anagamins and Arhats, as odors, tastes, etc. comfort these same liberated beings when they partake of them. ]
40a-b. In the three Dhatus, contact, volition, and consciousness,
311
when they are impure, are food
Contact is what arises from the cooperation of the three (iii. p. 97);
mental volition is mental action (manasa karman, iv. lc); and con-
312 sciousness is the consciousness skandha.
Why are they not food when they are pure?
The Vaibhasikas say, "Food signifies that which makes existence
{bhava) grow; now if it were pure, it have the destruction of existence
for its result. " It is a doctrine conforming to that of the Sutra, that food
has for a result causing to endure (sthiti)> causing to go (yapana) "those
nor those delivered
that exist" (bhuta), of favoring (anugraha) "those desiring re-existence 515
(sambhavaisin). " Now contact, volition, and consciousness, when they are pure, do not produce any of these two results.
"Those that exist" signifies beings who have been born; but what is
314 the meaning of the expression "desiring re-existence? "
It refers to antardbbava, intermediate existence or being, which the Blessed One designated by five names:
40c-41a. Mind created (manomaya), desiring re-existence (sam-
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bhavaisin), Gandharva (an eater of odors), intermediate ex- istence (antardbhava), and arising (nirvrtti).
w
An intermediate being is called manomaya, because he is
produced by the manas alone, and because he exists without being supported by any exterior element, semen, blood, flower, etc.
He is called abhinirvrtti, because his nirvrtti or arising is with a view 317
(abhi-mukht) to arising proper (upapattibhava, existence of arising).
That abhinirvrtti signifies an intermediate being results from the Sutra
"After having realized (abhinirvartya) a painful body, he will be reborn 318
in a painful world;" and also from the Sutra that says, "Such a person
has abandoned the bonds which cause abhinirvrtti, without having 319
abandoned the bonds which cause upapatti or existence. " 318
in a painful world;" and also from the Sutra that says, "Such a person
has abandoned the bonds which cause abhinirvrtti, without having 319
abandoned the bonds which cause upapatti or existence. "
There are four cases: 1. An ascetic detached from Kamadhatu and
320
Rupadhatu, when he is an Anagamin: he has abandoned the bonds
which cause abhinirvrtti or intermediate existence, since he will no longer be reborn in the Dhatus where existence itself is preceeded by an intermediate existence; but he has not abandoned the bonds which cause upapatti, existence proper, for he will be reborn in Arupyadhatu; 2. an Anagamin destined to obtain Nirvana in an intermediate existence (an antardparinirvdyin, iii. p. 387): he is bound with the bonds of abhinirvrtti, but freed from upapatti', 3. an Arhat, who has abandoned the two types of bonds; and 4. all other persons who are not included in the preceeding categories, who have not abandoned any of the two types of bonds.
According to another explanation, the bhutas (p. 441, line 31) are the Arhats: the word sambhavaisin designates all beings who desire (satrsnd), and who are as a consequence reborn.
#**
What are the foods that fulfill these two functions of causing to last
321 and "favoring [re-existence]? "
322
According to the Vaibhasikas, the four foods perform these two
323
functions. Food by the mouthful has for its result the re-existence of
? those who are attached to it. This is proved by the Sutra. The Blessed
One said, "The four foods are the root of sickness, abcesses, and thorns.
[Sickness, abcesses, and thorns signifies the five updddnaskandhas of a
new existence]; and are the condition (pratyaya) of old age and death.
[And old age and death is the old age and death of a future existence, see
324
[It is evident that food by the mouthful causes living beings to
above, p. 404]. "
last. ]But how does mental intentional action, or volition (manahsam- 325
cetana), possess this power?
Once upon a time there was a man, who in a time of poverty desired
to go to another land. But he was exhausted by his hunger and his two sons were young. Feeling that he was going to die, he filled a sack with ashes, placed this sack on a wall, and encouraged his sons by telling them that this sack contained grain. The two children, through hope, lived a long time. But another man came and took the sack and opened it. The children saw that it was ashes, and their hope being crushed, they died
So too once upon a time some merchants travelled by ship on the open sea; tormented by hunger and thirst, they saw in the distance a mass of foam and believed that it was a river; hope gave them the force to go to that place and prolong their life; but, arriving, they found out
326 what it was, and their hopes being crushed, they died.
21
We also read in the Sarhgitiparyaya? "Large marine animals reach
firm ground, lay their eggs on the beach, bury them in the sand, and go
back to the ocean. If the mother forgets the eggs, they will perish. "
328
This edition cannot be correct, for it is impossible that the mind
of another would be food. Thus we should read, "If the eggs think of their mother, they will not perish; but if they forget their mother, they will perish. "
**#
Yet one cannot doubt that all the impure dharmas increase bhava or existence. Why did the Blessed One teach that the foods are four in number?
Because he refers to the essentials:
41. Among the foods, two have for their result the growth of the
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asraya (the body) and the dirita (the mind), and two have for their result the projection and the production of a new
329 existence.
The asraya is the body with its organs, which is the support (asraya)
of what is supported (dsrita) by it: namely the mind and its mental
states. Food by the mouthful makes the body grow, while contact makes
33
the mind grow. ? These two foods which cause that which is born to
live, and which are similar to a wet-nurse, are the major items for the duration of a being who is born.
Mental volitional action (manahsarhcetand) which is active, projects
a new existence; this new existence, thus projected, is produced
(nirvrttd) from the seed which is the consciousness "informed" through 331
action. Mental volitional action and the consciousness are thus the two foods which cause birth, which are similar to a mother, and which are the major items for the production of the existence of a being who has not yet been born.
332 Is everything which is "by the mouthful" (kavadikdra) food?
There are "mouthfuls" which are not food Four cases: 1. kavadikdra which is not food: that which, being taken in the mouth, has for its result the diminution of the organs and the destruction of the primary elements which support them; 2. food without being kavadikdra'. namely contact, mental volitional action, and the consciousness; 3. kavadikdra which is food: that which, being taken in the mouth, has for its result the growth of the organs and the increase of the primary elements; and 4. neither kavadikdra nor food: sound, etc
The same, by changing the terms, for the other foods.
##*
Is there contact, mental volitional action, and consciousness, which has for its result the growth of the organs and the increase of the elements, without this contact, etc. , being food?
Yes: those which belong to a sphere different from the sphere in
which the being in question is born, and, in all the spheres, those which
333 are pure.
? That which consumed (paribhukta) is harmful to one who has consumed it (praibhoktar) nevertheless receives the name of food. According to the Vaibhasikas, in fact, it is for two# moments that the thing consumed performs the function of food: 1. as soon as it is consumed, it dispels hunger and thirst; and 2. digested, it increases the
334 organs and the primary elements {Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 676c25).
***
This leads to another question.
How many foods are there is the different realms of rebirth, and in the different wombs?
All are in alL
How can you say that there is, in the hells, food by the mouthful?
335 The red balls of fire and molten copper are food
If this is the case, if that which is harmful is food, then the theory of the four cases [of the Samgttiparydya, note 332] is rejected, as well as the definitions of the Prakaranagrantha (7. 5; see also Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 674al, 676a26, and 779c4) which says, "What is food by the mouthful? Mouthful by reason of which there is increase of the organs, and the increase and maintainance of the primary elements," and the rest.
The doctrine of the existence of food by the mouthful in the hells is
not in contradiction with the definitions that you appeal to. These
336 definitions, in fact, are applied to food insofar as it increases. But the
objects of consummation which have for their result to diminish,
337 nevertheless possess, in the hells, the characteristics of food: they
dispel, at least for a time, hunger and thirst. Further, in the pradefika hells (iii. 59c), food by the mouthful exists as among humans. Hence food by the mouthful exists in the five realms of rebirth.
***
With respect to food by the mouthful, let us examine the Sutra: There is one who feeds one hundred non-Buddhist Rsis detached from
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Kamadhatu, and there is one who feeds a single jambusandagata prthagjana: but this last gift is much more fruitful that the first. " What does the expression "jambusandagata prthagjana" mean?
[Three opinions in the Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 678a26] 1. According to 338
the first opinion,jambusanda signifyingJambudvlpa, so this signifies, 339
"All beings inhabiting Jambudvlpa who have a stomach. "
This explanation is inadmissable; for the expression "a Prthag-
jana . . . " cannot designate "all beings. . . " Were it to have such a value, we do not see why the Sutra would teach that a gift made to an infinite number of Prthagjanas is more meritorious that one made to a smaller number, to one hundred Rsis: for such would stand of itself, and there
34 would be nothing surprising about it. ?
2. According to the second opinion, the Prthagjana in question is the Bodhisattva close to Bodhi.
3. According to followers of the third opinion, the second opinion is unsustainable: in fact a gift made to such a Bodhisattva is of incalculable merit, and is of a merit superior to a gift made to one hundred kotis of Arhats. The terms of the comparison would be much too low. Thus, say the Vaibhasikas, this Prthagjana is the person who has obtained the
341 so-called nirvedhabhagiya roots of good.
In our opinion, the expression jambusandagata does not ety- mologicallysignify"possessorofthenirvedhabhagtyas\ theusagedoes not give that sense to this expression; neither the Sutra nor the Sastra uses it in this sense: the wotdjambusandagata, "seated under theJambu tree," refers to but one Bodhisattva, [as it is said, "The Bodhisattva Sarvarthasiddha, having left in order to go see Kr? igramaka, sat at the
342
foot of a jambu tree, and entered into the First Dhyana. "] The
Bodhisattva is a Prthagjana, detached from Kamadhatu: one can thus compare him with the non-Buddhist Rsis detached from Kamadhatu and say that a gift made to him is more meritorious that a gift made to Rsis.
Without doubt, a gift made to this Bodhisattva is more meritorious than a gift made to an infinite number of Rsis: and if the Sutra says that it is more meritorious than a gift made to one hundred Rsis, it is because the Sutra explains the gradation of merit by multiples of one hundred: "to feed one hundred animals, to feed one immoral person, to feed one hundred immoral persons. . . " we observe that, to proceed with these
? comparisons, the Sutra does not further speak of a jambusandagata. It does not say, "A gift made to a candidate for the results of Srotaapanna is incomparable greater than a gift made to ajambusandagata*--which it would say if jambusandagata were to signify "a possessor of the nirvedhabhagtyas"--but rather, taking up again the Rsis as the term of comparison, "A gift made to a candidate for the results of Srotaapanna is incomparably greater than a gift made to one hundred non-Buddhist Rsis.
***
We have seen what the pratityasamutpada of beings is, and how beings last. We have seen also how death results from the exhaustion of life (ayus), etc. (ii. 45a, trans, p. 269).
It remains for us to say which consciousness is present at the moments of death and birth.
42a-c. Breaking, taking up again, detachment, loss of detach-
ment, death and birth are regarded as proper to the mind
343 consciousness.
It is through a single mental consciousness that the breaking and the
taking up again of the roots of good take place; the detachment either
from a Dhatu, or from a bhilmi (First DhySna, etc. ), and the loss of this
detachment; and death and birth. What is true of birth is evidently true
of the beginning of the intermediate existence: it is useless to speak of
344 it.
42d Death and birth, with the sensation of indifference.
The term cyuta is the equivalent of cyuti or death; the term udbhava is the equivalent of upapatti, arising.
The mind consciousness, at death and at birth, is associated with the sensation of indifference, upeksd, that is, with the sensation that is neither agreeable nor disagreeable. This sensation is not active; the other sensations are active and, as a consequence, an arising and a dying consciousness cannot be associated with them, for, in this hypothesis, it would itself be active.
43a. Neither the one nor the other in "absorption," nor for "one
345 without thought. "
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Death and birth take place in the mind consciousness (mano- vijndna), [for and by the manovijndna]. But death cannot take place in a
346
person whose mind (citta = manovijndna) is absorbed. An absorbed
mind is found in a sphere--First Dhyana, etc--dissimilar to Kama- dhatu where we suppose the one dying and the one being born is found On the other hand, if we consider a being who dies or who is born in a sphere of absorption, then his mind is certainly not absorbed, for an absorbed mind is only absorbed through effort; it is dbhisamskdrika: thus it is always active (patu). Finally, an absorbed mind is anugrdhaka: that is to say, by its nature, it tends to last, to cause to last; hence it is not suitable to a cutting off of the series.
There is no longer any death or birth for "one without thought," [a person who has entered into nirodhasamdpa&ti and asamjnisamdpatti, ii. 41d]. One who is without thought cannot be killed: when his body (asraya = the sense apparatus, iii. 41) begins to decay--either by the action of the sword or of fire, or by the exhaustion of retribution of the absorptions--then, of necessity, the mind bound to the body [and
347 exisiting as a seed in the body] becomes present and dies.
The state of non-thought is also incompatible with birth, for it is
lacking any cause for the cutting off of the mind, and because there
348 cannot be a birth without defilement.
***
Existence at death (maranabhava) can be good, bad, or neutral. Concerning the death of the Arhat,
349 43b. He obtains Nirvana in two neutral minds.
Namely, in an airyapathika mind or in a vipdkaja mind. At least according to the masters who believe that, in Kamadhatu, a vipdkaja mind can be indifferent (upeksdjv. 4&)\ but, for the masters of an opposing opinion (iv. 47), one cannot obtain Nirvana in an airyapathika mind.
Why is the last mind of the Arhat necessarily neutral?
Because this type of mind, being very weak, is suitable to the cutting
35 off of the mind, that is, to the definitive cutting off of the mind. ?
? In which part of the body does the consciousness perish at death?
When death or "falling" (cyuti) takes place at once, the kayendriya (organ of the body or of touch) perishes at the same time as does the manas.
43c-44a. When death is gradual, the manas dies in the feet, at the navel, in the heart, accordingly as the being goes below, among
351 humans, among the Suras, or is not reborn.
Adhoga, "who goes below," is one who should be reborn in the painful
should be reborn in the human realms of rebirth; suraga, "who goes among the gods," is one who should be reborn in a heavenly realm of rebirth. The consciousness of these beings dies respectively, in the feet, the navel, or in the heart.
Aja, "who is not reborn," is the Arhat: his consciousness also dies in 352
the heart; but according to another opinion, in the head
How does the consciousness die in a certain part of the body?
Because it is in such a part that the destruction of the organ of touch
353
takes place. [The activity of the consciousness which is nonmaterial
and outside of space, is bound to this organ--which alone remains as its support or asraya, iii. 44]. The consciousness dies through the de- struction of the organ of touch, which takes place in a certain place. Towards the end of life, the organ of touch perishes bit by bit; at the end it remains only in a certain part of the body where it finishes by disappearing; in the same way water placed on a hot rock diminishes gradually and finishes by disappearing in a certain place.
***
It is thus that gradual death takes place; in general, the dying person is afflicted by some sensations which break the vital parts.
354 44b. The vital parts are split by water, etc.
355
Marmdni, or vital parts, are those parts of the body which cannot
be damaged without death ensuing.
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When one of the elements,--water, fire or wind,--is extremely troubled, the vital parts are as if they were split by terrible sensations which are like sharp knives. By saying that the vital parts are split, we do not mean to say that they are split like wood. Rather one should understand that they are henceforth incapable of aaivity quite as if they were split.
Why are the vital parts not split by trouble of the earth element?
Because there are only three dosas, namely bile, phlegm, and wind, which are in order the elements of water, fire, and wind.
According to another opinion, since the world perishes by these
three elements (iiilOOa), death also takes place by these three
356 elements.
The vital parts of the gods are not split. But five premonitory signs appear to a god being approached by death: 1. some of his clothes and some of his ornaments give off unpleasant sounds; 2. the light of his body diminishes; 3. some drops of water remain attached to his body after his bath; 4. in spite of his natural mobility, his mind is fixed on an object; and 5. his eyes, naturally fixed, are troubled, opening and closing. And there are five signs of death: 1. his clothes become dirty; 2. his aura fades; 3. sweat appears in his armpits; 4. his body emits a bad odor; and
357 5. the god no longer enjoys his seat.
###
358
The Blessed One classified beings who arise, last, and die, into
three categories: those predestined to health, predestined to loss, and not predestined
44c-d An Aryan and one guilty of anantarya transgressions are 359
predestined, the first to health, the second to loss.
60 What is "health," samyaktva? *
According to the Sutra, the complete abandoning of affection, hatred, error, and all of the defilements, [that is, Nirvana].
What is an Aryan?
One in whom the Path arises, that is, the Pure Path. He is an Aryan
361 disconnection (visamyoga, ii. 55d, p. ) from the defilements.
because he "has gone far" {aradyatah) from evil,
since he possesses
? How is the Aryan predestined to health?
Because he will certainly obtain Nirvana.
But a person who acquires the moksabhagiyas (vi. 24c) will also
certainly obtain Nirvana. Why not consider him predestined to health? Because he can commit transgressions which make him "pre- destined to loss;" or rather because, if he is in fact predestined for
Nirvana, the moment of his arrival at Nirvana is not fixed, as is the case for the Aryans beginning with "he who, at a maximum, will be reborn seven times" (saptakrtvahparama, vi. 34a).
What is loss, mithydtva?
The hellish, animal, and Preta realms of rebirth. A person who commits dnantarya transgressions (iv. 96) will cerainly be reborn in hell; he is thus predestined to loss.
One who is not predestined (aniyata) is one who is not predestined to health or loss. Whether he becomes predestined to one or the other, or whether he continues to not be predestined, depends in fact on his future aaions.
#*#
We have described the world of human beings; let us pass to a
362 description of the receptacle or physical world {bhdjanaloka).
45. Here is how it is thought that the receptable world is
arranged: at the bottom there is a circle of wind, immeasurable,
363 with a height of sixteen hundred thousand leagues.
The great chiliocosm (iii. 73) is arranged as we shall explain. At its
bottom there arises, through the force of the predominent aaions of
beings (adbipatiphala, ii. 58, iv. 85), a circle of wind which rests on 364
space. Itissixteenthousandyojanas (iii. 88)thick;itisimmeasurable 65
in circumference; and it is solid: a mahanagna* could strike at it with his vajra and his vajra would break without the circle of wind being scratched.
46a-b. The circle of water, eleven hundred twenty thousand high.
By the predominate aaions of beings, there falls from massed
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clouds, upon the circle of wind, a rain the drops of which are like the
366
shafts of a carriage. This water forms a circle of water, with a
thickness of eleven hundred twenty thousand yojanas. 367
How do these waters not flow over the edge?
Some say that the waters are sustained by the force of the actions of beings, as food and drink which do not fall in the intestines before being digested
According to another opinion, the waters are sustained by the wind, like grain in aJbasket.
Then the water, agitated by a wind which the force of actions gives
rise to, becomes gold in its upper part, as churned milk becomes
368 cream:
46c-d Then, the circle of waters is no more than eight hundred
369
Then there is above the circle of water now reduced to eight hundred thousand yojanas, a sphere of gold, three hundred twenty thousand
yojanas thick
47a-48a. The circle of water and gold have a diameter of twelve
hundred three thousand four hundred and fifty leagues; triple for
370 its perimeter.
These two circles have the same dimensions.
On the circular sphere of gold which thus rests on the water,
48b-49c. There are Meru, Yugandhara, Isadhara, Khadiraka,
Mount Sudarsana, Asvakarna, Vinataka, and Mount Nimin-
371 dhara; beyond are the continents; on the edge is Cakravada.
Nine great mountains rest on the sphere of gold In the center there is Meru; concentrically, the other seven are arranged around Meru; Nimindhara forms the exterior rim that envelops Meru and the six
372
inner wall-mountains --whence its name. Beyond [Nimindhara] lie
the four continents. Enveloping all is Cakravada, thus named because it encircles the universe with its four continent and also because it has the form of a wheel.
49d-50a. Seven mountains are made of gold; the last is made of iron; and Meru is made of four jewels.
thousand leagues in height; the rest becomes gold
? Yugandhara and the six mountains that surround it are made of
gold; Cakravada is made of iron; Meru has four faces which are
respectively, from north to west, made of gold, silver, lapis and crista!
Each of these substances gives its own color to the part of space which
373
faces it
made of lapis, our heaven is thus similar in color to lapis.
Since the face of Metu. which is turned towardsJambudvlpa is What is the origin of the different substances that make up Meru?
The waters which have fallen on the sphere of gold are rich in
374
different potentialities; under the action of the winds which possess
different efficacies, they disappear and make room for different jewels. It
is thus that the waters are transformed into jewels: the water is the
cause, the jewels are a result different from the cause, and there is no
simultaneity. This is quite different from the concept of transformation 375
(parindma) that the Samkhyas imagine.
What do the Samkhyas understand by parindma?
They admit that dharmas arise and disappear within a permanent
substance (a dharmin or dravyd).
How is this incorrect?
One cannot admit the simultaneous existence of a permanent
376 dharmin, and of dharmas arising and disappearing.
But the Samkhyas do not hold that there is a dharmin separate from the dharmas^ they say that a dharma, when it is transformed (parinam), becomes the support of different characteristics: this dharma they call dharmin. In other words, transformation (parindma) is only the modification (anyathdbhavamdtra) of a substance {dravyd).
This thesis is not correct.
Why is it not correct?
Because there is a contradiction in terms: you admit that that (the
377 cause) is identical to this (the result), but that this is not like that.
The gold, silver, jewels and the land thus formed are brought together and piled in heaps by the winds which are produced by the force of actions. They make up the mountains and the continents.
50b. -51b. Meru is immersed in the water to a depth of twenty-
four thousand leagues and rises above the water some eighty
thousand leagues. The immersion of the eight other mountains
diminishes each by a half. The mountains have equal width and
378 height.
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The mountains rest on the sphere of gold and are in the water to a depth of eighty thousand yojanas. Meru rises out of the water for the same number ofyojanas\ and is thus, both in and out of the water, one hundred sixty thousand yojanas in height. Yugandhara rises out of the
water for forty thousandyojanas, Isadhara for twenty thousandyojanas and thus following until GJcravada which rises out of the water for three
379
hundred twelveyojanas and a half. The mountains are as wide as they
extend out of the water. [For example, if a mountain extends out of the water to a height of twenty thous&ndyojanas, it is then twenty thousand
yojanas wide]. [The word dhana, in the Karika, has the sense of "wide". ] ***
5 lc-52c. The seven Sitas, of which the first is of eighty thousand leagues, form the interval between the mountains. This is the inner ocean, triple in circumference. The other Sitas diminish by a half. The rest is the great outer sea, of three hundred twenty-
38 two thousand leagues. ?
381
The Sitas are located between the mountains, from Meru to
Nimindhara: the Sitas are full of water endowed with the eight qualities:
cold, dear, light, tasty, sweet, not fetid, and harming neither the throat
382 nor the stomach.
The first, between Meru and Yugandhara, is eighty thousand leagues in width. In exterior circumferance, to the shore of Yugandhara, it is triple this, thus two hundred forty thousand yojanas.
The size of the other Sitas diminishes by a half: the second Slta,
between Yugandhara and Isadhara, is forty thousand yojanas in width,
and so on to the seventh, between Vinataka and Nimindhara, which is
twelve hundred fiftyyojanas wide. The calculation of the circumferences
presents no difficulty. The seven Sitas are the inner ocean. The rest, that
is, the water between Nimindhara and GJcravada, is the great outer sea;
it is full of salt water, and is three hundred twenty-two thousandyojanas
383 wide.
***
? 53b-55d There is Jambudvipa, three sides of two thousand, in the form of a carriage, and one side of three and a half; eastern Videha, like a half-moon, three sides likeJambu, and one side of three hundred fifty; Godaniya, of seven thousand five hundred, round, with a diameter of two thousand five hundred; and Kuru, of eight thousand, square, parallel
In the outer sea, corresponding to the four sides of Mem, there are four continents (dvtpas):
1. Jambudvipa has three sides of two thousandyojanas in length, one 384
side of three yojanas and a half: it thus has the shape of a carriage. In 385
its center, resting on the sphere of gold, is the "diamond throne" where the Bodhisattva sits to attain vajropamasamddhi (vi. 44d) and so to become an Arhat and a Buddha: no other place, and no other
person can support the vajropamasamddhi of the Bodhisattva.
2. Eastern Videha or Purvavideha has the shape of a half-moon; it
has three sides of two thousand yojanas, thus of the same dimension as the long side of Jambu, and one side of three hundred fifty yojanas.
3. Godaniya, which faces the western side of Meru, is round like the
moon; it is seven thousand five hundtedyojanas [in circumference], and 386
two thousand five hundred through the center.
4. Facing the northern side of Meru is Kuru or Uttarakuru which has
the shape of a seat; it is square: its sides, of two thousand yojanas each, form a circumferance of eight thousand yojanas. To say that Kuru is
387 "parallel" means that its four sides are of the same dimension.
Such is the shape of the continents, and such is the shape of the faces
388 of the persons who reside in them.
56. There are eight intermediate continents: Dehas, Videhas,
Kurus, Kauravas, Camaras, and Avaracamaras, Sathas and
389 Uttaramantrins.
These continents are designated by the name of their inhabitants. Dehas and Videhas are located on both sides of Purvavideha; Kurus and Kauravas on the sides of Uttarakuru; Camaras and Avaracamaras on the sides of Jambudvipa; and Sathas and Uttaramantrins on the sides of Godaniya.
All of these continents are inhabited by human beings. Never-
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390
theless, according to one opinion, one of them [namely Camara] is
reserved for Rak? asas.
#*#
57. Here, to the north of the nine ant-Mountains, lie the
Himavat; beyond it, but on this side of the Mountain of Perfume,
391 is a lake deep and wide by fifty leagues.
By going toward the north in this Jambudvipa, one encounters three
392 ant-Mountains, [so called because they have the shape of an ant];
then three other ant-Mountains; then three other again; and finally the Himavat (= the Himalayas).
Beyond that, this side of the Gandhamadana ("the Mountain of
Perfume"), lies Lake Anavatapta from whence there flows out four great
393
rivers, the Ganga, the Sindhu, the Vaksu and the Slta. This lake, fifty
yojanas wide and deep, is full of a water endowed with the eight 394
qualities. Only persons who possess magical powers can go there. The Jambu tree is located near this lake. Our continent receives its name of Jambudvipa, either from the tree, or from the fruit of the tree which is
also called Jambu.
395
Where are the hells , and what are their dimensions?
58. At the bottom, at twenty thousand leagues, is Avici, of this same dimension; above, the seven hells; all eight have sixteen utsodas.
Beneath Jambudvipa, at a distance of twenty thousandyojanas, lies the great hell Avici. It is twenty thousandyojanas high and wide; its sun
396 is thus found forty thousand yojanas below the sun of Jambudvipa.
397 Why is this hell named Avici?
Two explanations: 1. because there is not, in this hell, any interruption {vici) of suffering. Suffering is interrupted in the other hells. In Sarhjlva, for example, bodies are first crushed and reduced to dust; then a cold wind revives them and gives them feeling: from
?
36b-d. It is explained that defilement is like a seed, a Naga, a root,
298 a tree, a husk of grain.
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As a stalk, leaves, etc. , arise from a seed, so too defilement arises from defilement, action, and a real, substantial entity.
A pond where Nagas live does not dry up; in the same way the ocean of births where this Naga which is defilement remains does not dry up. The tree whose root is not cut off continues to grow even through
one cuts and re-cuts its greenery; in the same way, as long as this root, defilement, is not cut off, the realms of rebirth continue to grow.
A tree gives forth flowers and fruits at different times; in the same way it is not at one and the same time that this tree, the defilement, gives forth a defilement, action and a substantial entity.
Grain, even though intact, does not germinate when it is stripped of its husk; in the same way action must be associated with this husk which is defilement in order to bear fruit in a new existence.
37a-b. Action is like grain with its husk, grass, flower.
Action is like grain with its husk. It is like grass that dies when the fruit is ripe: in the same way, when the action has matured, it no longer matures any more. It is like a flower, the immediate cause of the arising of the fruit: in the same way it is the immediate cause of retribution.
2 37c. The substantial entity (vastu) is like food and drink. "
Food and drink are not reproduced in food and drink: they are not good except by being consumed: so too the "entity" which is retribution. A new retribution does not preceed from retribution, for, in this hypothesis, deliverance would then be impossible.
###
The series {samtana) of the skandhas, in its continual process, is only a succession of the four existences (bhava) that we have defined (iii. 10 and foil. ), namely intermediate existence (antardbhava), existence as arising (upapattibhava), existence in and of itself (purvakalabhava), and existence at death (naranabhava).
37d-38b. Among the four existences, existence as arising is always defiled, and by all the defilements of the sphere to which it belongs.
? It is always defiled, never good or neutral. When arising takes place in a certain sphere {bhumi: Kamadhatu, First Dhyana, etc. ), all the
500
defilements (klesa) of this sphere defile it. The Abhidharmikas say,
"Among the defilements, there is not a single one that does not defile the mind at rebirth (pratisamdhibandha); but rebirth takes place solely through defilements, not by the wrappings (jparyavasthanas) called svatantra [, through jealousy, egoism, anger, or hypocrisy, which are only associated with ignorance] (v. 47).
Although this state--the state of death--is bodily and mentally
501
"weak" (mandika), when a person has habitually practiced a certain
302
defilement, this defilement, thus "projected," becomes aaive at the
moment of death.
38c. The other existences are of three types.
Intermediate existence (antardbhava), existence in and of itself (purvakalabhava), and existence at death {maranabhava) can be good, bad, or neutral.
***
Are the four existences produced in all the Dhatus?
304 38c. Three in the Arupyas.
With the exception of intermediate existence. All four existences exist in Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu.
***
We have finished the exposition of Pratityasamutpada. Now how do beings, once they are born, last?
305 38d. Everyone lasts through food.
A Sutra says, "A dharma has been proclaimed by the Blessed One who knows and sees, that all beings last through food"
There are four foods, food by the mouthful {kavadikara ahara),
303
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contact (sparfa), mental volition {manahsarhcetand), and consciousness m
(vijndna).
Food by the mouthful is coarse or subtle. Food by the mouthful of intermediate beings (who nourish themselves on odors, from whence their name of Gandharva, iii. 30c), the food of the gods, and the food of humans at the beginning of the cosmic age (pradthamakalpika, iii. 97c) is subtle, because this food, like oil poured out into the sand, completely penetrates into the body and does not give forth any excrement
307
(nisyandddbhdvdt). Or rather the food of subtle beings is subtle, for
example a being born from moisture (yuka, etc. ), one newly-born (bdlaka), [the embryonic being,] etc
39a-b. Food by the mouthfuls exists in Kamadhatu; it consists of three ayatanas.
Only beings free from desire with regard to this food arise in the two higher Dhatus; thus this food exists only in Kamadhatu.
It consists of odors, tastes, and tangible things. In fact, odors, tastes and tangible things are put in the mouth--that is, in pindas or small balls--and then swallowed. This twofold operation is made by the mouth and the nose which separate the morsels.
But how does one attribute the quality of food to odors, etc. , which are also found in shade (chdyd) and warm light {dtapa, i. l0a), in flames
m (jvald), and in the light [of gems, etc. ] (prabhd)?
But such odors, etc. , are not put in the mouth and swallowed.
According to the School, the definition, "Food consists of three ayatanas" refers to the generality of the cases. [The odors which are found in the shade, etc. , are not food; but, in the majority of cases, odor pertains to food].
309
But we think that, even though they are not swallowed, like the
others, since they contribute to the duration of a being, these odors are included in the category of subtle food; as for example bathing and unguents {snanabhyangavat\ see i. trans, p. 103).
*##
But why is rupdyatana, a visible thing (color and figure) not a food? In fact, one swallows it by the mouthfuls.
? 39c-d Rupayatana is not food, for it comforts neither its organ 310
Food is that which comforts the organs and the primary elements (the mahabhutas) which are the support of the organs. Now a visible thing, at the moment when it is swallowed--when this food, introduced into the mouth, is eaten--does not comfort either its organ (the eye), or the primary elements which are the support of the eye. Nor does it comfort the other organs, since it is not their object. Without doubt, as long as one sees it, it causes pleasure and satisfaction, it comforts: but, what is comfort and food in this case is not the visible thing, but the agreeable contact which has the visible thing for its object. The explanation that we formulate here is confirmed by the fact that an agreeable visible thing does not comfort those liberated beings who see it. [If a visible thing were to perform the function of food when one sees it, it would comfort persons delivered from the desire for mouthfuls of food, namely the Anagamins and Arhats, as odors, tastes, etc. comfort these same liberated beings when they partake of them. ]
40a-b. In the three Dhatus, contact, volition, and consciousness,
311
when they are impure, are food
Contact is what arises from the cooperation of the three (iii. p. 97);
mental volition is mental action (manasa karman, iv. lc); and con-
312 sciousness is the consciousness skandha.
Why are they not food when they are pure?
The Vaibhasikas say, "Food signifies that which makes existence
{bhava) grow; now if it were pure, it have the destruction of existence
for its result. " It is a doctrine conforming to that of the Sutra, that food
has for a result causing to endure (sthiti)> causing to go (yapana) "those
nor those delivered
that exist" (bhuta), of favoring (anugraha) "those desiring re-existence 515
(sambhavaisin). " Now contact, volition, and consciousness, when they are pure, do not produce any of these two results.
"Those that exist" signifies beings who have been born; but what is
314 the meaning of the expression "desiring re-existence? "
It refers to antardbbava, intermediate existence or being, which the Blessed One designated by five names:
40c-41a. Mind created (manomaya), desiring re-existence (sam-
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bhavaisin), Gandharva (an eater of odors), intermediate ex- istence (antardbhava), and arising (nirvrtti).
w
An intermediate being is called manomaya, because he is
produced by the manas alone, and because he exists without being supported by any exterior element, semen, blood, flower, etc.
He is called abhinirvrtti, because his nirvrtti or arising is with a view 317
(abhi-mukht) to arising proper (upapattibhava, existence of arising).
That abhinirvrtti signifies an intermediate being results from the Sutra
"After having realized (abhinirvartya) a painful body, he will be reborn 318
in a painful world;" and also from the Sutra that says, "Such a person
has abandoned the bonds which cause abhinirvrtti, without having 319
abandoned the bonds which cause upapatti or existence. " 318
in a painful world;" and also from the Sutra that says, "Such a person
has abandoned the bonds which cause abhinirvrtti, without having 319
abandoned the bonds which cause upapatti or existence. "
There are four cases: 1. An ascetic detached from Kamadhatu and
320
Rupadhatu, when he is an Anagamin: he has abandoned the bonds
which cause abhinirvrtti or intermediate existence, since he will no longer be reborn in the Dhatus where existence itself is preceeded by an intermediate existence; but he has not abandoned the bonds which cause upapatti, existence proper, for he will be reborn in Arupyadhatu; 2. an Anagamin destined to obtain Nirvana in an intermediate existence (an antardparinirvdyin, iii. p. 387): he is bound with the bonds of abhinirvrtti, but freed from upapatti', 3. an Arhat, who has abandoned the two types of bonds; and 4. all other persons who are not included in the preceeding categories, who have not abandoned any of the two types of bonds.
According to another explanation, the bhutas (p. 441, line 31) are the Arhats: the word sambhavaisin designates all beings who desire (satrsnd), and who are as a consequence reborn.
#**
What are the foods that fulfill these two functions of causing to last
321 and "favoring [re-existence]? "
322
According to the Vaibhasikas, the four foods perform these two
323
functions. Food by the mouthful has for its result the re-existence of
? those who are attached to it. This is proved by the Sutra. The Blessed
One said, "The four foods are the root of sickness, abcesses, and thorns.
[Sickness, abcesses, and thorns signifies the five updddnaskandhas of a
new existence]; and are the condition (pratyaya) of old age and death.
[And old age and death is the old age and death of a future existence, see
324
[It is evident that food by the mouthful causes living beings to
above, p. 404]. "
last. ]But how does mental intentional action, or volition (manahsam- 325
cetana), possess this power?
Once upon a time there was a man, who in a time of poverty desired
to go to another land. But he was exhausted by his hunger and his two sons were young. Feeling that he was going to die, he filled a sack with ashes, placed this sack on a wall, and encouraged his sons by telling them that this sack contained grain. The two children, through hope, lived a long time. But another man came and took the sack and opened it. The children saw that it was ashes, and their hope being crushed, they died
So too once upon a time some merchants travelled by ship on the open sea; tormented by hunger and thirst, they saw in the distance a mass of foam and believed that it was a river; hope gave them the force to go to that place and prolong their life; but, arriving, they found out
326 what it was, and their hopes being crushed, they died.
21
We also read in the Sarhgitiparyaya? "Large marine animals reach
firm ground, lay their eggs on the beach, bury them in the sand, and go
back to the ocean. If the mother forgets the eggs, they will perish. "
328
This edition cannot be correct, for it is impossible that the mind
of another would be food. Thus we should read, "If the eggs think of their mother, they will not perish; but if they forget their mother, they will perish. "
**#
Yet one cannot doubt that all the impure dharmas increase bhava or existence. Why did the Blessed One teach that the foods are four in number?
Because he refers to the essentials:
41. Among the foods, two have for their result the growth of the
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Chapter Three
asraya (the body) and the dirita (the mind), and two have for their result the projection and the production of a new
329 existence.
The asraya is the body with its organs, which is the support (asraya)
of what is supported (dsrita) by it: namely the mind and its mental
states. Food by the mouthful makes the body grow, while contact makes
33
the mind grow. ? These two foods which cause that which is born to
live, and which are similar to a wet-nurse, are the major items for the duration of a being who is born.
Mental volitional action (manahsarhcetand) which is active, projects
a new existence; this new existence, thus projected, is produced
(nirvrttd) from the seed which is the consciousness "informed" through 331
action. Mental volitional action and the consciousness are thus the two foods which cause birth, which are similar to a mother, and which are the major items for the production of the existence of a being who has not yet been born.
332 Is everything which is "by the mouthful" (kavadikdra) food?
There are "mouthfuls" which are not food Four cases: 1. kavadikdra which is not food: that which, being taken in the mouth, has for its result the diminution of the organs and the destruction of the primary elements which support them; 2. food without being kavadikdra'. namely contact, mental volitional action, and the consciousness; 3. kavadikdra which is food: that which, being taken in the mouth, has for its result the growth of the organs and the increase of the primary elements; and 4. neither kavadikdra nor food: sound, etc
The same, by changing the terms, for the other foods.
##*
Is there contact, mental volitional action, and consciousness, which has for its result the growth of the organs and the increase of the elements, without this contact, etc. , being food?
Yes: those which belong to a sphere different from the sphere in
which the being in question is born, and, in all the spheres, those which
333 are pure.
? That which consumed (paribhukta) is harmful to one who has consumed it (praibhoktar) nevertheless receives the name of food. According to the Vaibhasikas, in fact, it is for two# moments that the thing consumed performs the function of food: 1. as soon as it is consumed, it dispels hunger and thirst; and 2. digested, it increases the
334 organs and the primary elements {Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 676c25).
***
This leads to another question.
How many foods are there is the different realms of rebirth, and in the different wombs?
All are in alL
How can you say that there is, in the hells, food by the mouthful?
335 The red balls of fire and molten copper are food
If this is the case, if that which is harmful is food, then the theory of the four cases [of the Samgttiparydya, note 332] is rejected, as well as the definitions of the Prakaranagrantha (7. 5; see also Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 674al, 676a26, and 779c4) which says, "What is food by the mouthful? Mouthful by reason of which there is increase of the organs, and the increase and maintainance of the primary elements," and the rest.
The doctrine of the existence of food by the mouthful in the hells is
not in contradiction with the definitions that you appeal to. These
336 definitions, in fact, are applied to food insofar as it increases. But the
objects of consummation which have for their result to diminish,
337 nevertheless possess, in the hells, the characteristics of food: they
dispel, at least for a time, hunger and thirst. Further, in the pradefika hells (iii. 59c), food by the mouthful exists as among humans. Hence food by the mouthful exists in the five realms of rebirth.
***
With respect to food by the mouthful, let us examine the Sutra: There is one who feeds one hundred non-Buddhist Rsis detached from
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Kamadhatu, and there is one who feeds a single jambusandagata prthagjana: but this last gift is much more fruitful that the first. " What does the expression "jambusandagata prthagjana" mean?
[Three opinions in the Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 678a26] 1. According to 338
the first opinion,jambusanda signifyingJambudvlpa, so this signifies, 339
"All beings inhabiting Jambudvlpa who have a stomach. "
This explanation is inadmissable; for the expression "a Prthag-
jana . . . " cannot designate "all beings. . . " Were it to have such a value, we do not see why the Sutra would teach that a gift made to an infinite number of Prthagjanas is more meritorious that one made to a smaller number, to one hundred Rsis: for such would stand of itself, and there
34 would be nothing surprising about it. ?
2. According to the second opinion, the Prthagjana in question is the Bodhisattva close to Bodhi.
3. According to followers of the third opinion, the second opinion is unsustainable: in fact a gift made to such a Bodhisattva is of incalculable merit, and is of a merit superior to a gift made to one hundred kotis of Arhats. The terms of the comparison would be much too low. Thus, say the Vaibhasikas, this Prthagjana is the person who has obtained the
341 so-called nirvedhabhagiya roots of good.
In our opinion, the expression jambusandagata does not ety- mologicallysignify"possessorofthenirvedhabhagtyas\ theusagedoes not give that sense to this expression; neither the Sutra nor the Sastra uses it in this sense: the wotdjambusandagata, "seated under theJambu tree," refers to but one Bodhisattva, [as it is said, "The Bodhisattva Sarvarthasiddha, having left in order to go see Kr? igramaka, sat at the
342
foot of a jambu tree, and entered into the First Dhyana. "] The
Bodhisattva is a Prthagjana, detached from Kamadhatu: one can thus compare him with the non-Buddhist Rsis detached from Kamadhatu and say that a gift made to him is more meritorious that a gift made to Rsis.
Without doubt, a gift made to this Bodhisattva is more meritorious than a gift made to an infinite number of Rsis: and if the Sutra says that it is more meritorious than a gift made to one hundred Rsis, it is because the Sutra explains the gradation of merit by multiples of one hundred: "to feed one hundred animals, to feed one immoral person, to feed one hundred immoral persons. . . " we observe that, to proceed with these
? comparisons, the Sutra does not further speak of a jambusandagata. It does not say, "A gift made to a candidate for the results of Srotaapanna is incomparable greater than a gift made to ajambusandagata*--which it would say if jambusandagata were to signify "a possessor of the nirvedhabhagtyas"--but rather, taking up again the Rsis as the term of comparison, "A gift made to a candidate for the results of Srotaapanna is incomparably greater than a gift made to one hundred non-Buddhist Rsis.
***
We have seen what the pratityasamutpada of beings is, and how beings last. We have seen also how death results from the exhaustion of life (ayus), etc. (ii. 45a, trans, p. 269).
It remains for us to say which consciousness is present at the moments of death and birth.
42a-c. Breaking, taking up again, detachment, loss of detach-
ment, death and birth are regarded as proper to the mind
343 consciousness.
It is through a single mental consciousness that the breaking and the
taking up again of the roots of good take place; the detachment either
from a Dhatu, or from a bhilmi (First DhySna, etc. ), and the loss of this
detachment; and death and birth. What is true of birth is evidently true
of the beginning of the intermediate existence: it is useless to speak of
344 it.
42d Death and birth, with the sensation of indifference.
The term cyuta is the equivalent of cyuti or death; the term udbhava is the equivalent of upapatti, arising.
The mind consciousness, at death and at birth, is associated with the sensation of indifference, upeksd, that is, with the sensation that is neither agreeable nor disagreeable. This sensation is not active; the other sensations are active and, as a consequence, an arising and a dying consciousness cannot be associated with them, for, in this hypothesis, it would itself be active.
43a. Neither the one nor the other in "absorption," nor for "one
345 without thought. "
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Death and birth take place in the mind consciousness (mano- vijndna), [for and by the manovijndna]. But death cannot take place in a
346
person whose mind (citta = manovijndna) is absorbed. An absorbed
mind is found in a sphere--First Dhyana, etc--dissimilar to Kama- dhatu where we suppose the one dying and the one being born is found On the other hand, if we consider a being who dies or who is born in a sphere of absorption, then his mind is certainly not absorbed, for an absorbed mind is only absorbed through effort; it is dbhisamskdrika: thus it is always active (patu). Finally, an absorbed mind is anugrdhaka: that is to say, by its nature, it tends to last, to cause to last; hence it is not suitable to a cutting off of the series.
There is no longer any death or birth for "one without thought," [a person who has entered into nirodhasamdpa&ti and asamjnisamdpatti, ii. 41d]. One who is without thought cannot be killed: when his body (asraya = the sense apparatus, iii. 41) begins to decay--either by the action of the sword or of fire, or by the exhaustion of retribution of the absorptions--then, of necessity, the mind bound to the body [and
347 exisiting as a seed in the body] becomes present and dies.
The state of non-thought is also incompatible with birth, for it is
lacking any cause for the cutting off of the mind, and because there
348 cannot be a birth without defilement.
***
Existence at death (maranabhava) can be good, bad, or neutral. Concerning the death of the Arhat,
349 43b. He obtains Nirvana in two neutral minds.
Namely, in an airyapathika mind or in a vipdkaja mind. At least according to the masters who believe that, in Kamadhatu, a vipdkaja mind can be indifferent (upeksdjv. 4&)\ but, for the masters of an opposing opinion (iv. 47), one cannot obtain Nirvana in an airyapathika mind.
Why is the last mind of the Arhat necessarily neutral?
Because this type of mind, being very weak, is suitable to the cutting
35 off of the mind, that is, to the definitive cutting off of the mind. ?
? In which part of the body does the consciousness perish at death?
When death or "falling" (cyuti) takes place at once, the kayendriya (organ of the body or of touch) perishes at the same time as does the manas.
43c-44a. When death is gradual, the manas dies in the feet, at the navel, in the heart, accordingly as the being goes below, among
351 humans, among the Suras, or is not reborn.
Adhoga, "who goes below," is one who should be reborn in the painful
should be reborn in the human realms of rebirth; suraga, "who goes among the gods," is one who should be reborn in a heavenly realm of rebirth. The consciousness of these beings dies respectively, in the feet, the navel, or in the heart.
Aja, "who is not reborn," is the Arhat: his consciousness also dies in 352
the heart; but according to another opinion, in the head
How does the consciousness die in a certain part of the body?
Because it is in such a part that the destruction of the organ of touch
353
takes place. [The activity of the consciousness which is nonmaterial
and outside of space, is bound to this organ--which alone remains as its support or asraya, iii. 44]. The consciousness dies through the de- struction of the organ of touch, which takes place in a certain place. Towards the end of life, the organ of touch perishes bit by bit; at the end it remains only in a certain part of the body where it finishes by disappearing; in the same way water placed on a hot rock diminishes gradually and finishes by disappearing in a certain place.
***
It is thus that gradual death takes place; in general, the dying person is afflicted by some sensations which break the vital parts.
354 44b. The vital parts are split by water, etc.
355
Marmdni, or vital parts, are those parts of the body which cannot
be damaged without death ensuing.
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When one of the elements,--water, fire or wind,--is extremely troubled, the vital parts are as if they were split by terrible sensations which are like sharp knives. By saying that the vital parts are split, we do not mean to say that they are split like wood. Rather one should understand that they are henceforth incapable of aaivity quite as if they were split.
Why are the vital parts not split by trouble of the earth element?
Because there are only three dosas, namely bile, phlegm, and wind, which are in order the elements of water, fire, and wind.
According to another opinion, since the world perishes by these
three elements (iiilOOa), death also takes place by these three
356 elements.
The vital parts of the gods are not split. But five premonitory signs appear to a god being approached by death: 1. some of his clothes and some of his ornaments give off unpleasant sounds; 2. the light of his body diminishes; 3. some drops of water remain attached to his body after his bath; 4. in spite of his natural mobility, his mind is fixed on an object; and 5. his eyes, naturally fixed, are troubled, opening and closing. And there are five signs of death: 1. his clothes become dirty; 2. his aura fades; 3. sweat appears in his armpits; 4. his body emits a bad odor; and
357 5. the god no longer enjoys his seat.
###
358
The Blessed One classified beings who arise, last, and die, into
three categories: those predestined to health, predestined to loss, and not predestined
44c-d An Aryan and one guilty of anantarya transgressions are 359
predestined, the first to health, the second to loss.
60 What is "health," samyaktva? *
According to the Sutra, the complete abandoning of affection, hatred, error, and all of the defilements, [that is, Nirvana].
What is an Aryan?
One in whom the Path arises, that is, the Pure Path. He is an Aryan
361 disconnection (visamyoga, ii. 55d, p. ) from the defilements.
because he "has gone far" {aradyatah) from evil,
since he possesses
? How is the Aryan predestined to health?
Because he will certainly obtain Nirvana.
But a person who acquires the moksabhagiyas (vi. 24c) will also
certainly obtain Nirvana. Why not consider him predestined to health? Because he can commit transgressions which make him "pre- destined to loss;" or rather because, if he is in fact predestined for
Nirvana, the moment of his arrival at Nirvana is not fixed, as is the case for the Aryans beginning with "he who, at a maximum, will be reborn seven times" (saptakrtvahparama, vi. 34a).
What is loss, mithydtva?
The hellish, animal, and Preta realms of rebirth. A person who commits dnantarya transgressions (iv. 96) will cerainly be reborn in hell; he is thus predestined to loss.
One who is not predestined (aniyata) is one who is not predestined to health or loss. Whether he becomes predestined to one or the other, or whether he continues to not be predestined, depends in fact on his future aaions.
#*#
We have described the world of human beings; let us pass to a
362 description of the receptacle or physical world {bhdjanaloka).
45. Here is how it is thought that the receptable world is
arranged: at the bottom there is a circle of wind, immeasurable,
363 with a height of sixteen hundred thousand leagues.
The great chiliocosm (iii. 73) is arranged as we shall explain. At its
bottom there arises, through the force of the predominent aaions of
beings (adbipatiphala, ii. 58, iv. 85), a circle of wind which rests on 364
space. Itissixteenthousandyojanas (iii. 88)thick;itisimmeasurable 65
in circumference; and it is solid: a mahanagna* could strike at it with his vajra and his vajra would break without the circle of wind being scratched.
46a-b. The circle of water, eleven hundred twenty thousand high.
By the predominate aaions of beings, there falls from massed
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clouds, upon the circle of wind, a rain the drops of which are like the
366
shafts of a carriage. This water forms a circle of water, with a
thickness of eleven hundred twenty thousand yojanas. 367
How do these waters not flow over the edge?
Some say that the waters are sustained by the force of the actions of beings, as food and drink which do not fall in the intestines before being digested
According to another opinion, the waters are sustained by the wind, like grain in aJbasket.
Then the water, agitated by a wind which the force of actions gives
rise to, becomes gold in its upper part, as churned milk becomes
368 cream:
46c-d Then, the circle of waters is no more than eight hundred
369
Then there is above the circle of water now reduced to eight hundred thousand yojanas, a sphere of gold, three hundred twenty thousand
yojanas thick
47a-48a. The circle of water and gold have a diameter of twelve
hundred three thousand four hundred and fifty leagues; triple for
370 its perimeter.
These two circles have the same dimensions.
On the circular sphere of gold which thus rests on the water,
48b-49c. There are Meru, Yugandhara, Isadhara, Khadiraka,
Mount Sudarsana, Asvakarna, Vinataka, and Mount Nimin-
371 dhara; beyond are the continents; on the edge is Cakravada.
Nine great mountains rest on the sphere of gold In the center there is Meru; concentrically, the other seven are arranged around Meru; Nimindhara forms the exterior rim that envelops Meru and the six
372
inner wall-mountains --whence its name. Beyond [Nimindhara] lie
the four continents. Enveloping all is Cakravada, thus named because it encircles the universe with its four continent and also because it has the form of a wheel.
49d-50a. Seven mountains are made of gold; the last is made of iron; and Meru is made of four jewels.
thousand leagues in height; the rest becomes gold
? Yugandhara and the six mountains that surround it are made of
gold; Cakravada is made of iron; Meru has four faces which are
respectively, from north to west, made of gold, silver, lapis and crista!
Each of these substances gives its own color to the part of space which
373
faces it
made of lapis, our heaven is thus similar in color to lapis.
Since the face of Metu. which is turned towardsJambudvlpa is What is the origin of the different substances that make up Meru?
The waters which have fallen on the sphere of gold are rich in
374
different potentialities; under the action of the winds which possess
different efficacies, they disappear and make room for different jewels. It
is thus that the waters are transformed into jewels: the water is the
cause, the jewels are a result different from the cause, and there is no
simultaneity. This is quite different from the concept of transformation 375
(parindma) that the Samkhyas imagine.
What do the Samkhyas understand by parindma?
They admit that dharmas arise and disappear within a permanent
substance (a dharmin or dravyd).
How is this incorrect?
One cannot admit the simultaneous existence of a permanent
376 dharmin, and of dharmas arising and disappearing.
But the Samkhyas do not hold that there is a dharmin separate from the dharmas^ they say that a dharma, when it is transformed (parinam), becomes the support of different characteristics: this dharma they call dharmin. In other words, transformation (parindma) is only the modification (anyathdbhavamdtra) of a substance {dravyd).
This thesis is not correct.
Why is it not correct?
Because there is a contradiction in terms: you admit that that (the
377 cause) is identical to this (the result), but that this is not like that.
The gold, silver, jewels and the land thus formed are brought together and piled in heaps by the winds which are produced by the force of actions. They make up the mountains and the continents.
50b. -51b. Meru is immersed in the water to a depth of twenty-
four thousand leagues and rises above the water some eighty
thousand leagues. The immersion of the eight other mountains
diminishes each by a half. The mountains have equal width and
378 height.
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The mountains rest on the sphere of gold and are in the water to a depth of eighty thousand yojanas. Meru rises out of the water for the same number ofyojanas\ and is thus, both in and out of the water, one hundred sixty thousand yojanas in height. Yugandhara rises out of the
water for forty thousandyojanas, Isadhara for twenty thousandyojanas and thus following until GJcravada which rises out of the water for three
379
hundred twelveyojanas and a half. The mountains are as wide as they
extend out of the water. [For example, if a mountain extends out of the water to a height of twenty thous&ndyojanas, it is then twenty thousand
yojanas wide]. [The word dhana, in the Karika, has the sense of "wide". ] ***
5 lc-52c. The seven Sitas, of which the first is of eighty thousand leagues, form the interval between the mountains. This is the inner ocean, triple in circumference. The other Sitas diminish by a half. The rest is the great outer sea, of three hundred twenty-
38 two thousand leagues. ?
381
The Sitas are located between the mountains, from Meru to
Nimindhara: the Sitas are full of water endowed with the eight qualities:
cold, dear, light, tasty, sweet, not fetid, and harming neither the throat
382 nor the stomach.
The first, between Meru and Yugandhara, is eighty thousand leagues in width. In exterior circumferance, to the shore of Yugandhara, it is triple this, thus two hundred forty thousand yojanas.
The size of the other Sitas diminishes by a half: the second Slta,
between Yugandhara and Isadhara, is forty thousand yojanas in width,
and so on to the seventh, between Vinataka and Nimindhara, which is
twelve hundred fiftyyojanas wide. The calculation of the circumferences
presents no difficulty. The seven Sitas are the inner ocean. The rest, that
is, the water between Nimindhara and GJcravada, is the great outer sea;
it is full of salt water, and is three hundred twenty-two thousandyojanas
383 wide.
***
? 53b-55d There is Jambudvipa, three sides of two thousand, in the form of a carriage, and one side of three and a half; eastern Videha, like a half-moon, three sides likeJambu, and one side of three hundred fifty; Godaniya, of seven thousand five hundred, round, with a diameter of two thousand five hundred; and Kuru, of eight thousand, square, parallel
In the outer sea, corresponding to the four sides of Mem, there are four continents (dvtpas):
1. Jambudvipa has three sides of two thousandyojanas in length, one 384
side of three yojanas and a half: it thus has the shape of a carriage. In 385
its center, resting on the sphere of gold, is the "diamond throne" where the Bodhisattva sits to attain vajropamasamddhi (vi. 44d) and so to become an Arhat and a Buddha: no other place, and no other
person can support the vajropamasamddhi of the Bodhisattva.
2. Eastern Videha or Purvavideha has the shape of a half-moon; it
has three sides of two thousand yojanas, thus of the same dimension as the long side of Jambu, and one side of three hundred fifty yojanas.
3. Godaniya, which faces the western side of Meru, is round like the
moon; it is seven thousand five hundtedyojanas [in circumference], and 386
two thousand five hundred through the center.
4. Facing the northern side of Meru is Kuru or Uttarakuru which has
the shape of a seat; it is square: its sides, of two thousand yojanas each, form a circumferance of eight thousand yojanas. To say that Kuru is
387 "parallel" means that its four sides are of the same dimension.
Such is the shape of the continents, and such is the shape of the faces
388 of the persons who reside in them.
56. There are eight intermediate continents: Dehas, Videhas,
Kurus, Kauravas, Camaras, and Avaracamaras, Sathas and
389 Uttaramantrins.
These continents are designated by the name of their inhabitants. Dehas and Videhas are located on both sides of Purvavideha; Kurus and Kauravas on the sides of Uttarakuru; Camaras and Avaracamaras on the sides of Jambudvipa; and Sathas and Uttaramantrins on the sides of Godaniya.
All of these continents are inhabited by human beings. Never-
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390
theless, according to one opinion, one of them [namely Camara] is
reserved for Rak? asas.
#*#
57. Here, to the north of the nine ant-Mountains, lie the
Himavat; beyond it, but on this side of the Mountain of Perfume,
391 is a lake deep and wide by fifty leagues.
By going toward the north in this Jambudvipa, one encounters three
392 ant-Mountains, [so called because they have the shape of an ant];
then three other ant-Mountains; then three other again; and finally the Himavat (= the Himalayas).
Beyond that, this side of the Gandhamadana ("the Mountain of
Perfume"), lies Lake Anavatapta from whence there flows out four great
393
rivers, the Ganga, the Sindhu, the Vaksu and the Slta. This lake, fifty
yojanas wide and deep, is full of a water endowed with the eight 394
qualities. Only persons who possess magical powers can go there. The Jambu tree is located near this lake. Our continent receives its name of Jambudvipa, either from the tree, or from the fruit of the tree which is
also called Jambu.
395
Where are the hells , and what are their dimensions?
58. At the bottom, at twenty thousand leagues, is Avici, of this same dimension; above, the seven hells; all eight have sixteen utsodas.
Beneath Jambudvipa, at a distance of twenty thousandyojanas, lies the great hell Avici. It is twenty thousandyojanas high and wide; its sun
396 is thus found forty thousand yojanas below the sun of Jambudvipa.
397 Why is this hell named Avici?
Two explanations: 1. because there is not, in this hell, any interruption {vici) of suffering. Suffering is interrupted in the other hells. In Sarhjlva, for example, bodies are first crushed and reduced to dust; then a cold wind revives them and gives them feeling: from
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