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A Comparative Study of Jainism and Buddhism - Brahmacharit Sital Prasadji, 1934 - Complete Book

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sagars. II Conation obs. do. do. III Feeling. do. 12 muhurtas. IV Deluding. 70 do 1 antar muhurta. V Age. 33 sagars. do. VI Body-m. 20 Kotix Koti 8 muhurta, sagars. VII Family d. do. do. VIII Obstructive. 30 do. 1 antar muhurta, Note. Sagara =innumerable years ; Koti =10 millions. Muhurta...48 minutes. Antar Muhurta...within 48 minutes. Anubhdga bandha—Out of the 8 classes the four, knowledge obscuring, conation-obscuring, obstructing 222 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM and deluding karmas are called ghdtiya obstructive, because they obscure the nature of the soul. They are bad or demeritorious karmas. When there is a strong passionate thought—activity, the force of fruition will be stronger in them, but if the passions are mild the force of fruition will be weaker. Their forces being taken as stronger, strong, weak and weaker are exemplified by four examples in hardness and softness respectively of stone, bone, wood and creeper. At the time of ripening the karmas will yield fruits in proportion to their strength and then shed off. The other four karmas are called aghd-tiya—non- destructive. Each one of them is of two kinds good and bad. Good age, body making, family and feeling karmas are merits, while bad age, body-making, family and feeling karmas are demerits. The fruition of these four good karmas is milder, mild, strong, and stronger exemplified by sweetness of molasses, sugar, refined sugar and nectar respectively : while the fruition of the above four bad karmas is also, milder, mild, strong and stronger exemplified by bitter- ness of a neem tree leaf, kanjira fruit, poison and deadly poison respectively. Thus every mundane soul has four kinds of bond- age according to its good or bad thought-activities. How the karmas operate and shed off: When the karmic molecules are bound, they take some time to become ripened ; till then they remain in KARMAS AND THEIR FRuITS 223 existence without operation and shedding. This time of quiescence is one hundred years for a duration of one koti koti sagars. According to this proportion if duration is one koti sagaras or less than that, the period of quies- cence will come to one antar muhurta. After the proportionate lapse of quiescence time, sthe molecules begin to operate and shed at every instant till their full duration period is ended. These molecules of a particular group bound at a particular time are distri- buted for its full duration minus the quiescence time with a proportion of successive less number. The greater number operates before. The least number will operate at the last instant of the duration. Whenever karmic molecules are on the point of operation, they appear in their fruits, if the outward circumstances agree with them if the outward position is not agree- able, they will shed off without giving any result. For example: suppose any one has bound karmic molecules af all the four passions e.g., anger, pride, deceit and greed simultaneously with equal duration for each. They will take equal time for ripening. After their equal period of quiescence they all will begin to shed at every instant, but all the four cannot give results at a time. When there is anger, there is not pride, nor greed nor deceit; only one kind of passion appears at a time in the thought-activity. Suppose there is outward situation of creating anger, then anger karmic molecules will appear in fruit, while 224 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM the molecules of the other three passions will shed of at that very instant without showing any result. Suppose any good person is attending to reading any pious book peacefully for half an hour; then his thought has good and pious feeling only. It is the result of mild greed. Till half an hour only, greed karma molecules are shedding after giving results, while the molecules of the other three passions shed off during that very half an hour without giving any fruit. Suppose within that half an hour there appears any outward cause of anger, some one may speak abusive words and that very person attending to pious book cannot endure them owing to the weakness of soul power, then anger will appear for some time; then the molecules of greed will shed without showing any fruit. The Karmic law being such: it is therefore neces- sary that we should always try to have good circum- stances and associations; then we can be saved from suffering fruits of bad karmas. True knowledge and soul-force are the means for effort. This force of effort is soul’s own property which has expressed itself on the subsidence of destructive karmas. We may call it soul-will, soul-power, or soul-exertion. A minutest creature of the vegetable kingdom also has got this soul- power. It has some knowledge and soul-force which is not obscured by karmas. Thus every being has got capacity of applying its free will. They, who have got KARMAS AND THEIR FRUITS 225 strong operation of deluding karmas are under control of ignorance or avidya. But they, who can remove this ignorance, have their pure soul-power more in store. They, who act after full consideration and mindfully, perform thoughtful and useful acts. If they. succeed in their efforts, the meritorious karmas have helped them; if they fail, the demeritorious karmas have made obstruction. As we, ordinary men cannot know what kinds of karmas are in store and when and how they will operate, it is our duty to perform every action with strong and thoughtful soul-power. It should also be- known that we can destroy the existing bound demeritorious karmas by self-concentra- tion and pure thought-activities before their ripening time ; we can diminish their fruition and duration. We can increase the fruition of old good karmas. Our thought-activities can modify the past-bound karmas. By the operation of age karma a being goes from one condition of existence to another. Karmic body goes along with it. Those saints, who destroy the causes of inflow of karmas, are called Ksiuasrava. This term is used in many Buddhist works. Vide Buddha Charya page 264 Sandaka sutta M. N. 2.3.6, page 55 Nanda-Rahula- Sanyasa Jataka N. 4 Mahadvagga, Maha Khandaka Rahula-Vastu. How karmas can be checked and destroyed has 29 226 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM been dealt with in the third chapter while describing Samvara and Nirjara. Let. us show the special thought-activities for the bondage of each of the eight karmas. They are the special causes for the karmic bondage of a special karma. I. Causes for the bondage of knowledge and cona- tion obscuring karmas :— (1) Displeasure on hearing truth (2) concealment of knowledge, not allowing others to ask him and take his time (3) not to teach others due to malice (4) to make obstructions to the progress of true knowledge (5) to dishonour the learned and the learning (6) to falsify the truth by misleading arguments. II. Causes for the bondage of pain-feeling karmas : (1) to feel pain or to make others painful. (2) to be sorry or to make others feel sorry. (3) to feel remorse or make others remorseful. (4) to weep or make others weep. (5) to cry in a way to arouse compassion for him in others or to make others cry in such a way. (6) to beat or to kill, etc. IIT. Causes for the bondage of pleasure-feeling karmas :— (1) to have compassion for all the beings (2) to feel great regard for the Vowful (3) to give charity of food, KARMAS AND THEIR FRUITS 227 medicine, knowledge and safety to the deserving pious men with honour and to the distressed through compas- sion (4) to follow rules of conduct of a saint (5) to follow rules of conduct of a layman (6) to practise meditation (7) to forgive others (8) to feel contentment etc. IV. Causes for the bondage of deluding karmas :— (1) To find fault with and speek ill of the true worshipful Lord, Teacher and the Truth itself (2) to have strong anger, pride, deceit and greed (3) to have strong laughter, indulgence, dissatisfaction, sorrow, fear and hatred (4) to have strong sex inclination, etc. V. Causes for the bondage of hellish age karma :— To earn money by unjust and ugly means, to have strong attachment for worldly possessions and not to spend money in charity and good works. VI. Causes for the bondage of sub-human age karma :— Deceit, e.g., cheating others and preaching false doctrines. VII. Causes for the bondage of human-age karma :— (1) to deal justly and with contentment, to have little attachment with the worldly possessions, to have natural modest feelings. VIII. Causes for the bondage of Celestial-age- karma :— (1) to have firm right belief (2) to follow the rules of conduct of a saint (3) to follow the rules of conduct 228 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM of a layman (4) to endure hardships with patience (5) to follow austerities without self-knowledge. IX. Causes for the bondage of Dae marie karmas :— (1) iecctnal engagement of mind, body and speech (2) to quarrel and make disturbance. X. Causes for the eho of good-body- peers karmas :— (1) Straightforward dealing of mind, body and speech (2) to have love for. others and not to quarrel with anybody. XI. Causes for the bondage of low-family deter- mining karma :— (1) to speak ill of others (2) to boast oneselt (3) to conceal others’ good qualities (4) to express one’s non-existing qualities. XII. Causes for the bondage of high-family-deter- mining karma :— (1) to speak ill of oneself (2) to praise others’ qualities (3) to conceal one’s own qualifications (4) to express others’ good qualities (5) to be submissive (6) not to feel proud. XIII.