Viyahapannatti 7.3: Uddeśaka 3: sthāvara

"At what time, Venerable Sir, are plant-bodied beings taking the least nourishment, or taking the greatest nourishment?"
"Gautama! In early autumn and the rainy season, plant-bodied beings take the greatest nourishment; thereafter in autumn, thereafter in winter, thereafter in spring, thereafter in summer. In summer, plant-bodied beings take the least nourishment."
"If, Venerable Sir, plant-bodied beings take the least nourishment in summer, why then, Venerable Sir, in summer do many plant-bodied beings stand endowed with leaves, flowers, and fruits, shining with greenery, exceptionally adorned with beauty?"
"Gautama! In summer, many heat-born souls and pudgalas enter into existence, are born, and originate as plant-bodied beings. Thus indeed, Gautama, in summer many plant-bodied beings stand endowed with leaves, flowers, and fruits, shining with greenery, exceptionally adorned with beauty."

"Is it true, Venerable Sir, that roots are pervaded by root-souls, bulbs are pervaded by bulb-souls, stems are pervaded by stem-souls, barks are pervaded by bark-souls, branches are pervaded by branch-souls, sprouts are pervaded by sprout-souls, leaves are pervaded by leaf-souls, flowers are pervaded by flower-souls, fruits are pervaded by fruit-souls, and seeds are pervaded by seed-souls?"
"Yes, Gautama, roots are pervaded by root-souls, and so on up to seeds are pervaded by seed-souls."
"If, Venerable Sir, roots are pervaded by root-souls and so on up to seeds are pervaded by seed-souls, from where, Venerable Sir, do plant-bodied beings take nourishment? From where do they transform [it]?"
"Gautama! Roots are pervaded by root-souls and are attached to earth-souls, therefore they take nourishment and therefore transform [it]. Bulbs are pervaded by bulb-souls and are attached to root-souls, therefore they take nourishment and therefore transform [it]. In this way, and so on up to seeds are pervaded by seed-souls and are attached to fruit-souls, therefore they take nourishment and therefore transform [it]."

"Now, Venerable Sir, potato, radish, ginger, hirilī, sirilī, sissirilī, kiṭṭhikā, kṣīrikā, kṣīravidālikā, black bulb, vajra-bulb, sūraṇa bulb, khelūḍa, bhadramustā, piṇḍaharidrā, lohī, nīhū, thīhū, thībhagā, aśvakarṇī, siṃhakarṇī, siuṇḍhī, musaṇḍhī, and whatever others of such kind—are all of these [inhabited by] infinite souls, of diverse beings?"
"Yes, Gautama, potato, radish, and so on up to [they are inhabited by] infinite souls, of diverse beings."

"Could it be, Venerable Sir, that an inhabitant of hell with black leśyā has less karma, and an inhabitant of hell with blue leśyā has more karma?"
"Yes, it could be."
"For what reason, Venerable Sir, is it said: 'An inhabitant of hell with black leśyā has less karma, and an inhabitant of hell with blue leśyā has more karma?'"
"Gautama! With reference to lifespan duration. For that reason, Gautama, and so on up to he has more karma."
"Could it be, Venerable Sir, that an inhabitant of hell with blue leśyā has less karma, and an inhabitant of hell with grey leśyā has more karma?"
"Yes, it could be."
"For what reason, Venerable Sir, is it said: 'An inhabitant of hell with blue leśyā has less karma, and an inhabitant of hell with grey leśyā has more karma?'"
"Gautama! With reference to lifespan duration. For that reason, Gautama, and so on up to he has more karma."
In this way also for the Asurakumāras, with the difference that tejo-leśyā is added. In this way up to celestial beings in celestial abodes. For whichever [being] has however many leśyās, that many are to be stated. For stellar gods it is not stated up to:
"Could it be, Venerable Sir, that a celestial being with pink leśyā has less karma, and a celestial being with white leśyā has more karma?"
"Yes, it could be."
"For what reason?"
"Gautama! With reference to lifespan duration. For that reason, Gautama, and so on up to he has more karma."

“Is it so, Venerable Sir, that what is experiencing is dissipation, and what is dissipation is experiencing?”
“Gautama! That meaning is not correct.”
“For what reason, Venerable Sir, is it said: ‘What is experiencing is not dissipation, and what is dissipation is not experiencing’?”
“Gautama! Experiencing is karma, dissipation is non-karma (nokarma). For that reason, Gautama, it is said: ‘What is experiencing is not dissipation, and what is dissipation is not experiencing.’
Venerable Sir, is what is experiencing for the inhabitants of hell dissipation, and what is dissipation experiencing?”
“Gautama! That meaning is not correct.”
“For what reason, Venerable Sir, is it said: ‘For the inhabitants of hell, what is experiencing is not dissipation, and what is dissipation is not experiencing’?”
“Gautama! For the inhabitants of hell, experiencing is karma, dissipation is non-karma. For that reason, Gautama, it is said: ‘For the inhabitants of hell, what is experiencing is not dissipation, and what is dissipation is not experiencing.’
In this way, up to the celestial beings (vaimānikas).
‘Is it so, Venerable Sir, that what they experienced, they dissipated; what they dissipated, they experienced?’
‘That meaning is not correct.’
‘For what reason, Venerable Sir, is it said: “What they experienced, they did not dissipate; what they dissipated, they did not experience”?’
‘Gautama! They experienced karma; they dissipated non-karma. For that reason, Gautama, up to: they did not experience it.’
In this way also for the inhabitants of hell, in this way up to the celestial beings.
‘Is it so, Venerable Sir, that what they experience, they dissipate; what they dissipate, they experience?’
‘Gautama! That meaning is not correct.’
‘For what reason, Venerable Sir, is it said—up to: they do not experience it?’
‘Gautama! They experience karma; they dissipate non-karma. For that reason, Gautama, up to: they do not experience it.’
In this way also for the inhabitants of hell, up to the celestial beings.
‘Is it so, Venerable Sir, that what they will experience, they will dissipate; what they will dissipate, they will experience?’
‘Gautama! That meaning is not correct.’
‘For what reason, up to: they will not experience it?’
‘Gautama! They will experience karma; they will dissipate non-karma. For that reason, up to: they will not dissipate it.’
In this way also for the inhabitants of hell, up to the celestial beings.
‘Is it so, Venerable Sir, that the time-instant of experiencing is the time-instant of dissipation, and the time-instant of dissipation is the time-instant of experiencing?’
‘That meaning is not correct.’
‘For what reason, Venerable Sir, is it said: “The time-instant of experiencing is not the time-instant of dissipation, and the time-instant of dissipation is not the time-instant of experiencing”?’
‘Gautama! At which time-instant they experience, at that time-instant they do not dissipate; at which time-instant they dissipate, at that time-instant they do not experience—they experience at one time-instant, they dissipate at another time-instant. The time-instant of experiencing is one, the time-instant of dissipation is another. For that reason, up to: it is not the time-instant of experiencing, it is not the time-instant of dissipation.’
‘Venerable Sir, is the time-instant of experiencing for the inhabitants of hell the time-instant of dissipation, and the time-instant of dissipation the time-instant of experiencing?’
‘Gautama! That meaning is not correct.’
‘For what reason, Venerable Sir, is it said: “For the inhabitants of hell, the time-instant of experiencing is not the time-instant of dissipation, and the time-instant of dissipation is not the time-instant of experiencing”?’
‘Gautama! For the inhabitants of hell, at which time-instant they experience, at that time-instant they do not dissipate; at which time-instant they dissipate, at that time-instant they do not experience—they experience at one time-instant, they dissipate at another time-instant. The time-instant of experiencing is one, the time-instant of dissipation is another. For that reason, up to: it is not the time-instant of experiencing.’
In this way, up to the celestial beings.”

“Venerable Sir, are the inhabitants of hell eternal or non-eternal?”
“Gautama! In one sense they are eternal, in another sense they are non-eternal.”
“For what reason, Venerable Sir, is it said: ‘The inhabitants of hell are in one sense eternal, in another sense non-eternal’?”
“Gautama! From the viewpoint of non-interruption (avocchitti-naya) they are eternal; from the viewpoint of interruption (vocchitti-naya) they are non-eternal. For that reason, up to: in one sense eternal, in another sense non-eternal.
In this way, up to the celestial beings, up to: in another sense non-eternal.”
“That is so, Venerable Sir! That is so, Venerable Sir!”