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Viyahapannatti 5.3

English (machine translation) 5.3

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English

5.3.223

“Venerable Sir, the adherents of other sects declare, speak, explain, and assert thus:
‘Just as a knot of a net might be tied in succession, tied immediately next, tied continuously, tied to one another, existing by virtue of mutual heaviness, mutual weight, mutual heavy burdensomeness, and mutual coherence; in the very same way, for many souls across many thousands of births, many thousands of lifespans exist tied in succession, and so forth.
And a single soul experiences two lifespans in a single instant, namely: the lifespan of the present existence and the lifespan of the next existence.
At the instant it experiences the lifespan of the present existence, at that instant it experiences the lifespan of the next existence.
At the instant it experiences the lifespan of the next existence, at that instant it experiences the lifespan of the present existence.
Through the experiencing of the lifespan of the present existence, it experiences the lifespan of the next existence;
through the experiencing of the lifespan of the next existence, it experiences the lifespan of the present existence.
Thus indeed, a single soul experiences two lifespans in a single instant, namely: the lifespan of the present existence and the lifespan of the next existence.’
How is this, Venerable Sir? Is it so?”
“Gautama! That which the adherents of other sects [declare] up to ‘and the lifespan of the next existence’—what they have stated in this way is false. But I, Gautama, declare, speak, explain, and assert thus:
Just as a knot of a net might be tied in succession, tied immediately next, tied continuously, tied to one another, existing by virtue of mutual heaviness, mutual weight, mutual heavy burdensomeness, and mutual coherence; in the very same way, for a single soul across many thousands of births, many thousands of lifespans exist tied in succession, and so forth.
And a single soul experiences one lifespan in a single instant, namely: either the lifespan of the present existence or the lifespan of the next existence.
At the instant it experiences the lifespan of the present existence, it does not at that instant experience the lifespan of the next existence.
At the instant it experiences the lifespan of the next existence, it does not at that instant experience the lifespan of the present existence.
Through the experiencing of the lifespan of the present existence, it does not experience the lifespan of the next existence;
through the experiencing of the lifespan of the next existence, it does not experience the lifespan of the present existence.
Thus indeed, a single soul experiences one lifespan in a single instant, namely: either the lifespan of the present existence or the lifespan of the next existence.”

5.3.224

“Venerable Sir! When a soul is destined to be reborn among the inhabitants of hell, does it, Venerable Sir, transmigrate possessing lifespan [karma] or lacking lifespan [karma]?”
“Gautama! It transmigrates possessing lifespan [karma], not lacking lifespan [karma].”
“Where, Venerable Sir, was that lifespan made? Where was it acquired?”
“Gautama! It was made in the previous life; it was acquired in the previous life. In this way up to the celestial beings according to the standard sequence.”
“Is it indeed so, Venerable Sir, that into whatever womb it is destined to be reborn, it generates that lifespan—namely, a lifespan as an inhabitant of hell, or a lifespan as an animal, or a lifespan as a human, or a lifespan as a celestial being?”
“Yes, Gautama! Into whatever womb it is destined to be reborn, it generates that lifespan—namely, a lifespan as an inhabitant of hell, or a lifespan as an animal, or a lifespan as a human, or a lifespan as a celestial being. When generating a lifespan as an inhabitant of hell, it generates [one of] seven kinds, namely: a lifespan as an inhabitant of the hell in the Ratnaprabhā earth, or a lifespan as an inhabitant of the hell in the Śarkarāprabhā earth, or a lifespan as an inhabitant of the hell in the Vālukāprabhā earth, or a lifespan as an inhabitant of the hell in the Paṅkaprabhā earth, or a lifespan as an inhabitant of the hell in the Dhūmaprabhā earth, or a lifespan as an inhabitant of the hell in the Tamaḥprabhā earth, or a lifespan as an inhabitant of the hell in the lower seventh earth.
When generating a lifespan as an animal, it generates [one of] five kinds, namely: a lifespan as a one-sensed animal, or a lifespan as a two-sensed animal, or a lifespan as a three-sensed animal, or a lifespan as a four-sensed animal, or a lifespan as a five-sensed animal.
It generates a lifespan as a human of two kinds, namely: a lifespan as an asexually generated human, or a lifespan as a womb-born human.
It generates a lifespan as a celestial being of four kinds, namely: a lifespan as a residential celestial being, or a lifespan as an intermedial celestial being, or a lifespan as an astral celestial being, or a lifespan as a celestial being of the celestial abodes.”
“It is just so, Venerable Sir! It is just so, Venerable Sir!”

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