Viyahapannatti 5.3.223

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.”