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Tattvartha Sutra
[2.37-49]
Dependency. Pudgals have the capacity for various types of transformations; hence, even when they are minimal in quantity, they are called gross when they are in a loose state, and as they become denser, they are called subtle and subtler. For example, consider a pod of peas and an elephant's tooth. Even though both are of the same size, the pod is loosely structured, whereas the tooth is solid. Thus, when the quantity (size) is equal, it is evident that the material substance of the tooth is greater than that of the pod.
It becomes clear that the initial or constituent substance of the body is greater in quantity compared to the prior body according to the above explanation of gross and subtle. However, the quantity is designated here in two sutras as much as it is found.
The body is formed from the skandhas made of atoms; these skandhas are the initial substance of the body. As long as the atoms are separate, a body is not formed from them. The body is formed only from the aggregates, which are called skandhas. These skandhas must also be composed of infinite atoms. The initial skandhas of the material body possess countless qualities compared to the initial skandhas of the non-material body; that is, the initial skandhas of the material body are made of infinite atoms, and so are the initial skandhas of the non-material body. However, the infinite number of atoms in the skandhas of the non-material body is incomparably greater than that of the material body. This greater quantity manifests in the infinite number of atoms in the non-material and ingested bodies.
The infinite number of atoms in the aggregates of the ingested body has an infinite quality; likewise, the atoms in the aggregates of the non-material body have an infinite quality as well. Thus, it is clear that the initial substance of the later body is greater in quantity than that of the earlier one. Nevertheless, due to the peculiarity of transformation, the later body becomes denser, denser than dense, and is termed subtle, subtler, and subtlest.
Question: Since both the skandhas of the material body and those of the non-material body are composed of infinite atoms, how then is the variation in those skandhas understood?
Answer: The infinite quantity is of infinite types. Therefore, equality in infinite forms...