Harmless Soul

Author(s): W J Johnson, Dayanand Bhargav
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas

Page 58

44 Harmless Souls (kiriyā) are named. The last of these is iriyāvahiya (translated by Jacobi as 'actions referring to a religious life'). 120 These 'subtle' or 'insignificant' (suhumā / sūksma) activities of the ascetic, governed by the samiti and gupti, are described in detail at Sūyagadamga 2.2.23.121 Moreover, the influence of the karma attracted to the soul by these actions is said to be only momentary, lasting but three samaya. 122
This passage on iriyāvahiya-kriyā is, however, concluded by the refrain which has accompanied the other twelve kinds of activity, viz. 'Through that something blameable is produced for him' (or as Jacobi translates it, 'Thereby bad karma accrues to him').123 And the inappropriateness of this here suggests that this kind of iriyāvahiya activity may have been a later, somewhat mechanical addition to an original list of twelve bad actions. This conjecture is further borne out by the fact that this passage views the karma acquired from iriyāvahiya actions as being more or less instantaneously destroyed, in contrast to the apparently longer process envisaged by Āyāramga 1 (see above).
Through this kind of development we are brought close to Umāsvāti's distinction between passionate, binding activity and non-passionate, non-binding activity. (The Viyāhapannatti does not, however, contain a 'kaṣāya doctrine' in the technical sense developed in the Tattvārtha Sūtra, although passages like Viyāhapannatti 7 7.1, quoted above, contain all the necessary components.) 124
120 Jacobi 1895, p. 356. 121 Jacobi, in his translation of suhumā kiriyā iriyāvahiyā nāma
(ibid. p. 365), takes iriyāvahiya to refer to subtle actions other than those followed in the discipline, but that seems confused.
122 Cf. Viy. III 1.d, above, and Utt. 29.71 (Jacobi 1895, p.172).
123 vam khalu tassa tappattiyam sāvajjam ti āhijjai - Sūy. 2.2. passim.
124 See also Viy. VIII 8.3a, b, where iriyāvahiya- and samparāiyakamma (as opposed to just -kiriyā) are specifically referred to.