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of plant. Birth of an individual organism(animal or plant) in a particular species, at a particular time and in a particular place is neither arbitrary nor accidental but the very precise result of the individual's karman, which again is the result of its actions in the past life or lives. The determination of the species, the life-span, the time and the place of birth, the status, feeling of pleasure or pain and all such other fundamental factors of the individual's life are the combined result of the four aghātin karman viz., (i) body-making (Nāma) karman, (ii) status-determining (Gotra) karman, (iii) feeling-producing (Vedaniya) karman and, (iv) lifespan determining (Ayuṣya) karman and their relevant sub-categories. This is referred to by the terms,' tajjoniā, tassambhavā, and tavvakamma. The organism which comes into existence as a plant or a part of a plant is the result of the rise of vegetable (vanaspatikāya-sthāvara) nāma karman.
In this canon the vegetable kingdom is classified into:
(1) TREES: These are perennial plants with self-supporting woody main stem, usually attaining a large size and developing woody branches at some distance from ground. Those which grow from the ground have their roots below the earth's surface and which attach them to earth and convey nourishment to its parts from the soil.2
(2) Trees which are born from trees: Instead of originating and growing from the earth, this class of trees spring from other trees which have their roots in the earth. Since they have no direct connection with the earth, they get their nourishment from the trees which support them.
(3) Trees which are offshoots of the trees which themselves grow from other trees which are earth-based. They obtain their nourishment from the above trees from which they have sprung.
(4) Parts of the tree-based trees-root, tuber, trunk, branches,
1. Sutrakṛtänga Sutra, Part II, Ch. 3, Sūtra 2.
2. Some trees grow in colossal heights and live for hundreds of years. Perhaps the highest trees are WELLIGTONIA (sequia giganta); average height 275 feet; native of california, U.S.A., where they have lived more than 2000 years. Next to them are DOUGLAS FIR (pseudotsuga taxifolia), 200 feet; Western North America; Ash 140ft; Larch 150ft.; Silver Saple 130 ft. Scots Pine 120 ft.; Cedar, Beech and Horse Chestant 100ft.
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