Jaina Philosophy Historical Outline

Author(s): Narendra Nath Bhattacharya
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi

Page 169

148 Jain Philosophy in Historical Outline be discharged from the soul, and the latter now freed from the weight which had kept it down before the time of its liberation (for matter is heavy and Karma is material), goes up in a straight line to the top of the universe where the liberated souls dwell.”'l
Punya and Pāpa: This conception of Karma follows directly from Jain ethics. Meritorious actions are needed for extinguishing the existing Karma and to stop its further influx. Abstinence from sinful acts also helps this process. The two fundamentals of Punya and Pāpa are concerned with these acts. We have already referred to the nine kinds of Punya and eighteen kinds of Pāpa.? There are fortytwo ways in which the reward of Punya can be reaped. Birth as a human being is itself a reward of merit. The higher reward one obtains when he is born of a high family. Beauty, vigour, strength, happiness, etc. are different forms of rewards. More important rewards consist in having birth in different categories of gods, but the highest reward which a man can seek is that which leads him to become a Tirthamkara. Likewise there are eighty-four consequences of sins. It has evil effects on knowledge, intellect, sight, slumber and so on. It effects the beings to be born in the next incarnation in many ways. It also results in personal ugliness of many kinds, in the loss of bodily strength and in various deformities in the human body. Certain sins condemn the soul that commits them to be born in the next life in the class of degraded species. Other sins prevent the soul from acquiring the full number of powers and senses that belong to the class in which it is born.
The actions of mind, speech and body continually produce certain subtle Karma matters which pour themselves into the Jiva and stick there by coming into contact with its passions. These passions are collectively called Kaşāya. They act like viscous substances in retaining the inpouring Karma matter. They consist of four sins-anger, conceit, intrigue and greed (Krodha, Māna, Māyā and Lobha). Each of these four sins is taken into account from four viewpoints--- Anantānubandhi (when the sin is cherished throughout the whole life), Apratyakhyäna (when it is cherished for a year), Pratyākhyāna (when it is cherished only for four months) and Sañjyalana (when it is cherished for a while). Besides these sixteen categories of Kaşāya there are nine others making a total of twenty-five. These are laughter (häsya),
Jocobi in ERE, VII, pp. 168-69. 2see Part Two.