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116
KARMA - THE MECHANISM
SUTRAS
life or to transform it into its positive counterpart. We only need to examine and reshape our inner attitudes and express this new orientation in our action, speech and thinking.
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Here ends the description of the eight areas of life in which karma will manifest (the types of karma). The next seven sutras define the time-spans during which karma will show effects, i.e. how long the various types of karma will stay attached to our consciousness.
SUTRA 14 आदितस्तिसृणामन्तरास्य च त्रिंशत्सागरोपमकोटीकोट्यः u cura: 11 98 11 Aditastisrinamantarayasya cha trinshatsagropainakotikotyah para sthiti (14)
The first three types of karma, i.e. - karma that obstructs access to the five channels of knowledge
(jnana-varana) - karma that prevents insight and understanding (darshana
varana) and - karma that determines our feeling of life (vedaniya) can remain bound to us for a maximum of ca. 3000 years (30 sagaropamas). (14)
The exact length of the time-unit sagaropama has been lost. Some scholars evaluate it to be 100 years, but unfortunately the ancient method to calculate it is so vague that this can only be taken as an assumption. For the lack of any other method this assumption is adopted here, - 30 sagaropanias would then last 3000 years.
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