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ATTAINMENT OF OMNISCIENCE
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tends to ascend the destructive ladder). In this condition, in the seventh stage of perfect self-control, the self attains the psychic purity known as adhaḥpravịttakarana. And through this new thought-activity, the self experiences the stage of destroying-new-thought-activity (apūrvakaraṇaksapaka)?. And therein, owing to the purity of new thought-activity, the duration and fruition of inauspicious karmas are minimized and the fruition of auspicious karmas is increased. And through the attainment of advanced thought-activity, the self ascends the ninth stage of anivịtti bādarasāmparāya, destroys eight passions, and then the neuter sex and the female sex. Further he destroys the six quasi-passions by attaching them to the male sex, the male sex to the gleaming anger, the gleaming anger to the gleaming pride, the gleaming pride to the gleaming deceitfulness, the gleaming deceitfulness to the gleaming greed, and gradually annihilating them by the method of gigantic karmic emaciation (bādara krșți). And the self mitigates the gleaming greed, experiences the tenth stage of subtle greed in the destructive ladder and destroys the entire deluding karmas without a trace. Having cast off the burden of the deluding karmas, the self ascends the twelfth stage of Delusionless'. In the last but one instant of the twelfth stage, sleep and deep sleep are destroyed, and in the last instant the five classes of knowledge-covering, the four classes of perception-covering and the five classes of obstructive karmas are destroyed. Immediately the self attains the mode of perfect knowledge and perception of unimaginable splendour and magnificence.
The spiritual stages are fourteen as described in the footnote on page 238. The spiritual ladders are two, the ladder or subsidence (upasama śreni) and the ladder of destruction (ksapaka sreni). These are the ways of ascent to the spiritual heights. From the seventh stage of 'Perfect Vows', the self may ascend one of these two ladders of spiritual progress. In the ladder of subsidence the right-conduct-deluding karmas subside, and in that of destruction these karmas are destroyed. The highest spiritual stage that can be attained on the ladder of subsidence is the cleventh stage of 'Subsided Delusion'.
'Destroying' or 'destructive' means causing destruction (to karmas), and destructional has been coined to convey the meaning of 'arising from destruction (of karmas)'.
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