Part 6 - On the life of the earth-bodies

Q, 191. Bhante! What sort of life has been ascribed to each one of the occupants of the countless hundreds of thousands of the earth cells?

A. 191. Gautama! This has been stated to take innumerable forms. They are minimum span,...till (maximum Span) fitting in with each.

Q. 192. Bhante! Is each occupant of the countless hundreds of thousands of the earth cells, with the minimum span of life, in possession of anger, of pride, of deceit and of greed?

A. 192. Gautama! They are in possession of anger, of pride, of deceit and of greed. But the aforesaid combinations do not apply in aīl cases of the earth-bodies. Exceptions: red-tinge ones take 80 forms; the same of the water-bodies. Fire-bodies and air-bodies take no form in all cases. Flora-bodies are similar to the earth-bodies¹²⁷.

Notes (based on commentary of Abhayadeva Sūri):

127. The word ‘abhaṅgaya’ should mean a lack of uniformity or definiteness in form. Earth-bodies with red tinge take 80 forms, and the order is the same as in the case of the infernal beings, viz., anger, pride, attachment, greed. Other specialities of the earth-bodies are as follows. Earth-bodies take three body types, viz., gross, caloric and kārmaṇ. They are made of wholesome matter as also of unwholesome matter. But the overall body structure is ugly. The distinction between bhavadhāranīya and uttaravaikriya body, which is relevant of the infernal beings, is not applicable to the earth-bodies. They take four tinges, of which those with red tinge take 80 forms, and the rest take forms which lack uniformity. They invariably have wrong outlook, and are in possession of the first two types of ignorance. They have activities of body only,—not of mind and speech.

Water-bodies are similar to earth-bodies.

Air-bodies and fire-bodies are similar to earth-bodies, except that they do not take red tinge, and so they do not take 80 forms.

Air-bodies have four body types, viz., gross, fluid, caloric and kārmaṇ.

Flora-bodies are exactly like earth-bodies, with those having red tinge taking 80 forms.

A point of confusion may be that since earth-bodies, water-bodies and flora-bodies may take 80 forms, they should be in possession of stability, either as prior possession, or acquired at a later stage. But there is. no mention of it in the Sūtra. The solution is that earth-bodies, water-bodies and flora-bodies are at no stage in prior possession of stability, nor do they acquire it at any later period.

As it has been stated:

ubhayābhāvo puḍhavāiesu vigalesu hojja uvavaṇṇo tti

[Earth-bodies lack both; only two-, three-, and four-organ beings are born with stability.]