Verse 298

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

उच्यते प्रतिबिम्बस्य तादात्म्येन समुद्भवे ।
तदेवोदययोगित्वं विभेदे तु न भोक्तृता ॥ २९८ ॥

ucyate pratibimbasya tādātmyena samudbhave |
tadevodayayogitvaṃ vibhede tu na bhoktṛtā || 298 ||

Our answer to this is as follows:—If the reflection appears in the same form (as the reflecting substance), then the same liability to ‘appearance and disappearance’ remains.—If, on the other hand, it is different, then the spirit cannot be the enjoyer.—(298)

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

You hold that the reflection of the object in Cosmic Intellect becomes transferred to the Spirit, who is like a second mirror;—now if this reflection in Spirit is non-different from the Spirit itself, then the Spirit remains liable to ‘appearance and disappearance’ as urged above; for the simple reason that he is non-different from (identified with) the Reflection, which is liable to appearance and disappearance.—If, on the other hand, the view held is that the Reflection is something different from the Spirit, then he cannot be the ‘enjoyer’, as his condition would not be different in any way from what it was when he was not the ‘enjoyer’.—Nor can it be right to regard the Spirit’s character of being the ‘Enjoyer’ as being due to his contact with the reflection of the object; as there can be no ‘contact’ between two such entities as do not benefit each other in any way.—(298)