Verse 332

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

रूपादिवित्तितो भिन्नं न ज्ञानमुपलभ्यते ।
तस्याः प्रतिक्षणं भेदे किमभिन्नं व्यवस्थितम् ॥ ३३२ ॥

rūpādivittito bhinnaṃ na jñānamupalabhyate |
tasyāḥ pratikṣaṇaṃ bhede kimabhinnaṃ vyavasthitam || 332 ||

Cognition or consciousness is never apprehended as anything distinct from the cognitions of colour and other things; and inasmuch as these latter undergo variations every moment, what remains there that could be lasting (permanent, eternal)?—(332)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

As a matter of fact, apart from the Cognitions of Colour etc., which appear one after the other, we do not apprehend, any lasting Consciousness, eternal and one,—whereby it could be held to be known through Perception.—Then, inasmuch as it is well known that the Cognitions of Colour and otherngs are apprehended one after the other, and are destroyed every moment—it has to be explained what remains there that is non-different from those Cognitions? Thus, inasmuch as there is no apprehension of any such Cognition, which would be apprehended if it were there,—it cannot but be regarded as ‘non-existent This is what the Text means.

Nor can it be held that the said Eternal Cognition is known through Inference. Because such an Inference would be based either upon the nature of the Cognition itself, or upon that of its effects. It cannot he the former, as there is nothing which can prove that such is the nature of the said Eternal Cognition; on the contrary, there is Perception itself which precludes any such notion.

Thus the doctrine that ‘the world is the illusory modification of the Eternal Consciousness’ is not right.—(332)

Then again, under this doctrine, the notions of ‘Bondage’ and ‘Liberation’ are not possible.—This is what is shown in the following—[see verse 333 next]