Verse 338

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

ते वाच्याः पुद्गलो नैव विद्यते पारमार्थिकः ।
तत्त्वान्यत्वादवाच्यत्वान्नभःकोकनदादिवत् ॥ ३३८ ॥

te vācyāḥ pudgalo naiva vidyate pāramārthikaḥ |
tattvānyatvādavācyatvānnabhaḥkokanadādivat || 338 ||

These people should be told that (according to what they have said), the pudgala cannot be regarded as existing in reality;—because it is incapable of being spoken of either as the same or as different (from thought-phases);—just like the ‘sky-lotus’ and such non-entities.—(338)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

The following Text proceeds to show that like other things, the Pudgala also cannot be regarded as existing, because it is incapable of being spoken of;—this conclusion being deducible from your own words:—[see verse 338 above]

The argument may be formulated, as follows:—That which is incapable of being spoken of either as the same as, or as different from, a thing cannot be an entity,—as the sky-lotus;—and the Pudgala is (ex hypothesi) incapable of being so spoken of;—hence the wider character being absent (the narrower character must be absent); the corroborative instance per dissimilarity is supplied by Feelings etc.—(338)

Question—‘How is the invariable concomitance (Premiss) urged here arrived at?’

The answer is provided by the following—[see verse 339 next]