Verse 3160-3161

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

येऽपि सातिशया दृष्टाः प्रज्ञामेधाबलैर्नराः ।
स्तोकस्तोकान्तरत्वेन नत्वतीन्द्रियदर्शनात् ॥ ३१६० ॥
प्राज्ञोऽपि हि नरः सूक्ष्मानर्थान्द्रष्टुं क्षमोऽपि सन् ।
स्वजातीरनतिक्रामन्नतिशेते परान्नरान् ॥ ३१६१ ॥

ye'pi sātiśayā dṛṣṭāḥ prajñāmedhābalairnarāḥ |
stokastokāntaratvena natvatīndriyadarśanāt || 3160 ||
prājño'pi hi naraḥ sūkṣmānarthāndraṣṭuṃ kṣamo'pi san |
svajātīranatikrāmannatiśete parānnarān || 3161 ||

“Those persons who have been found to be superior to others are so only on account of intelligence, memory and strength,—which vary slightly with varying persons,—and not on account of the capacity to perceive super-sensuous things.—Even the intelligent man who is capable of perceiving subtle things is superior to other persons, without going beyond the limitations of his own kind.”—(3160-3161)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

The following might be urged—Through Practice and other causes, it is found that the powers of intelligence and other faculties vary with each Person; and from this is deduced the possibility of a Person in whom these powers have reached the highest stage of perfection [and such a person would be omniscient].

The answer to this is as follows:—[see verse 3160-3161 above]

As a matter of fact, however much he has practised, no one has been found to become capable of perceiving things beyond the reach of the senses. For instance, a man, even though exceptionally intelligent, and capable of apprehending things that can be apprehended only by keen intelligence,—is never found to transcend the limitations of his own species,—i.e. the human weakness, in the shape of the absence of abnormal vision and the like,—and he is never found to be endowed with such abnormal vision, etc. Consequently there is no justification for any such assertion as the following which has been loudly proclaimed by Buddhists—‘He sees with abnormal eyes, pure and transcending beyond the limitations of man, beings entering into excellent states and even inferior states, etc. etc.’.—(3160-3161)