0195 Verse 246

Original

तेनोपनेतृसंरम्भभङ्गित्वाद्भङ्गिनी मतिः ।
न नित्यं दाहको वह्निर्दाह्यासन्निधिना यथा ॥ २४६ ॥

tenopanetṛsaṃrambhabhaṅgitvādbhaṅginī matiḥ |
na nityaṃ dāhako vahnirdāhyāsannidhinā yathā || 246 ||

“It is on account of the evanescent character of the functioning of the presenting organs that the cognition is evanescent; just as, even though fire is always a burner, it burns only when the combustible thing is close to it.”—(246)

Kamalaśīla

‘Presenting organs’,—the Eye and other organs which present to the Soul the Colour and other things;—the ‘functioning’—operation—of these organs is ‘evanescent’—fleeting;—and on this account, the resultant Cognition is recognised as evanescent; by itself, it is not evanescent, fleeting.—“If, by itself the Cognition is not evanescent, then the objection remains that it should apprehend all things—The answer to this is that even though Fire is always a burner, etc. Similarly, the Cognition does not always apprehend all things; for the simple reason that all things are not always in close proximity (to the organs, etc.)—(246)