0705 Verse 960

Original

न चापि वासनाभेदाद्भेदः सद्रूपताऽपि वा ।
अपोहानां प्रकल्प्येत न ह्यवस्तुनि सा मता ॥ ९६० ॥

na cāpi vāsanābhedādbhedaḥ sadrūpatā’pi vā |
apohānāṃ prakalpyeta na hyavastuni sā matā || 960 ||

“Either diversity or the positive character of Apohas cannot be assumed to be due to the diversity of impressions; because impression cannot be held to exist when there is no entity.”—[Ślokavārtika-Apoha 100]—(960)

Kamalaśīla

It has been asserted before—(a) that ‘they would be differentiated by the excludedngs’ (Text, 929), and (b) that ‘there can be no difference among Apohas because they are non-entities’ (Text, 926).—These arguments have been thus answered by certain Bauddhas:—‘The difference among Apohas is due, not to the difference of substrata, nor to the difference among the excluded things; what happens is that on diverse external objects there are superimposed Apohas which are themselves featureless, and consist only in the form of those objects, and hence appearing as diverse; they are so superimposed by cognitions, which, though rather objectless, rest upon diverse unreal objects, and are related to variegated conceptual Impressions extending over all time without beginning;—and being thus superimposed, these Apohas appear as diverse and as existing; so that the diversity and positive character of Apohas would be due to the diversity of the said Impressions’.

This is answered in the following—[see verse 960 above]

As a matter of fact, no one holds the view that Impressions or Tendencies belong to the non-entity.—That there is no objectless Cognition has also been thoroughly discussed and proved in course of our examination of Idealism. Hence there can be no conceptions based upon unreal objects; how then can there be any Impression resting upon such conception?

‘Avastuni’,—i.e. when there is no Entity which could be its substratum _(;) and when there can be no Cognition without objects,—as there could be no cognition that could produce the Impression—how could there be any Impression? And when there is no Impression, how could the diversity among Apohas or their positive character, be due to Impressions?—(960)