1147 Verse 1656

Original

यद्वाऽनुवृत्तिव्यावृत्तिबुद्ध्योर्ग्राह्यो यतः स्वयम् ।
तस्माद्गवादिवद्वस्तु प्रमेयत्वाच्च गम्यताम् ॥ १६५६ ॥

yadvā’nuvṛttivyāvṛttibuddhyorgrāhyo yataḥ svayam |
tasmādgavādivadvastu prameyatvācca gamyatām || 1656 ||

“Or again, negation may be regarded as an entity,—like the cow, etc.,—because it is apprehended by exclusive and inclusive notions,—and also because it is cognisable.”—[Ślokavārtika-negation, 9].—(1656)

Kamalaśīla

The following Text seeks to prove, by means of Inference, that Negation is an entity:—[see verse 1656 above]

There can be no division of a Non-entity; as division always rests in entities.—Hence Negation must be an entity.

‘Negation is an entity’,—this the statement of the Proposition; in support of this there are two Reasons: (1) ‘because it is apprehended by exclusive and inclusive notions’, and (2) ‘because it is cognisable’;—‘like the Cow, etc.’ is the Corroborative Instance.

Of these, the ‘inclusive Notion’ is the idea, in regard to all the four kinds of Negation, that ‘it is Negation’;—the ‘exclusive notion’ is in the form of the differentiating idea as ‘Previous Negation is not Destruction’,—(1656)