BRAHMA SUTRA BHASYA | II.II.05.31 | SANKARACARYA

|| CHAPTER II | SECTION II | TOPIC 05 | VERSE 31 ||

|| TOPIC 05 | BUDDHIST IDEALISM REFUTED ||

And ( the ego-consciousness cannot be the abode ) , for it is momentary . || 31 ||

|| BHASYA ||

As for the ego-consciousness that is assumed to be the abode of disposition ( or tendency ) , that too has no stable form , since you postulate its momentariness like sense perception .

Hence it cannot be the abode of tendencies .

For unless there be some principle running through everything and abiding through all the three periods of time or some unchanging witness of all , there can be no human dealing involving remembrance , recognition , etc , which are contingent on past impressions that are stored up in conformity with environment , time , and causation .

If the ego-consciousness be ( assumed to be ) unchanging by nature , your doctrine ( of momentariness ) will be set to naught .

Moreover , since the theory of momentariness is upheld equally in Vijnanavada , all the defects arising from momentariness that were leveled ( by us ) against the theory of those ( Buddhists ) who believe in the existence of ( momentary ) external things , viz those shown under the aphorisms starting from ,

" And because the earlier is negated when the later emerges , ( therefore nescience and the rest cannot each be the cause of the next in the series ) . " ( BSB II.II.04.20 )

, are to be remembered in this context as well .

Thus are refuted both these Buddhist points of view — of both those who believe in the external things and those who believe in ( subjective ) consciousness .

As for the view of the absolute nihilist , no attempt is made for its refutation since it is opposed to all means of valid knowledge .

For human behavior , conforming as it does to all right means of valid knowledge , cannot be denied so long as a different order of reality is not realized ; for unless there be an exception , the general rule prevails .

SOURCE | SATYAVEDISM.ORG