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Anekanta : Philosophy of co-existence
true. They are distinct, though predicable of the same entity. The distinctness of the two is unambiguously demonstrated in the following words of Gautama addressed to the upholders of heterodox doctrines. O beloved of Gods, we never speak of being as non-being and non-being as being. We affirm being of the concept 'everything exists' and non-being of the proposition 'nothing exists'. The implication is that being is true as being and non-being is true as non-being. In other words, being and non-being are both real. It is interesting to note here that it is exactly these two propositions which were advanced by two rival Buddhist schools, viz. the Sarvāstivādins and the Mādhyamika Sūnyavādins. The implication of the above dialogue is the rejection of absolute being and absolute non-being, and acceptance of the synthesis of the two as concrete aspect of any entity. Being and non-being are also explained as possessed of their definite place and value in the above dialogue. The Concomitance of the Permanent and the Impermanent 'Is it true, O Lord!' asked Gautama, 'that the unstable changes while the stable does not change, the unstable breaks whereas the stable does not break? 'Yes, Gautama! This is exactly so.' A substance is the co-existence of the unwavering and the wavering, the stable and the unstable. It is immutable and mutable both. The soul is immutable and as such it never
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