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DIGNĀGA'S CRITICISM OF THE SAMKHYA THEORY OF PERCEPTION
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recognized as effects of three gunas. According to the Samkhya doctrine, sensible objects, such as sound etc., are to be reckoned as effects (kārya) of three guņas, which in their original forms are very subtle and imperceptible.36) Now,) if (three gunas, i. e.,) sattva etc. should be considered to be no other than sound etc., these latter, being effects indistinguishable (from three gunas), 37) would not be regarded as effects, while sattva etc. would not deserve to be called causes. This consequence, however, is inconsistent with the following statement of the Samkhyas, which they put forth with a view to proving that sattva etc. are considered as causes of sound etc. :-) "With the explanation that sattva manifests itself as the effect apprehensible as the sound, it is established that sattva is) the essence of sound, (or that the sound is sattvic,) "38) and so on. Further, inasuch as cause and effect are of indistinguishable nature, (the sound is as well identical with rajas or tamas according as it is rajasic or tamasic. The conclusion, therefore, will be) either that sattva, (rajas and tamas) are identical with each other or that the sound itself is differentiated into many (in accordance with sattva etc. being discriminated from each other.) It was in view of taking, on this wise, (some alternatives) into consideration that we used the term possibly' in the above passage: " the conclusion would possibly be that sound etc. are not recognized as effects (of three gunas).”
36) SK, k. 34 states that five sense-organs have both subtle elements and gross elements for their objects, buddhindriyani teşām pañca visesavisesa-visayani, STK, ad. k. 34: višeşāḥ sthūlah sabd'adayaḥ śānta-ghor a-müdhaḥ prthivy-ädi-rūpāh, aviseşās tanmātrāni sükşmāḥ śabd'adayah. Subtle elements are perceived only by the sage, and are imperceptible to normal senses. In gross elements which comes within the range of normal senses, natures of three gunas are distinctly manifested. For example, the wind (väyu) is pleasurable (sukha) or sattvic for the man suffering from heat, painful (duhkha) or rajasic for the man suffering from cold and stupefying (moha) or tamasic when it raises heavy dust, cf. Gauda pada-bhasya and Mathar a-vrtti, ad. k. 38. As sound etc. are of the nature of gross elements, they are recognized as manifestations of three gunas, and in this respect we may regard three gunas as causes (kārana) and sound etc. as their effects (karya).
37) V: tha mi dad pași lus kyi sgra. Perhaps kärya was misread as kāya. The word corresponding to it is found neither in K nor in J.
38) Jinendrabuddhi quotes the following passage from a Sāmkhya text: 'gan brjod pa' ses pa la sogs pas ni rgyu nid du khas blans pa gsuns te / "sñin stobs sgrahi hbras bur bśad nas sgrahi bdag nid du gnas pas ni / rdul dan mun pa dag sgra las byun bahi ched du hjug par þchad par byed do // rdul sgrahi hbras bur bśad nas ses pa la sogs pa thams cad sna ma bșin no // ḥdi ni khyad par te / rdul gyis sñin stobs dan mun pa dag sgrahi dños pohi ched du hjug par byed do // mun pa ni sñin stobs dan rdul dag sgra la yod pahi ched du rnam par hjog par byed do" ses paho / cf. J. 65a, 7-65b,1 (73b, 3-5). K: thams cad hbras bu sgra snan nas... 'thams cad' (=sarva) is obviously the misrendering of sattva (=snin stobs).
