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(F) THE DOCTRINE OF SOUL' ACCORDING TO VĀTSIPUTRIYAS. 225
The following argument has been urged by the opponent:-" It has been declared by the Blessed Lord as follows-'O Bhikelchus, I am describing to you the Burden, the Taking up of the Burden, the Throwing up of the Burden and the Bearer of the Burden; the term 'burden 'stands for the five constituent thought-phases, the 'taking up of the Burden for satisfaction (pleasure), the 'throwing up of the Burden for Liberation, and the Bearer of the Burden for the Pudgalas'.-Now, how do you explain this ? Certainly the 'Beurer of the Burden' cannot be the same as the 'Burden' itself."
The answer to this is supplied by the following
TEXT (349)
THE MENTION OF THE BEARER OF THE BURDEN' AND SO FORTI IS MADE WITH THE Aggregates, ETC. IN MIND ; AS REGARDS THE PARTICULAR DENIAL, THAT IS OF USE AGAINST THOSE WHO HOLD
THOSE VIEWS.-(349)
COMMENTARY.
The Thought-phases that appear at the same time, when meant to be spoken of collectively, come to be called aggregates'; when these appear at the same time, in the forın of Cause and Effect, they come to be called a * series or Ohain'; and when they are used as the basis of conception as a single concept, they come to be called by such names as members of the Series' and 'Components of tho aggregate ' -and it was with those nggregates in mind that the Teacher spoke of the Bearer of the Burden'; and there is thus no incongruity in this.
The term 'etc.' in the expression "aggregates, etc. includes the Series and the term and so forth in the phrase 'Bearer of the Burden and so forth stands for the Burden and the rest.
Thus then, those same Thought-phases which are spoken of as 'aggregate, series' and the like, are spoken of as 'the Pudgala, the Bearer of the Burden, as in common parlance it is this to which the name 'Padgala' is applied. It is for this reason that the Blessed Lord has described the Pudgala in the following words - What is Puigala, the Bearer of the Burden 1-having asked thus, He goes on— It is that which, O Long-lived one, bears such and such a name, belongs to such and such a caste, to such and such a clan, takes such and such food, feels such and such pleasures and pains, and lives so long'. Thus being of the nature of the ' aggregate of thought-phases, the Pudgala should be understood to be only ideally excistent, and not as an Eternal Substance, as postulated by others; it was with a view to show this that the Lord used the above words. It has to be accepted as true; otherwise, as the
Burden', etc. also have been spoken of as something different from the Thoughe-phases, (in the passage under reference), these also, like the Pudgala, would have to be regarded as not included among the Thought-phases. Thus it is clear that those preceding Thoughe-phases themselves which operate
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