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EXAMINATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF SELF-SUFFICIENT VALIDITY'.. 1301
person. That in both of these the cause or source is faultless is pointed out by the present text.
In that Word or Sentence which is eternal, there can be no defects relating to the Speaker or the Hearer; because such words and sentences are always preserved by Teachers and Students.
That Word or Sentence which is uttered by a reliable Person,--there also the presence of defects is rendered impossible by the presence in him of such excellences as those of Compassion and the like.
The faultlessness of the eternal Word is proved in another way also Or when there is no maker of the Word, etc. etc.'-Defects, such as Love and Hate, etc. are properties of men, and as such they could reside only in the Maker ; hence, when there is no substratum, in the shape of the Maker, how could they affect the words that have not emanated from a personal source ? If they did, they would be without a substratum ; because it is an essential feature of the subsistent that it must follow in the wake of the substratum.(2886-2888)
Says the Opponent-In the case of the words of the trustworthy person, if their validity be held to be due to the fact of all defects being discarded by the excellent qualities of the Person,-then the validity would be due to those excellent qualities (not to the Cognition itself) ; so that the Infinite Regress would continue to vitiate this view.
The answer to this is as follows :
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TEXTS (2889-2890). "IN THE CASE OF THE WORDS OF THE TRUSTWORTHY PERSON, TWO FACTS HAVE BEEN PERCEIVED: (1) THAT THERE ARE NO DEFECTS, AND (2) THAT THERE ARE EXCELLENCES ;—THAT VALIDITY IS NOT DUE TO THE EXCELLENCES HAS ALREADY BEEN EXPLAINED BEFORE ;-AND ON ACCOUNT OF THESE EXCELLENCES IN THE SPEAKER, THERE CAN BE NO DEFECTS IN HIM, THESE BEING DISCARDED BY THE EXCELLENCES. THUS THE VALIDITY BELONGS TO THE WORD ITSELF,-AND IS INDICATED BY THE ABSENCE OF THE DEFECTS.”—(2889
2890)
COMMENTARY.
Dosābhāva, etc. The compound is to be expounded as—the dvaya' two 'which has for its "ātmā', nature, consisting in the absence of defects and the presence of excellences.
* Explained before '-under Text 2856. * Discarded by them'-.e. by the excellences.
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