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TATTVĀRTHA SŪTRA
Answer : Not to give up the general and the specific nature that is one's—that means eternal; while retaining one's own nature not to assume a nature that belongs to some other verity—that means being immutable. For example, the verity jīva never gives up its general nature of the form of being a substance and its specific nature of the form of being conscious—this constitutes its being eternal. And while not giving up its above nature it never assume the nature of the verity ajīva—this constitutes its being immutable. The idea is that not to give up one's own nature and not to assume the nature of something else—these two aspects are common to all substances whatsoever. Of these, the first aspect is called being eternal, the second being immutable. When the substances are declared to be eternal what is indicated is that the universe is ever-lasting, when they are declared to be immutable what is indicated is that they are mutually un-mingled. That is to say, these substances even while subject to change ever retain their own characteristic nature and even while standing by the side of one another they are untouched by the characteristic nature of one another. That is why the universe is beginningless and endless while at the same time the number of the fundamental verities belonging to it ever remains constant.
Question : When the ajīva entities dharmāstikāya etc. are substances and are also fundamental verities, then they must be having some svarūpa or other. Why then are they declared to be arūpa or devoid of rūpa ?
Answer : Being devoid of rūpa does not here mean being devoid of svarūpa; for even the verities dharmāstikāya etc. must possess some svarūpa—that is, nature—or other. For had they been devoid of a svarūpa they would have turned out to be nonentities like the horn of a horse. When mention is here made of arūpitva or the character of being devoid of rūpa what is denied is mūrti. So rūpa here means mūrti. And mūrti means either the emergent configuration of colour etc' or 'the collective of the properties colour, taste, smell and touch.' Mūrti thus understood is absent in the four verities dharmāstikāya etc.—this
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