Page:Henry Mulford Tichenor - The Buddhist Philosophy of Life.djvu/36

 34 Thus does reasoning cease and knowledge remain; mental activity ceases, but experience, and all the fruits of our acts endure."

Kutadanta said: "Tell me, where, if the sankharas (the elements of body and mind) are dissolved, is the identity of my self? If only my thoughts are propagated, and if my soul migrates, my thoughts cease to be my thoughts, and my soul ceases to be my soul. Where is the identity of my self?"

The Teacher said: "If a man were to light a lamp would it burn all night?"

"It might do so," answered Kutadanta.

The Teacher asked: "Is it the same flame that burns in the first watch of the night as in the second?"

Kutadauta replied: "Yes, it is the same flame." Then, on second thought, he said: "No, it is not."

"Then," said the Teacher, "there are flames, one in the first watch, and the other in the second watch."

"In one sense," answered Kutadanta, "it is not the same flame, in another sense it is. It burns the same kind of oil, it gives the same kind of light, it serves the same purpose."

The Teacher said: "Would you call those flames the same that have burned yesterday, and are again burning today in the same lamp, filled with the same kind of oil, illuminating the same room? Suppose the flame of the first watch had been extinguished during the second watch; would you call it the same if it burns again in the third watch?"