—  938.— 
-cognises»  iu  order  to  express  the  fact  that  a  cognition  (takes  place  in  the 
present  moment)  which  has  a  cause  (in  the  former  moments,  these  former 
moments  being  called  Devadatta).  (But  is  it  simple  people  alone  whose 
language  is  so  inadequate?).  Great  men  have  likewise  condescended  to  denote 
the  (mentioned  facts)  by  such  (inadequate)  expressions,  when  they  were  pleased 
to  use  the  language  of  common  life. 
Vatsiputnya.  But  we  read  in  Scripture:  ((consciousness  apprehends». 
What  is  consciousness  here  meant  to  do? 
Vasubandhu.  Nothing  at  all!  (It  simply  appears  in  coordination  with 
its  objective  elements,  like  a*  result  which  is  homogeneous  with  its  cause). 
When  a  result  appears  in  conformity  with  its  own  cause  it  is  doing  nothing 
at  all,  nevertheless  we  say  that  it  does  conform  with  it.  Consciousness 
likewise  appears  in  coordination  with  its  objective  elements50.  It  is  (properly 
speaking)  doing  nothing.  Nevertheless  we  say  that  consciousness  does  cognise 
•  its  object. 
Vatsiputnya.  What  is  meant  by  coordination  (between  consciousness 
and  its  objective  element)? 
Vasubandhu.  A  conformity  between  them,  the  fact  owing  to  which 
cognition,  although  caused  (also)  by  the  activity  of  the  senses,  is  not  some- 
thing homogeneous  with  them.  It  is  said  to  cognise  the  object  and  not  the 
senses.  (It  bears  the  reflection  of  the  objective  element,  which  is  his  eorro- 
lary).  And  again  the  expression  ((consciousness  apprehends»  is  not  inadequate, 
inasmuch  as  here  also  a  continuity  of  conscious  moments  is  the  cause  of  every 
cognition.  (((Consciousness  apprehends»  means  that  the  previous  moment  is 
the  cause  of  the  following  one).  The  agent  here  also  denotes  simply  the  cause, 
just  as  in  the  'current  expression  «the  bell  resounds»,  (the  bell  is  doing 
nothing,  but  every  following  moment  of  sound  is  produced  by  the  previous 
one).  (We  can  give)  an  other  (illustration):  ((consciousness  apprehends»  si- 
105,  a.  6.  milarly  to  the  way  in  which  a  light  moves. 
Vatsiputnya,  And  how  does  a  light  move? 
Vasubandhu.  The  light  of  a  lamp  is  a  common  metaphorical  designation 
for  an  uniterrupted  production  of  a  series  of  flashing  flames.  When  this 
production  changes  its  place,  we  say  that  the  light  has  moved,  (but  in  reality 
other  flames  have  appeared  in  another  place).  Similarly  consciousness  is  a  con- 
ventional name  for  a  chain"  of  conscious  moments.  When  it  changes  its  place 
(i.  e.  appears  in  coordination  with  another  objective  element)  we  say  that 
it  apprehends  that  object.  And  in  the  same  way  we  are  speaking  about  the 
existence  of  material  elements.  We  say  matter  «is  produced»,  «it  exists»,  but 
