Abhidharmakosabhasyam, Volume IV

1348 Chapter Nine
the taste of earth?"
One expresses oneself thus with a view to distinguishing: in
other words, one wants to indicate that certain smells, tastes, etc.,
are what is termed "earth," not other smells or tastes which are
termed "water." In the same way, one designates a certain thing as
being "the body of a wooden statue" indicating by that that it is of
wood, and not of baked clay. 143 ***
If the soul produces the consciousnesses by reason of the
variety of the samskdras, why doesn't it produce all the consciousnesses
at the same time?
[The Vaisesikas:] Because the strongest samskdra opposes the
weakest samskdra in producing its result. And if the strongest
samskdra does not constantly produce its result, it is for the same
reason that you have given in explaining the traces (vdsands)
abandoned by the consciousness in the series: we think that the
samskdras are not permanent and are subject to change.
But then of what use is a soul? Diverse consciousnesses would
be generated by the diverse force of the samskdras, since there is
no difference in nature between your samskdras and our vdsands. 144
[The Vaisesikas:] One cannot do without the soul. Memory,
the samskdras, etc., 145 are things {padarthas) that are termed
"attributes" {guna)\ these attributes must of necessity have for
their substratum, or support {dsraya), a "substance" {dravya) and,
among the nine substances (earth, etc.), the soul, since it is
inadmissable that memory and the other mental qualities would
have for their substratum any substance other than the soul
(namely earth, etc.), since the soul alone is intelligent.
But this system of substances and attributes is not proved. [You
say that memory, the samskdras, etc., are things included within
the category of "attributes" and are not substances: we do