History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c22.s2.17

c22.s2.17

This static view of the universe is countered by several arguments from human experience and common sense. If souls in a state of salvation retain their old incarnations in latent form the saint must from time to time show characteristics of the boar, and eat filth.⁶ If the passage of time is illusory the food we eat must already be excreta.⁷ The pragmatic argument is also used. The doctrine of unchanging permanency destroys all moral sanctions—the ascetic is still a householder, and may behave as such.⁸ The obvious unreality of the doctrine is illustrated by a number of homely examples. If it be true, ghee is on fire, and the child has already conceived. If all change is illusory, how can the elements rise and fall, as the Ājīvika doctrine itself claims ? ⁹ According to Avicalita-nityatvam a horse trots while still in its stable.¹⁰ How can the ripening of fruit be explained ? ¹¹ How can boats be hollowed from logs, or bowls be beaten from sheets of metal ? ¹² Even words undergo grammatical change.¹³ Causation must exist, for the child will not grow unless its growth is caused by adequate nourishment and care.¹ These examples show conclusively that the school of Ājīvikism treated by this text had a metaphysic very similar to that of the Eleatics.