Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c7.s2.t13.12

c7.s2.t13.12

Candrakīrti, in support of Nāgārjuna's arguments, quotes a passage from the Aṣṭasāhasrikā (p. 479), in which Buddha and his dharma are compared to māyā or svapna, but at the same time he says "we do not assert the non-existence (nāstitva) of the Tathāgata in every way, for then we would be guilty of apavāda (denial), and yet being desirous of describing the Tathāgata by means of vyavahāra-satya (conventionally) and by taking recourse to super-impositions (samāropa) we say that he is śūnya or aśūnya, or śūnyā-śūnya or naiva śūnya nāśūnya. But he who endeavours to realise the true Tathāgata by having recourse to statements and denials will never know him. Candrakīrti in support of this quotes the verses from the Vajracchedikā, to which the Aṣṭasāhasrikā also refers, viz., “he who endeavoured to see me through my form and voice could not see me because