Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c7.s3.t20.13

c7.s3.t20.13

(2) The Sarvāstivādins then take up a second argument, found also in the *Visuddhimagga*,¹ which inquires why it has been stated in the *Samyukta Āgama* (31.12) that "of all dharmas, constituted or unconstituted, virāga (detachment) is the best". If a dharma be non-existing, how can a statement like the above be made? The Sautrāntikas explain this by asserting that they admit its existence, as they admit that a sound which has no existence before it is produced and after it has died away. The quotation praising "virāga" may well refer to a non-existent unconditioned thing, the absolute non-existence of everything evil.