The History of Buddhist Thought c25.42

c25.42

The “ predominating condition ” is the condition as stated in the general formulation of cause, “ when this exists, that exists.” But as there is no real entity in entities the formula becomes meaningless. The result does not exist in any one of the conditions nor in all of them. Cloth cannot be perceived in the loom, nor in the threads, nor in the shuttle. If from such conditions something appears which was never in them, why does not a result appear from non-conditions ? “ Therefore there is nothing that has a condition, no result without a condition ; as there are no results, how are there any conditions or non-conditions ? ”