The History of Buddhist Thought c25.58

c25.58

The meaning of the verse is that in Nirvāṇa without a remainder there is non-existence through the utter disappearance of things, whether the depravities, karma, birth, or the skandhas. This all schools admit. Now things which are in Nirvāṇa do not exist at all. They are like the fear of a rope mistaken for a snake, which disappears when a light is brought in. As for existence in *saṃsāra*, fools and common people who believe in a self and selfhood are like people suffering from ophthalmia who see unreal hairs and flies floating before them.”