Bodhicharyavatara Chapter 9, Stanzas 138-142

In these verses Rinpoche continues to explicate Shantideva’s refuting of the Samkhya philosophy, through arguing the stance of the Buddhist Madhyamika school. The Samkhya suggest that all we name as phenomena has the result or fruit within the seed or cause. However if that theory is explored, if we decide that the result already exists in the cause, we must deduce that everything is static, immovable unchanging, as well as that, they say, only the most learned are able to detect the fruit truly existing within the seed. It is not visible to ordinary deluded mind which is why we cant see it.

This Samkhya view doesn’t correlate with the Madhyamika philosophical understandings which are that all phenomena are interdependent and therefore empty, that they are continually evolving and changing and created by many causes and conditions arising from the coming together of the five elements; earth water fire air and space. The Samkhya argument that the Madhyamika view is just another concept is one with which Buddhists concur, but they also point out through examples that their teachings provide the possibility for the mind to think differently and be open to the truth of emptiness, which the understanding of interdependence and causes and conditions provides.

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