To this we say:
But how can mind be there without external things?
This should be investigated. They might reply:
‘It’s like a dream,’ you say. …
‘Someone asleep inside a tiny room might dream that the room is filled with a herd of mad elephants, which is not at all the case. That there can be consciousness in the absence of external objects must therefore necessarily be acknowledged.’
To show that this is completely unfounded, it is said:
… Well, let’s consider that:
How? Well,
For me, in dreams as well my mind does not exist,
Which means that your example is not relevant. (6.48)
The cognition appearing as a herd of mad elephants1
is for us as non-existent as the object itself, because it is unproduced. And when consciousness is non-existent, this example will not be applicable for both of us, and therefore there is no existent consciousness in the absence of external things.
Title
Chapter 1: Pramuditā
