Thus, here only the reasoning of the equality of dharmas in being without production1
is explained. The intention being that, by virtue of that, the other types of equality will be easily understood. As master Nāgārjuna sets forth in the beginning of the Middle Way Treatise:
Not from self, not from other,
Not from both, nor without a cause
Are entities ever produced
At any point as anything.2
Ever (jātu) means at any time. The term at any point (kecana) is a locative relative pronoun (‘support’-word) and synonym for somewhere (kvacid), and can indicate location, time, or tenet-system. The word anything is a relative pronoun (‘supported’-word) expressing outer or inner entities. Thus, one could here elaborate the sentence and say, ‘Outer and inner entities are not produced from self with respect to any place, time or tenet-system.’ Here, when it says not (na), this relates to production from self as an argument for existence, and not to being existent, since the refutation of that is implicit. This should likewise be applied to the other three assertions.
Having thus reiterated this fourfold thesis, in order to prove it through reasoning, it was stated:
It can’t come from itself, and how from other things?
Can’t come from both, how could it be without a cause?
The sense of the statement, ‘Not produced from self …’ is as is stated here: ‘It can’t come from self ….’ The remaining statements should be similarly linked.
Title
Chapter 1: Pramuditā
