21.7 Of Phenomena (KV21.7)

Controverted Point: That all things are by nature immutable.

Theravādin: Do you mean that they all belong to that Order of things, by which the wrong-doer is assured of immediate retribution on rebirth, or to that other Order by which the Path-winner is assured of final salvation? Is there not a third congeries that is not fixed as one or the other? You deny. But think. Surely there is? You assent. Then you contradict your proposition. And you must do so, for did not the Exalted One speak of three congeries?

You affirm as your reason that matter is fixed as matter, and that mind (or each mental aggregate) is fixed as mind. Well, then, under which of those three congeries do you find them fixed?

Andhaka, Uttarāpathaka: But if I may not say that matter, or mind is fixed as matter, or mind respectively, tell me, can body become mind, can become one of the four mental aggregates, or conversely? Of course not. Surely then I am right.

The Points of Controversy, an English translation of the Pali Abhidhamma Kathāvatthu. Translated by Shwe Zan Aung and C.A.F. Rhys Davids. First published by Pali Text Society, 1915.

This SuttaCentral edition was prepared by Manfred Wierich and Ven. Vimala and proofread by Josephine Tobin. Some changes were introduced:

Abbreviations, i.e., those of cited works and the participants in the controversies, were expanded.

Cross-references were linked.

Some typographic changes were introduced, among others, i.e.: the phonetic symbol “ŋ” was changed to the Pāli diacritical letter “ṃ”, “ô” to “o”, single quotes to double quotes, and “:—” to “:”.

Letter-spacing with fixed spaces was replaced with bold font.

The corrigenda were merged into the text. Some could not be resolved, though.

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