with the skandhas.  It is also clear  that the sutta

　　   was  ultimately   meant  for  the  'Saa'svatavaadins

　　   themselves.

　　　　  ii) a)The Po.t.thapadasutta and the rejection of

　　   Satkaayad.r.s.ti:   this   sutta   starts   with   a

　　   discussion  of  the  rising  and  the  cessation  of

　　   perception   (sa~n~naa   or  abhisa~n~na)  and  then

　　   follows it up with a judgement  about the problem of

　　   identity  between  the soul and perception.  We will

　　   just  have  a glimpse  of the discussion  as it will

　　   help us to understand the nature of perception.  The

　　   Buddha  gave a gradual  discoures  on the higher and

　　   higher stages of perception leading to the summit of

　　   perception  ( sa~n~naggam) and then to the cessation

　　   of perception (nirodha).  Except the final stage, at

　　   every other  stage  a perception  of a lower type is

　　   replaced  by  a perception  of  a higher  type.  The

　　   Buddha  showed  that  a certain  type  of perception

　　   arose  due  to a cetain  type  of thinking, a cetain

　　   type of mental training.  When the thinking  ceased,

　　   the perception  also ceased.  With the cessation  of

　　   all thoughts, the possibility  of the rising  of any

　　   new perception comes to an end.

　　　　  Next  Po.t.thapaada  raises  the  question  of a

　　   soul.  "Is perception  the soul of a man, Sir, or is

　　   perception  one thing  and soul another?" The Buddha

　　   asked, "What, now, Po.t.thapaads, do  you  assume  a

　　   soul?" "I presume  a gross  soul sir, material, made

　　   of four great elements, feeding on solid food". "Yet

　　   if your  soul  were  gorss, Po.t.thapaada, material,

　　   made of four gross elements  feeding  on solid food,

　　   in that case for you perception  would be one thing,

　　   soul another. Just let this gross  soul be, Po.t.th-

　　   apaada, for then a man's  perception  occurs  as one

　　   thing, ceases as another thing".  Po.t.thapaada next

　　   proposes  to  assume  a  mental  soul, with  perfect

　　   faculties, complete  in its faculties.  The Buddha's

　　   objection  remains  the same: perception  would then

　　   occur  as one  thing  but  cease  as another  thing.

　　   Lastly  Po.t.tapaada  proposes  an immaterial  soul,

　　   consisting  of  perception.  The  objection  of  the

　　   Buddha is still the same.

　　　　  The denial of the identity  between the soul and

　　   perception  is based  on the  following  pattern  of

　　   reasoning.  If the soul is material  like body, then