which, in  this  present  life, is  impermanent,  is

　　   blended  of happiness  and  pain, and  is liable  to

　　   begin and end.  Wherefore, Aananda, it follows  that

　　   this  aspect-'My  soul in feeling'-does  not commend

　　   itself."

　　　　  The passage  in question  rejects  the view that

　　   the individual soul is feeling. The daily experience

　　   of people  shows that the feeling  is impermanent, a

　　   blending  of  happiness  and  pain, and  subject  to

　　   origination  and destruction.  This characterisation

　　   of feeling will be, in the main, also acceptable  to

　　   the  Ekaccasassatavaadins,  for  they   as  we  have

　　   already noted, accepted the idea that the created is

　　   impermanent.   The  feeling   so  characterised   is

　　   different  from  soul.  The soul thus appears  to be

　　   permanent, beyond  origination  and destruction, and

　　   experiencing unmixed happiness. It is identical with

　　   one of the skandhas.

　　　　  This concept  of attaa  is, in all its essential

　　   features, identical  with that held by the logicians

　　   among the Ekaccasassatavaadins who also believed the

　　   individual  soul  to be eternal, and identical  with

　　   one of the skandhas belonging to the sphere of mind.

　　　　  It is to be noted that the Buddha is denying the

　　   Ekaccasassatavaada not on the strength of the law of

　　   pa.ticcasamuppaada  or any other Buddhist dogma.  It

　　   is obviously  because  his  invoking  of the  higher

　　   knowledge  would  cut no ice with the non-Buddhists.

　　   He  is,  on  the  other   hand,  showing   that  the

　　   philosophy  under  criticism  suffers  from internal

　　   contradiction, and hence  untenable.  He shows  that

　　   the  Ekaccasassatavaada   concept   of  feeling   is

　　   diametrically   opposed  to  the  Ekaccasassatavaada

　　   concept  of soul, and so the view that  the soul  is

　　   identical with feeling

　　　　　　　　　　　　  p.419

　　   is to be discarded.

　　　　  The  Mahaanidaanasutta   passage  supports   our

　　   conclusion that the Buddha also taught his disciples

　　   how to defeat the upholders  of the attaa heresy  in

　　   debate.  Here the Buddha is teaching  Aananda how to

　　   refute  the  view  of the  Ekaccasassatavaadins.  In

　　   other words his teaching is ultimately meant for the

　　   followers of the Ekaccasassatavaada.

　　　　  iv) The  mahaanidaanasutta  rejects  an atypical