नासतः, दृष्टत्वात् ॥ २६ ॥
nāsataḥ, dṛṣṭatvāt || 26 ||
na-Not; asataḥ—from non-existence; dṛṣṭatvāt—because this is not seen.
26. (Existence does) not (result) from non-existence, because this is not seen.
The Bauddhas say that from anything that is eternal and non-changing, no effects can be produced; for that which does not change cannot give rise to effects. So they say that the cause undergoes destruction before the effect is produced. The seed undergoes destruction, and then the sprout comes out. In other words, existence springs from non-existence. The Sutra refutes this by saying that if it were so, then the assumption of special causes would be meaningless. Anything might spring from anything; for non-entity is the same in all cases. There is no difference between the non-entity of a mango stone and that of an apple seed. Consequently we could expect an apple tree to come out of a mango stone. If there are distinctions between non-existences, with the result that the non-existence of a mango stone differs from that of an apple seed, and therefore they produce certain definite results, then they will no longer be non-entities, but something positive.