1. By destroying ignorance, Knowledge reigns supreme
Like the wakefulness that destroys sleep.
2. By looking in a mirror, one perceives his own identity;
But that identity was already there.
3. In the same way, [relative] knowledge gives the understanding Of the identity of the world and the Self;
But it is like using a knife To cut another knife.
41 4. If a person enters a house,
And then sets it on fire,
He gets burned along with the house.
If a thief gets into a sack And then fastens it shut,
He is bound along with the sack.
5. Fire, in the process of annihilating camphor, Annihilates itself as well.;
This is exactly what happens to knowledge In the process of destroying ignorance.
6. When the support of ignorance is taken away, Knowledge spreads
To the extent that it destroys itself.
7. As the wick of an oil-lamp burns to its end, The flame flares up more brightly than before.
But this brightness
Is nothing but its extinction.
8. Is the breast of a woman
At its peak of development or beginning to sag?
Is the jasmine bud in full bloom or beginning to fade?
Who can say?
9. The cresting of a wave is but its fall;
The flash of a bolt of lightning Is but its fading.
42 10. Likewise, knowledge,
Drinking up the water of ignorance, Grows so large
That it completely annihilates itself.
11. If the final deluge were to occur, It would engulf all water and space And leave nothing outside of it.
12. If the disk of the Sun
Were to become larger than the Universe, Both darkness and light would merge
In that all-pervading light.
13. Awakening dispels sleep, And then it dispels itself,
Becoming the steady state of wakefulness.
14. In the same way,
That knowledge which shines
By virtue of the existence of ignorance Is swallowed up by absolute Knowledge.
15. This absolute Knowledge is like The intrinsic fullness of the Moon, Which is unaffected
By its apparent waxing and waning.
43 16. Or one might compare It to the Sun,
Which is never illuminated by any other light Nor ever cast into darkness.
17. For that absolute Knowledge also
Is not revealed by another kind of knowledge Or darkened by ignorance.
18. But can that pure Consciousness be conscious of Itself?
Can the eye look at itself?
19. Can space pervade space?
Can fire burn fire?
Can a man climb onto his own head?
20. Can vision perceive itself?
Does taste taste itself?
Can sound listen to itself?
21. Can the Sun shine on itself?
Can a fruit enjoy its own sweetness?
Can fragrance smell itself?
22. Likewise, that which is Consciousness Itself.
Does not possess the quality of being conscious, And is, therefore, not conscious of Itself.
23. If absolute Knowledge required the aid.
Of some other kind of knowledge [to know Itself], It would be nothing but ignorance.
44 24. Light is, of course, not darkness;
But, to itself, is it even light?
25. Likewise, He is neither existence nor nonexistence.
By saying this,
It may seem that I’m saying, ‘He is not’;
26. But, if it were true That nothing at all exists,
Then who would know that there is nothing?
27. By what means might one prove The theory of Nihilism?
It is a totally unjustified imputation To the ultimate Reality.
28. If the extinguisher of a light
Were extinguished along with the light, Who would know that there was no light?
29. If a person ceased to be During the period of sleep,
Who would know that it was a sound sleep?
30. If there is a pot, a pot is perceived,
And if the pot is broken, its brokenness is perceived;
And, if there is no pot at all,
Is not its absence perceived as well?
45 31. It can be seen, therefore,
That he who perceives that there is nothing Does not, himself, become nothing.
The Self has this same unique kind of existence, Beyond both existence and nonexistence.
32. The ultimate Reality
Is neither an object to Itself,
Nor is It an object to anyone else.
Should It then be regarded as nonexistent?
33. If a person falls asleep in a remote forest, He is unperceived by anyone else.
Since he is asleep,
He, too, is unaware of his existence.
34. Nevertheless, he does not become lifeless, Without existence.
Pure Existence is like this also;
It does not fit into the concepts Of ‘existing. or ‘not-existing.
35. When one’s vision is turned inward, One no longer perceives external objects, But one does not therefore cease to exist And to know he exists.
46 36. A very dark-skinned person
May stand in pitch-black darkness;
Neither he nor anyone else may be able to perceive him Still, he certainly exists
And is aware of his existence.
37. However, the existence of the Self Is not like the existence or nonexistence Of a person;
He exists in Himself in His own way.
38. When the sky is clear of clouds, It is without form;
But still the sky is there.
39. In a tank, the water may be so clear That it appears non-existent;
Though one who looks into the tank may not see it, Still, it is there.
40. Similarly,
The ultimate Reality exists in Itself, And is beyond the conceptions Of existence or non-existence.
41. It is like the awakeness that exists When there is neither a remembrance Of the sleep that has vanished
Nor the awareness of its own existence.
47 42. When a jar is placed on the ground, We have the ground with a jar;
When the jar is taken away,
We have the ground without a jar;
43. But, when neither of these conditions exists, The ground exists in its unqualified state.
It is in this same way
That the ultimate Reality exists.
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