ABSTRACT
The Sarvästivädins propose to define sa1!Jskrta-dharma as a dharrna whose essence (svabhäva) consists of the four marks (Iak$al)a) of all conditioned things: arising, abiding, decaying, ceasing. Thus, for the Sarvästiväda, these marks are svabhävic, i.e., the essential factor or essence of sal11skrta. The Ch 'eng wei-shih lun refutes these claims and then says: I
Dharrnas, then, are what come in and out of existence, as Nägärjuna wrote (äjana1!J-javi-bhäva upädäya pratitya). The four marks are nominal labels. The text continues:4
n
J1 n l {l
qIskr 1
m J1
Hence these four marks of conditioned dharmas are simply terms for indication (ming-piao ;ß3\ü; and yet they may indicate different [things]. They may be the nomi!1al four marks of a k$anika (moment), or for any length of temporal duration nominally established.
