2.1 Summary
The earth has form, taste, smell, and touch.
The water is a smooth fluid that possesses form, taste, and touch.
The effulgence has form and touch.
Possessing the sense of touch is the Air.
These (form, taste, smell, and touch) are not perceived in space.
The remains of clarified butter, wax, and honey - by union with fire, gains "liquid-ness", because of their generality, i.e. common property. The tin, lead, iron, silver, and gold - by union with fire, liquid-ness is formed by generality, i.e. common property. Poison of the scorpion, rabbit dwelling on the outskirts, cow-ness of the cow - are the visible distinguishing marks.
Similarly, touch is the distinguishing mark of Air that is invisible (adr̥ṣṭa). Air is a substance with the absence of 'substance-ness'. Based on action-ness and quality-ness, Air is a substance. As Air is devoid of substance-ness, it is said to be continually existent. As Air gets mixed with Air, multiplicity is its distinguishing mark. Even when Air is in proximity, there is an absence of direct perception. Hence, it appears, seeing is not its distinguishing mark. Air's perception property is a generality, as it is without distinction. Such is the traditional convention with respect to Air.
Indeed, Name and Action are its distinguishing marks that bring out particularity. As Name and Action, by its nature of being, are directly perceptible. Exit and entry are the distinguishing marks of the space ('ākāśasa'). Substance-ness or action alone does not distinguish it. Space is not distinguished for substance-ness as it causes another to adhere to a particular nature. Space is not distinguished for action because of absence of contact or association.
It has been observed that perceptible attributes of the cause precede perceptible attributes of the effect. Difference in the effect is due to the absence of the manifestation of sound and touch, because of the absence of their perceptible attributes. Elsewhere, the effect is due to its inherent nature being perceptible, and not because of its own essential perceptible attributes, nor because of the perceptible attributes of the mind.
The residue after the effect, i.e. sound, is the distinguishing mark of the space. It is said that the permanence of substance-ness is because of air. The reality of principle is because of the being coming into existence.
The sound is the special distinguishing mark of the space, because of the absence of other special distinguishing marks.
By following this method, we establish the separate distinctiveness of those substances.
