The king said: ‘These three, Nāgasena—perception, and reason, and the soul in a being—are they all different both in letter and in essence, or the same in essence differing only in the letter?’

‘Recognition, O king, is the mark of perception, and discrimination of reason, and there is no such thing as a soul in beings.’

‘But if there be no such thing as a soul, what is it then which sees forms with the eye, and hears sounds with the ear, and smells odours with the nose, and tastes tastes with the tongue, and feels touch with the body, or perceives qualities with the mind?’

The Elder replied: ‘If there be a soul (distinct from the body) which does all this, then if the door of the eye were thrown down (if the eye were plucked out) could it stretch out its head, as it were, through the larger aperture and (with greater range) see forms much more clearly than before? Could one hear sounds better if the cars were torn away, or smell better if the nose were cut off, or taste better if the tongue were pulled out, or feel touch better if the body were destroyed?’

‘Certainly not, Sir.’

‘Then there can be no soul inside the body.’

‘Very good, Nāgasena!’