Today's contemplation had to do with fire and firewood. Nagarjuna delivers this argument to refute the claim that the self exists in relation to the aggregates in the same way that fire relates to the firewood. In other words, just as the fire burns the firewood, the self appropriates the aggregates.
If something exists in dependence upon something else,
But that thing upon which it depends
Must also depend upon it,
Then which one of these depends upon which?
The fire can't come before the firewood (the wood being burned), and the firewood can't come before the fire by this definition either. Clearly, they are not independent, but could they be dependent? If they are dependent, then one would serve as the cause for the other, which implies it would have to exist first. But, we just reasoned that this is not the case. So, these are dependently arisen mere appearances. They are like two rocking boats--neither can be used to steady the other (courtesy of Mipham).
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