"No, sir," said Kūtadanta. "In one sense it is not the same flame, but in another sense it is the same flame. It burns the same kind of oil, it emits the same land of light, and it serves the same purpose."34
"Very well," said the Buddha, "and would you call those flames the same that have burned yesterday and are burning now in the same lamp, filled with the same kind of oil, illuminating the same room?"35
"They may have been extinguished during the day," suggested Kūtadanta.36
Said the Blessed One: "Suppose the flame of the first watch had been extinguished during the second watch, would you call it the same if it burns again in the third watch?"37
Replied Kūtadanta: "In one sense it is a different flame, in another it is not."38
The Tathāgata asked again: "Has the time that elapsed during the extinction of the flame anything to do with its identity or non-identity?"39
"No, sir," said the Brahman, "it has not. There is a difference and an identity, whether many years elapsed or only one second, and also whether the lamp has been extinguished in the meantime or not."40
"Well, then, we agree that the flame of to-day is in a certain sense the same as the flame of yesterday, and in another sense it is different at every moment. Moreover, the flames of the same kind, illuminating with equal power the same land of rooms, are in a certain sense the same."41
"Yes, sir," replied Kūtadanta.42
The Blessed One continued: "Now, suppose there is a man who feels like thyself, thinks like thyself, and acts like thyself, is he not the same man as thou?"43