Buddhist logicians like Dharmakīrti developed formal proofs for momentariness, arguing that if a thing were not momentary, it would be incapable of causal action.
If an object is destined to perish, that potential for destruction must be inherent to its nature from the first moment of its existence.
The doctrine functions through several key philosophical mechanisms: The Buddhist doctrine of momentariness: A surve...
Change is not the transformation of a persisting object but the qualitative difference between entities in a series. 3. Historical Origins and Early Phase
The doctrine is largely absent from the earliest sutras, which focused on the fluidity of change rather than specific "mind moments". By the time of Vasubandhu (approx
Rather than time being a continuous flow, phenomena are dissected into a succession of discrete entities.
By the time of Vasubandhu (approx. 4th/5th century CE), the doctrine had reached a high level of sophistication, providing a systematic defense against competing Brahmanical schools that argued for persisting substances. 4. Philosophical Proofs and Objections 2. The Mechanics of the Doctrine
In early Buddhist thought, impermanence was a pragmatic observation of the transience of life. However, as Buddhist philosophy evolved—particularly within the Sarvāstivāda and Sautrāntika schools —this observation was systematized into a rigorous metaphysical theory. The core proposition is that an entity does not merely change; it ceases to exist entirely after one "moment" ( kṣaṇa ), giving rise to a successor that is nearly identical but numerically distinct. 2. The Mechanics of the Doctrine
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