: Asserted that only the present moment is real; past and future are mere mental constructs.
: Later incorporated momentariness through commentaries like Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga , particularly to explain how karma continues across the threshold of death. Philosophical and Ethical Implications
: We perceive stable objects (like a table or a person) because the series of moments ( santāna ) occurs too fast for ordinary perception to detect the breaks, similar to how a movie film creates the illusion of smooth motion.
The smallest partless unit of time in which a phenomenon arises and perishes.
: Buddhist logicians argued that only momentary things are real because real existence requires the ability to produce an effect. A permanent, unchanging entity would be causally inert and therefore non-existent. Historical Development
The "no-self" doctrine supported by momentariness, denying an unchanging core in beings. Criticisms from Rival Schools