The doctrine functions through several key philosophical mechanisms:
Continuity is an illusion created by the rapid causal link between these moments ( santāna or "continuum"). Just as one candle flame appears stable but is actually a series of distinct combustions, the world is a stream of causally connected momentary entities. The Buddhist doctrine of momentariness: A surve...
The ( kṣaṇikavāda ) represents a radical interpretation of the fundamental concept of impermanence ( anitya ). While early Buddhism taught that all things are subject to change and decay, the later formal doctrine of momentariness posits that all existence is atomized into discrete, momentary events that vanish as soon as they arise. While early Buddhism taught that all things are
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 The Buddhist doctrine of momentariness: A surve...
The doctrine is largely absent from the earliest sutras, which focused on the fluidity of change rather than specific "mind moments".