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 Buddhist doctrine of momentariness: A surve...
: Asserted that only the present moment is real; past and future are mere mental constructs. The smallest partless unit of time in which
The doctrine was not present in the earliest discourses of the Buddha, which were more pragmatic about change. It emerged as a systematic theory during the and was later refined by prominent scholars such as Vasubandhu , Dignāga , and Dharmakīrti . and Dharmakīrti .