Verse 688

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

क्षणं त्वेकमवस्थानं स्वहेतोरेव जातितः ।
पूर्वपूर्वप्रभावाच्च प्रबन्धेनानुवर्त्तनम् ॥ ६८८ ॥

kṣaṇaṃ tvekamavasthānaṃ svahetoreva jātitaḥ |
pūrvapūrvaprabhāvācca prabandhenānuvarttanam || 688 ||

The momentary existence of a thing consists merely in its being produced from its cause; and the ‘continuity in the chain’ also (of every succeeding thing) is due to being produced from each preceding thing.—(688)

 

Kamalaśīla’s commentary (tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā):

It might be argued that—“Even though all things are momentary, as each of them would exist for a moment, and would continue in the continuous ‘Chain’,—it is in regard to this that the Quality in question is said to function”,—then, the answer is as follows:—[see verse 688 above]

Momentary things are admitted to exist only as being produced from their causes; and what is called their ‘sthiti’, ‘status’, consists only in their acquiring their own selves,—and not in their taking up their form subsequently to their having acquired their status; as by themselves all things are momentary, and hence incapable of staying at any time subsequent to their coming into existence.—Or, if the thing did so exist, it would never cease to exist, it should be there as before; and even subsequently, it would remain the same; or else, it would have to renounce its own nature.—In the ‘Chain’, the production of each succeeding Product is due to the immediately preceding cause. So that even here, there is nothing that could be done by the Momentum in question.—(688)