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CXII
FOREWORD
Refutation.
1. Destruction is of two kinds: one consists in the entity itself being changed every moment, while the other is complete disappearance of a thing (Dhvamsa). We also accept that destruction has a cause, as others do, but in the first case, as the thing of a previous moment gives rise to a similar thing in the next, this kind of destruction is called causeless. In the second case the destruction cannot be called a special event which takes place only at times. This destruction is non-existent, as a lotus of the sky. Only the disappearanace of an entity is called destruction, and it is not a different thing as others hold. So there is no difficulty if we hold that everything is momentary and that destruction also is causeless.
2. One of the two different kinds of destruction consists in the disappearance of momentary things. This also has a two-fold aspect: viz., the disappearance of one kind of momentary things and its giving place to a dissimilar kind of momentary things. This first disappearance has no cause. The second kind of destruction takes place when one kind of momentary thing completely disappears and another kind of momentary thing takes its place. This kind of destruction have causes and assisting conditions. For example, when a pot is smashed with a stick into pieces then the momentary pot of the last moment with the help of the stick etc. gives rise to the pieces in the next moment.
3. There is nothing which is eternal, such as space, etc. If it is necessary to accept them they must also be accepted as momentary. Things are said to exist only when they are able to produce the expected effects, otherwise they are non-existent. The eternal things, if existent, must necessarily produce all effects at once and not one after another in succession, because they have the power to produce an effect. If these eternal entities expect the help of assisting conditions to produce an effect then it must be explained in what capacity they are assisting the material cause. If they create a power in the eternal thing then that power should be considered as the cause of the effect and not the eternal thing. Because
