俱舍論頌疏論本 12.4

12.4

The commentary says: The upper line posits them, and the lower line explains them. The paramāṇu is the minimal extreme of form. The kṣaṇa is the minimal extreme of time. A single syllable (akṣara) is the minimal extreme of a name. That is, analyzing forms down to a single paramāṇu is the minimal extreme of form. Analyzing names down to a single syllable is the minimal extreme of a name. Analyzing time down to a single kṣaṇa is the minimal extreme of time. A single-syllable name is like uttering the name 'go' (ox). Question: "What is called a kṣaṇa?" Answer: "The instant in which, all conditions assembling, a dharma acquires its own substantial nature (svabhāva). Another explanation: or it is a moving dharma traversing one paramāṇu. Another explanation: the masters of the Abhidharma have said: 'Just as in the instant of a strong man's rapid snap of the fingers there are sixty-five kṣaṇas; such is called the measure of one kṣaṇa.'"