DESCRIPTION

‘How long is a minute?’ Why do we use spatial terms like ‘long’ and ‘short’ to speak of Time? Long before Einstein and Hawkings, Buddhist thinkers such as Dōgen and Nāgārjuna had already noted the inextricable relationships between Space and Time. This presentation is an overview of these Buddhist conceptions of Time; from kṣaṇas, the ‘nano-seconds’ used to measure the arising and passing away of mental states, to kalpas, the longest measurement of time, which is immeasurable. In this way, Time will be explored in terms of chronology, the elapsing or passage of Time, and in terms kairology, specific instances or moments of Time.

Suggested Reading

Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origins by Akira Sadakata (Tokyo, Kosei Publishing Co., 1997) Ch. 4 - The Cosmos and Time, p. 93

For a description of the contraction and expansion of ‘time’ in terms of life-span, see the Cakkavatti-sīhanāda Sutta (’The Lion’s Roar on the Turning of the Wheel’) DA 6 / DN 26

Basic units of Time

kṣaṇa (1/75th second) = the time it takes for a dharma to arise when all the appropriate causes and conditions have been met.

tat-kṣaṇa = 120 kṣaṇas (about 1 second)

lava = 60 tat-kṣaṇas (about 1 minute)

muhūrta = 30 lavas (about 48 minutes)

aho-rātra = 30 muhūrtas (24 hours, day)

māsa = 30 aho-rātras (month)

saṃvatsara = a year