Dharma Teachings

26 Dec 2025 Friday 1st Teach Total 4562

What Is Time?What

The definition of time is the process of the functioning of mental phenomena (citta-dharma) and material phenomena (rūpa-dharma). The concept used to indicate the length of this process is called time. In other words, the duration of material changes is called time. For example, an infant born for one month is called a full moon, and one month is time. After being born and growing for one year, it is called the first birthday, and one year is also time. In reality, these are merely stages in the infant's growth and development; essentially, there is no such thing as time. Whether it's one second, one minute, one hour, one day, or one year, ten years, or twenty years after birth, it all refers to the growth process of the infant's physical body. There is no intrinsic entity called time; time is a passively manifested concept. This defines time based on material phenomena (rūpa-dharma). If time is defined based on mental phenomena (citta-dharma), then it is divided according to the degree of a person's mental maturity. Periods associated with lower cognitive levels are called infancy, childhood, and adolescence, while periods of mature mentality and higher cognitive ability are called adulthood, middle age, old age, and so on, with many names. The perception of time's speed and length is determined by whether the mind is settled or unsettled, emotions are stable or unstable, and whether one is leisurely or hurried. The more settled, stable, leisurely, comfortable, and pleasant the mind is, the less time one perceives. Conversely, the more unsettled the mind, the longer the perceived time. Some say that time now seems to have stopped or stands still; this is actually because the mind has stopped moving and no longer discriminates external objects, so the time manifested by external objects naturally cannot be perceived. In truth, there is no such thing as time. Discussions about time moving or not moving are idle talk (prapañca), just like discussing how tortoise hair or rabbit horns are—all are idle talk. We perceive time by looking at clocks. The combination of the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand on a clock displays time. Without these hands, there is no time; with these hands, there is still no time. Fundamentally, time is indicated by the position of the sun in the sky. Without the sun, there is no time; with the sun, there is still no time. When the sun emerges from the horizon, humans define this state as the morning of a day, and since the temperature is relatively low, they define the state of the rising sun as morning. When the sun ascends to the overhead position in the sky, humans define it as noon. When the sun descends below the horizon, humans define it as evening. Thus, one complete cycle of the sun's movement is defined by humans as one day. By counting the number of these solar cycles, they define ten days, half a month, months from one to twelve, one year, two years, and so on. All durations of time can only be manifested based on material phenomena (rūpa-dharma); there is no real entity called time.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings

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