ATUL BHOSEKAR

THE CONCEPT OF TIME AND ITS RELATION TO EXISTENCE AS SEEN IN THE MILINDPANHO

During the early period of Indian thought, time (kaala) baffled the Indian thinkers to such an extent that they came to look upon it not only as the cause of the universe but also as an all-pervading principle which governs

everything in it. But as speculation advanced, time came to be considered one of the causes which determine the course of natural phenomena. Early Buddhism, where there is a denial of permanence, the conceptions of change and

causality, time occupied prominent places. Causality (Paticcasamuppaada) is the central philosophy of early Buddhism. In Milindpanho, the debate between Milind, the King and Bhante Nagasena clarifies Nagasena saying that just as the kings carriage is neither its wheels nor its body, nor its axle nor is its pole; similarly man is neither matter, nor form, nor ideas, instincts or consciousness. In Addhanapanha, when Milinda asks what is meant by the word time, Nagasena explains that the past is time, the future is time and the present is time. Explaining further, Nagasena says that time exists to only those with sankhara meaning deeds. Again if the deeds are wholesome, there is non-existence of time. Those beings are said to have reached parinibbana. This is in line with the Buddhist
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principle - He who has overcome the process of becoming also overcomes time, because there is no time apart from the process of becoming. King Milinda further asks the root cause of all times The classic reply from Nagasena which sums up the entire theory of rebirth is Ignorance (avijja) is the root cause of past, present and future times. This leads us to pratitya-samputapada or theory of conditional arising. Nagasena goes on to explain that ignorance gives rise to sankhara or rebirth producing activities. This gives rise to consciousness (vinnana). Consciousness gives rise to mental and physical complex (nama rupa) which give rise to the six senses (salayatana). When these senses feel (phasso), there arise sensations (vedana) which give rise to craving (tanha). Craving leads to clinging (upadana) giving rise to process of becoming (bhava). This leads to rebirth (jati), ageing, dying (jara marana), sorrow (soka), lamentation (parideva), Grief (domanassa) and despair (upayasa). From the above, it is clearly seen that Nagasena has beautifully explained the concept of time of past, present and future. We can see that ignorance of the past has led to a series of events (vinnana, nama-rupa)i.e the present. Again ignorance in the present state (i.e if it is not corrected) leads us another series six senses, sensations, craving and clinging (salaytana, phasso, tanha, upadana). This leads to the future state process of becoming, rebirth, ageing, etc. (bhava, jati, jaramarana, soka, parideva, etc).
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This cycle does not end and continues if proper action is not taken. Like a circle that has no end, similarly this endless time (purima koti) continues. Thus ignorance of the past (time) makes the present (time) exist and due to the present there exists the future (time). Time is constant and ever present to only those who are ignorant; to the one who is aware, time does not exist. Another example given by Nagasena is that of a lamp and flame. The flame is never the same for each moment, though the lamp remains the same. Consciousness is the flame and Kamma (Deeds) is the lamp. In China, a story is circulated for generations Chuang Tzu who lived nearly twenty five centuries ago, dreamt he was a butterfly and when he woke up, did not knew, if he was a man who had dreamt he was a butterfly or he was a butterfly who is now dreaming that he was a man. Schopenhauer said in his table of fundamental truths each fraction of time does not simultaneously fill the whole of space; time is not ubiquitous. Newton too said, Each particle of space is eternal, each indivisible moment of duration is everywhere (Principia, III, 42). Schopenhauer further says in Vorstellung I, there is only the present, not the future nor the past. The latter are only a conception, exists only in the collection of knowledge..no man has ever lived in the past and none will live in future; the present alone is the form of all life and is its sure possession which can never be taken from it
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We also have the European thought prevailing at one time that denied the existence of past, that which already was, and the future, that which is not yet, and the present is not divisible. In this case, if past and future did not exist, then time does not exist. Visuddhimagga illustrates beautifully the life of a living being is exceedingly brief, lasting only while a thought lasts. Just as a chariot wheel while rolling, rolls only at a point (point of contact of tire/wheel) and also resting only at a point; in exactly the same way, the life of a living being lasts only for a period of thought. Further it says that the being of the past moment of thought has lived, but does not live nor will it live. The being of the present thought does live, but has not lived nor will it live. The being of the future thought will live but has not lived nor does it live. This is what was observed centuries later by Plutarch when he said in his De E apud Delphos says, The man of yesterday has died in that of today and that of today dies in that of tomorrow The conception of moving through time has been quite eloquently explained by Zen Master Dogen (1200-1253 AD) When someone rides in a boat, when he looks at the shore, he has the illusion that the shore is moving. When he looks at the boat under him, he realizes the boat is moving. In the same way, when one takes things for granted with confused ideas of mind-body (nama-rupa), one has
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the illusion that ones mind and nature are permanent; but if one pays close attention to ones own actions, the truth that things are not self will be clear (The Issue at Hand). Dogen has noted both the impermanence of self in relation to our perception of time. While we may think that time is passing, in reality it is actually we that are moving. Like the boat, our minds provide a vantage from which we observe this moving nature. From this subjective view, our relative notion of present, past and future become created. Conclusion: The concept of time in Modern Physics is to reduce all phenomena to mathematical law as and within that framework, time is understood as a homogenous series of quantitative points that measure motion. In Milindpanho, we find that time is not only an objective phenomenon, but it is more subjective to individual thought process and that time exists because of our own creation. Our ignorance leads us to events whose deeds have made up our past and the present deeds would make up our future. Thus it is rightly said, that if we cease to be ignorant (and become aware), we would be able to break the cycle of time and attain nibbana where time stands still.

References: MilindpanhoT.W.Rhys David

Zen for 365 Daysedited

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The Story of Philosophy, Will Durant Visuddhimagga, Pratityasamutpada.CITS, Sarnath