The Illusion of Time

The chapter begins by challenging our basic perception of time as a concrete, independent reality. Although time appears as an absolute container for events, profound insight can see through this illusion, leading to freedom and existential mystery. Recognizing the emptiness of time is said to also reveal the emptiness of awareness and undermine the reification of all phenomena. This profound understanding opens avenues for deeper tantric or imaginal practices due to the interconnectedness of time's emptiness with the voidness of all things.

Initial Insights into Time's Emptiness

The first steps towards realizing the emptiness of time often occur during simple mindfulness meditation, where one recognizes the constructed nature of past and future through thought. A deeper inhabitation of the present moment may feel liberating, as past and future appear illusory, leaving only the reality of the present. Yet, to see through this and realize the full emptiness of time—including the present—is essential for radical liberation. This understanding hints at a deeper exploration of dependent origination.

Two Analytical Meditations

This moment is neither one nor many

One meditation approach is to examine whether the present moment is one indivisible entity or composed of many parts. If it were one, it would have to be either divisible into parts or not, and both options lead to contradictions: divided, it becomes many; indivisible, it becomes non-existent. Thus, neither one nor many, the present moment cannot inherently exist.

Diamond slivers

Another approach involves the logic presented in Nāgārjuna’s verse about how nothing arises from itself, another, both, nor without a cause. Applying this to the present moment exposes the impossibility of its inherent arising and, by extension, of its inherent existence. Each possible mode of the moment's arising proves untenable, leading to the understanding that neither the moment of time nor consciousness can have inherent existence.

Time and Mutual Dependency

Interdependent notions

Analyzing 'past', 'present', and 'future' shows that they are interdependent and cannot exist independently, making the existence of one without the others illogical. Seeing time as dependent on clinging illuminates how our conception of time fluctuates with the degree of craving or aversion we experience. As clinging is reduced, the perception of time diminishes, leading to experiences of timelessness.

Self, things, time

The perception of time is also intertwined with the notions of self and objects, and all three notions are co-dependent and fabricated together in the act of perception. When the significance of objects and self is reduced through insight practices, so too is the sense of time. All three—self, things, time—are shown to rely on each other for their fabricated existence.

Beyond 'Permanent' and 'Impermanent’

Realizing the emptiness of time adds depth to our understanding of the emptiness of objects. Objects aren’t only empty because they are mind-dependent; they are also empty because there's no real time for their perception to exist in. This emptiness also applies to the concepts of arising, abiding, and ceasing, and ultimately leads to the conclusion that neither permanence nor impermanence can describe the true nature of things, which are dependently arisen and thus empty.

Practice: Approaches to the emptiness of time

Several practices can be employed to understand the emptiness of time:

• Releasing clinging may reveal the dependence of time on self and clinging.
• Analytical meditations can deepen the insight into time's emptiness.
• Understanding the mutual dependence of objects, self, and time can be applied in practice to deepen insights.

In meditative practices, focusing on the present moment and employing various reasoning techniques or insights into the mutual dependencies can reveal the emptiness of time, self, things, and even consciousness. As the conviction in time's emptiness strengthens, it can be used to further explore the voidness of other phenomena. Ultimately, the text encourages a multifaceted approach to deepen and validate the insight into the emptiness of time.