Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Nonrepetitive Time

This blog post doesn’t really have a main focus or question. I am trying to recap the reading in preparation for the essay. I have some questions regarding nonrepetitive and repetitive time.
The Buddhist notion of time and space is deeply engrained in samsara and has realms that are regulated by karma. Time, in both our world and the world, is fueled by intentions and driven by desire. In some way, time in Buddhism parallels Hindu yugas -- both are expansive and without beginning (the specific yugas end and begin, but as I understand the yugas are still subject to samara, and if samsara is endless, then so is time within the yugas themselves). Both traditions also ascertain that the realms are populated with beings that have specific karmic pasts. In the chapter, “Past and Future Buddhas,” Collins mentions a text called The Lion’s Roar on the Wheel-turning King, that defines karma as the residue of past actions, thus “everyone [. . .] lives according to their (past) deeds, rich and poor, happy and unhappy, attractive and unattractive, long lived and short lived” (Collins 135). Collins mentions time in relation text, but he does so in a way that to me seems to negate these concepts of time.

Collins says:  “The va ̇msa texts – every time they are recited and retold – recount a linear historical narrative; but in doing so they both express and embody the repetitive interweaving of timeless nirvanized Buddhahood with the texture of all time, past, present, and future.” The biographies al the twenty-four buddhas, Collins mentions, might create the illusion that “repetitive time is dominant in the Buddhavamsa” however, “non-repetitive time is emphasized throughout in a variety of ways, notably by a striking simile” (Collins 141). The image of a river as the cycle of death and rebirth and of sand/shore as nirvana is what this metaphor is referring to. He also states that “in this context it is not merely a general ‘river of time’ that is contrasted with timeless eternity, but one of non-repetitive time… here position Buddhas and the opportunities for salvation they provide in a linear, irreversible sequence” (143). I am a little confused regarding this point-- as I have understood it, time is not linear because it has no beginning, yet it does have an end, but only an end in the realization and attainment of nirvana. “Opportunities for salvation” would be both radical action (in terms of committing to the the path) but also everyday actions, i.e. karma, whose good effects can be irreversible. How does nonrepetitive and repetitive time relate to karma and samsara / did they mention this in the reading and I somehow missed it?

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