August 21, 2026

The Illusion Of Time

The trouble is, you think you have time.

Jack Kornfield included this saying, traditionally attributed to the Buddha, in his 1994 collection, Buddha's Little Instruction Book, drawn from his years as a monk in Thailand and later decades teaching meditation in the West. The line names a common illusion: that there will always be more time to speak the kind word, forgive the old grudge, or begin the practice we keep postponing. In the Eastern wisdom tradition, remembering impermanence is not meant to produce anxiety but to sharpen presence, showing that grasping at endless time is itself a form of attachment. Non-attachment asks us to care fully today, to act and love and pay attention now, while releasing the demand that tomorrow arrive on our schedule. This is the open hand: fully engaged with the present, not clenched around guarantees about the future.

A principle of Eastern Wisdom: Non-Attachment →