BUDDHIST CONCEPTUALIZATION OF TIME: FROM THE THEORY OF MOMENTARINESS (KṢAṆIKAVĀDA) TO THE SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM (KĀLACAKRA)
Олена Калантарова
Fìlosofìâ ta upravlìnnâ. February 19, 2026 DOI: 10.70651/3041-248x/2026.2.15 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical-philosophical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Keywords | Temporality Conceptualization Rationality Doctrine Phenomenology philosophy Buddhist studies Buddhist philosophy Epistemology Causality physics Trace psycholinguistics |
| Key points | Argues that the Buddhist concept of time developed from the theory of momentariness in Abhidharma to a cyclical, multi-layered temporality in the Kalachakra tradition, shaped by four key turning points in Buddhist rationality. |
Abstract
Despite the intensification of dialogue between Buddhism and Western science within the framework of interdisciplinary research in phenomenology and the cognitive sciences, a systematic approach to the Buddhist philosophy of time remains underdeveloped, which limits the scope for comparative analysis. This article attempts to trace the development of the Buddhist concept of time, from the theory of momentariness (kṣanikavāda) from Abhidharma to the Tantric teaching on cyclical and multi-layered temporality (Kālacakra). The study was based on a historical-philosophical analysis of the formation of Buddhist rationality within the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This perspective made it possible to overcome the methodological limitations of interpretations of Buddhist temporality exclusively through the prism of causality or theories of thought. Static analysis made it possible to identify the radicalisation of the theory of momentariness in the Hinayana schools (Vaibhashika and Sautrantika) and the deconstruction and phenomenologisation of time in Madhyamaka and Yogacara. Dynamic analysis made it possible to identify four key turning points in the development of Buddhist rationality – idealistic, epistemological, trans-empirical and post-canonical – and their influence on the transformation of the concept of time and the integration of the doctrine of momentariness into the tantric model of cyclical time, formulated in the Kalachakra tradition of the doctrine of time. The findings of this study contribute to broadening the methodological basis for dialogue between Buddhism and Western science.
Comparable studies
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| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |