Spotted here:
“The trouble is, you think you have time.” – Buddha
— Black Royalty™ (@royallayn) June 14, 2012
This is another one from Jack Kornfield’s Buddha’s Little Instruction Book (1994), which isn’t a collection of Buddha quotes, but is Jack’s rather lovely interpretation of Buddhist teachings.
According to the publisher:
Just as the serene beauty of the lotus blossom grows out of muddy water, Buddha’s simple instructions have helped people to find wholeness and peace amid life’s crisis and distractions for more than 2,500 years. For this small handbook, a well-known American Buddhist teacher and psychologist has distilled and adapted an ancient teaching for the needs of contemporary life. Its practical reminders and six meditations can infuse smallest everyday action with insight and joy.
It’s a lovely book, although the title has led many people to think that its contents are quotations from the Buddhist scriptures. In some cases that appears to be so, but most of the aphorisms seem to be Jack’s own thoughts.
This is an odd one, though. I’m not actually sure what it’s saying. I recently wrote some thoughts to someone who asked me about this quote:
“The trouble is that we think we have time.” This suggests we don’t have time. What is it we don’t have time for? The quote doesn’t say. I certainly hope I have time to get enlightened. Of course I don’t know how much time is available to be, but if I’m being told that I don’t, in fact, have time, then what’s the point? Is it suggesting that we don’t have time *to waste*? That’s true, but not having “time to waste” is not the same thing as not having time.
Or is the quote trying to say that time is not a thing we can have or possess? That’s true, but the wording of the quote, if that’s what it’s meant to convey, could be clearer, since I don’t think most people would read it that way.
It’s a rather confusing quote. It appears to mean something, but the more I look at it the less it means.
I think that this particular quote may be an example of what Daniel Dennett has called a “deepity.” Here’s an adaptation of Wikipedia’s account of that term:
Deepity is a term employed by Dennett in his 2009 speech to the American Atheists Institution conference, coined by the teenage daughter of one of his friends. The term refers to a statement that is apparently profound but actually asserts a triviality on one level and something meaningless on another. Generally, a deepity has (at least) two meanings; one that is true but trivial, and another that sounds profound, but is essentially false or meaningless and would be “earth-shattering” if true.
It seems to me that Mr. Kornfield is referring to the urgency to get to one’s spiritual work. That is mainly meditation. Enlightenment comes in stages and it takes seeing clearly. To see clearly one must first see through the illusion of ego, mine and that of everyone else. Reality is concept and concept is mostly false. When trying to see through it the ego keeps serving up self serving concepts that can appear to be enlightenment but, are nothing more than the next delicious drama. So, as one does their work they continue to cut through the layers of concept.
One of the issues is that the world will not support your efforts to be free, to become enlightened, as they say (which may be another ego trip). So, in large part you walk this path alone. You must sit with your own junk in the reality of the now without the luxury of a fantasy with which to escape for the millionth time. Once this is done, in silence focusing on the breath, real progress can be made. But, if progress is the goal then the ego will create and progress illusion. So, sitting with no agenda, no goal, is the only way. Sitting for the purpose of sitting. Trusting the universe to provide without knowing or caring what is to be provided.
It’s hard work at times that requires dedication, especially since there is no expectation of a payoff. The ego want’s a goal to get drunk on. But, if you surrender to the wishes of the ego you’ll find yourself an old person who has accomplished exactly nothing in an entire lifetime. Lots and lots of old people on this planet are unenlightened. Look and you can see. Which leads back to the Kornfield quote “The trpuble is. you think you have time”. You don’t.
Nice essay, but it doesn’t shift my opinion that this particular quote is pretty but not very meaningful.
I agree ~ it’s confusing. It does set up a paradox though because of its confusing nature but it’s total ambiguity cancels out any real meaning or teaching. Someone posted this quote and I thought it was puzzling and that’s how I got here. So maybe its purpose it to set of an enquiry
It basically just needs some kind of context.
For me, it speaks to the idea of mindfulness, and is a reminder to aspire to be fully aware in each moment, and to move authentically throughout each moment, and to not put off that which you need to do “because you have time,” or because you’ll “do it later.”
We all have intellectual/emotional/spiritual growth to do, and learn from that growth and share that knowledge. Putting off that growth is a mistake.
It means that we always put things off today and wait till tomorrow cuz we think we have time for that. Then eventually you get to a point in your life when you wish you had done many things earlier on in your life cuz it’s all coming to its finally and it’s too late to do the things you wished.
To me it means that you could die in the next instant: heart attack, freak accident, whatever. A friend’s father who was active tripped over backwards while playing tennis (he was in very good shape) and hit his head on the hardcourt and was instantly comatose and died. Another’s mother was violently slaughtered. Another was
So don’t put off the important things that you think you’ll have the time to do/deal with later. Live in the moment, live in the now do not waste time on that which is beyond your control/impact and do not be mean: you may not have time to apologize. Live each moment like it’s your last. Do not put off making time to spend with loved ones — they may not have time either.
For me it’s a more succinct way of saying “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are” but with the imperative of do it NOW not later.
I’ll get married later (I still have time)
I’ll have kids later (I still have time)
I’ll make that up to them later (I still have time)
The trouble is, you think you have time.
Understanding the nature of time is an essential Buddhist principle. Time was born in the Big Bang, according to astrophysicists, and beyond (not before) that event, it has no meaning. Time is a conceptual framework relating to the observed dynamics of change in the physical world. The differences between observation A and observation B is what we perceive as time. But, as Einstein has shown, it is relative and therefore dependent.
The past is simply the sum of one’s memories, which are mental re-presentations of an experience one is still clinging to. If you suffer total amnesia, guess what else is obliterated? The past. Being dependent on memories, which are mental constructs, the past is also conceptual.
The future is a projection of this process into the looming unknown and is also, obviously, a product of one’s imagination.
The present, however, is not dependent on one’s mental conjuring. While the past can be forgotten and the future never arrives, the present never goes away, which makes it timeless. Infinity is not a never-ending supply of minutes, but rather no time at all.
So you actually do have time, but it is only a superstructure of thought and illusory in the face of the Absolute. Enlightenment is identification with the timeless Absolute rather than the time-bound relative. According to Buddhism, sentient beings are already always enlightened. The trouble is, you think you have time.
This was posted by a FB friend last night and I found it on my wall this morning. It may not be an actual Buddha quote and may not have meaning for everyone, but it was a strong message for me this morning in dealing with a very important relationship issue that I have been avoiding with my father. So, sometimes the most simplistic of ‘deepity’ does have value.
Like many things, it’s what we make of it. The quote’s presumably meant to remind us not to waste time and to make use of the time we have available to us, and that’s how we should use it. If you take it to mean that, then it’s obviously useful.
Now think about improving your relationship with your father: the trouble is, you think you have time. Now it’s maybe not so useful. You don’t have time to improve things? Well, maybe, maybe not. I suppose this is what they mean by “over thinking”
So can someone tell me the actual quote by Buddah?
Well, in this case I don’t think there is an orignal quote, and that Jack wasn’t quoting the Buddha, but expressing a Buddhist concept in his own words. He may have had in mind the words of the Zen teacher Dōgen: “Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take Heed! Do not squander your life!”
I’ve thought of this one ever since I read it on a meme on Facebook; and did question whether it came from the Buddha.
No matter, it got me thinking a lot.
It was very striking, though and has made a difference ever since I read it.
To me, it feels like we are constantly considering time, and allow it to control us a lot. We use time to not finish through with things, to put things off OR to use it to punish us and rush around like chickens with our heads cut off. What if we took out the use of time so much? I think we have to live in reality, and we live in time, but we could use it in a more positive way? Or not allow it to enslave us?
Just my ten cents worth.
I’m really glad I found your blog, because I was very suspicious of that quote when I saw it floating around on Pinterest, as much as I liked it.
It is definitely a fortune-cookie saying. I agree with you that it is ambiguous, but I also had this instantaneous response to it, personally. For me it says I don’t have time to wait for things to happen to/for me, that I don’t have time to do nothing, or time to spend frivolously on things that aren’t important. I don’t know if that’s the same thing as “time to waste,” necessarily, and it didn’t carry a sense of urgency for me. But I don’t know that I would have had this response if I hadn’t already suspected all of this. A person that is burdened with urgency and a feeling that there is no time at all would probably get a much more sinister message.
the answer is in the very sentence be it the original Buddha’s thought or not. “The trouble is you think you have time”. “THINK.” Once you start THINKING you have time or thinking about time, delaying things and putting them in the perspective of time instead of doing them right away, you are already late.
So many interpretations, so little time.
When the nurse called & asked if I was on my way to the hospital since my mother was very close to death, I flew up the freeway at 119 mph. Through the adrenaline and fear, I heard my mind say “There is no more time.” In a flash, I saw that I live half-heartedly, holding back, because, like a chronic procrastinator, I don’t push myself to really “go for it” until it is deadline time. I was lucky that day and arrived minutes before she died and was blessed to receive and give communication with her. I am profoundly sad, however, that my mind has succeeded in deluding me again since then and I have resumed my familiar spot waiting in the corner of my life. This thread has sparked a desire to inquire within as to what fear causes me to think that procrastinating to live and relate fully is in my best interests. Blessings to you, Bodhipaksa, and all for triggering this remembrance and desire to free myself.
I’ve heard similar sentiments from other buddhist teacher’s. I take it to mean that we think we have plenty of time so we can put off spiritual pursuits. The reality is we don’t know how much time we have and even a long life flies by very quickly. Thus, we need to apply ourselves diligently right now and not procrastinate if we wish to make meaningful use of our fortunate rebirth as a human who has encountered the Dharma and has enough leisure with which to practice it. It’s pretty straightforward really (at least once you understand the context)
The thing is, there has to be a context. “The trouble is, you think you have time for…”
I suppose the quote leaves the “for…” to your imagination, but it just doesn’t work for me as it stands.
“Strike while the iron is!” — is a similar type of saying that I actually did find in a fortune cookie — once you are gone the iron is not…
I agree with the interpretation of the Buddhist proverb: if we admit we,
haven’t time to waste,” then the question becomes one of priority. Despite our most reasoned attempts our priorities constructively, ultimately that same set of priorities gets ordered by fate.
We are not in control, therefore, we do not control time.
This puts me in mind of two of my favorite Buddhist proverbs/aphorisms (gee, at least I hope they’re genuinely Buddhist) about time:
Live every day like your hair was on fire. (I’ve seen this attributed to Wumen Huikai)
and
Sitting silently, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself. (I’ve seen this attributed to Basho)
The first one is based on something the Buddha is reported to have said: “Just as when a person whose turban or head was on fire would put forth extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, undivided mindfulness, & alertness to put out the fire on his turban or head, in the same way the monk should put forth extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, undivided mindfulness, & alertness for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskillful qualities.” That’s in the Maranassati Sutta. You’ll notice that the Blessed One tended not to be pithy…
The same image is found, more concisely, in the Theragatha, although there of course it’s not spoken by the Buddha: “…as if his head were on fire,
a monk should live the wandering life — mindful — for the abandoning of sensual passion.”
I don’t know whether the second quotation is by Basho or not…
Thanks for clarifying that. This is a great service you’re providing. The same thing needs to be done for quotations in other areas, especially philosophy, history, politics and literature. There are all sorts of attributions being made on the internet that are just nonsense.
the first thing that popped into my head on reading this for the first time was ‘be here now.’ Plus, the sort of negative approach of the sentence structure didn’t strike me as Buddhaesque.
….same here guitargold, it triggered ‘be here now’ for me too….’the trouble is you think you have time’….so?…..I’ll be here later! Busy just now, being asleep….love ‘bhuddaesque’ and ‘deepity’……the joys of language. The FB meme triggered my question….why ?? if I say I wish to ‘be’ do I allow the flow of least resistance? More egowallow …..another newy!
When I read this quote – I felt a pressure in my chest. Am I not to focus on the Now? Am I not to be present? Am I “supposed” to be doing something and wasting my life by not doing “That”? This immediately did not feel like anything the Buddha would ever say. That’s why I Googled the phrase, asking who on earth said this? The only meaning I can find that feels right – is that Thinking within the abstract framework of Time – is our only Trouble. It pulls us out of the Now – out of our peaceful awareness – into a concept that somehow our life is not right – is in trouble – as it Is.
In other words… No – We do not have Time. Time is an abstract measure superimposed on existence. All we ever truly have is the present moment. If we think in terms of Time – and are so silly to believe that it is something we can Have or need to control by using it correctly – We surely are in trouble – and focusing outside the present moment – and therefore we are wasting they only life we do have.
For me it’s an awesome but simple phrase.
“The problem is, you think you have time.”
It’s just about the common sense that we will have time to solve our problems later, that we will have time to ask for forgiveness another time, that we will have time to be happy later … and the problem is that we always think that we will have time.
Thank you for all the insight…very helpful to gain some clarity in this very hectic and unclear world we live in.
Once we get beyond the fact that the Buddha didn’t say it, which is obvious and shouldn’t take much intellectual exertion, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s ambiguity and lack of context are precisely what make it a bold, beautiful statement. It borders on poetic.
“You think you have time” could be interpreted one of two ways. There is the obvious interpretation, that life is precious, that everything is temporary and you don’t have time to waste on meaningless activities that don’t make the world a better place. And a second, equally valid reading would imply that time in an illusion… that all you have is this moment, and that you must strive walk the the razor’s edge of the present in order to awaken.
It’s the paradoxical nature of the statement that makes it so powerful.
Not a big Kornfield fan. Curious if there is any context whatsoever for the quote as it appears in the book. But no curious enough to find out. Just surprised no one has pointed to the illusory nature of temporal experience yet.
Unless you bothered to read the TL;DR essay that serves as the first comment, if you go in for that sort of thing. You know, long-winded wordy arguments to state simple concepts, what’s the word, pontifications. I probably shouldn’t be on this forum…ta ta
The book is just a collection of sayings, so there’s no real context for the quote.
When a canoeing instructor says “the problem is we don’t have a paddle” do you need context? He’s a meditation teacher and he’s referring to the time it takes to get enlightened before we die… become extcinct …become an X-meditator … a deceased practioner… joined the choir invisable, as John Cleese might have said if the Monty Python Parrot sketch was about meditators.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npjOSLCR2hE
At which point we won’t be doing a whole lot more meditating.
So you’re saying the message of the quote is that we don’t have time to get enlightened? In that case we’re up the creek without a paddle…
This quote doesn’t seem to be authentic Buddha. If you read Buddha you don’t find a man in a hurry. Buddhism seems to be all about slow steady practice, while this quote seems to imply action at a fast pace or you miss the bus..
And yet: