Question

Is time real? I've heard that people who got enlightened see, feel and experience past, present and future in the same moment.

Answer

From the stories in the scriptures when the Buddha and some other enlightened people got enlightened they were able to see into the past. The Buddha also had the ability to see into the future. Very few of the other enlightened people actually had this ability from what I have read. So we could say that the Buddha himself, at any moment whenever he wanted, he could see into the past, he could see into the future and he would also be right here. So according to Buddhism it is true that some people who are enlightened can see, feel and experience past, present and future at the same time, same moment so to speak.

As to, "Is time real?" what do we call real? Time is, we can say time is, but real? This is what we are trying to find out, isn't it? What is and is not real? Sometimes when you think about it, blink your eyes and the retreat will be over, so to speak. Think back to last week, were you eating pizza one night, I don't know? Where is it, that time, that experience? Is any of this actually real? This is basically what we are trying to find out. What is real, and what is not real. We can understand that this existence is not going to give us ultimate happiness because it's always changing, it's always changing. So in that way it is not a real ultimate happiness but since it isn't, then what is? That's what we are working to try to find out.

Our apologies if there are any errors in the above text. If anything seems to be wrong or confusing in any way, please feel free to contact the teachers for further clarification.