Buddhist Philosophy in India and Ceylon c15.s2.3

c15.s2.3

The *Milindapañha*² shows us a clear advance of interest in the question of time. Milinda questions Nāgasena in detail on this point, and is informed that there is past, present, and future time; time which exists and time which does not exist. This is explained in the sense that there are dispositions (*saṃkhāra*), which are past in the sense of having ceased to be, or having been dissolved, or altogether changed; to them time is not. But there are also conditions which are now producing their effect, or have in them the potentiality of producing effect, or which will otherwise lead to re-individualization; to them time is. When there with three different views of the nature of the perception of an object. (1) All its characteristics are represented in thought form and so apprehended; (2) thought form is of the total actual presentation only, e. g. of variegated colour as such; (3) all aspects of the object are presented in thought, but it synthesizes them in one view, e. g. the different colours are made one; Wassilieff, *Bouddhisme*, pp. 275 f.