“The Buddha is recorded as saying that anyone who gets rid of taṇhā (ignorant desire) is someone who eats time. Usually it’s time that devours; it devours people and all other living things. But anyone who puts an end to desire, that one turns around and eats time, which means that time becomes a small matter, something to smile at, an inconsequential matter that can’t eat or bite us. If there is desire, there will be time too, and then time will bite. If desire is ended, there’s no time, and one turns and eats it,which means one makes time pass away by not giving it meaning. Then it’s as if there’s no time, as if we live above it...”

Commonly Misunderstood Buddhist Principles #3. Translated from the Thai by Dhammavidū Bhikkhu. Revised edition published by Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, 2016.