"Jpn.， lit. 'one moment of consciousness （nen）， ten thousand years'; this expression of Mahayana Buddhism， in which the number ten thousand simply means a limitlessly large number， refers to the experience common to mystics and saints of all cultures that in the world of enlightenment there is no time （or space） in the everyday sense.

Thus from the point of view of enlightened consciousness， 'one moment of consciousness is eternity， eternity is the same as a moment of consciousness."'

See also Ten Thousand