noun
living only for the moment; carpe diem attitude
Describes a philosophy or attitude of prioritizing immediate pleasure or experience without concern for the future. Often used critically or self-deprecatingly.
彼の刹那主義な生き方にはついていけない。
I can't keep up with his live-for-the-moment lifestyle.
若い頃は刹那主義で、貯金なんて
When I was young, I lived only for the moment and never even thought about saving money.
享楽主義 emphasizes the pursuit of pleasure as a principle, while 刹那主義 focuses on the temporal aspect of living only for the present moment, often with a nuance of impermanence.
その日暮らし refers to a hand-to-mouth existence, living day by day without savings, whereas 刹那主義 is a broader philosophical stance about embracing the moment.
Compound of 刹那 (setsuna, 'moment, instant', from Sanskrit kṣaṇa) and 主義 (shugi, 'principle, -ism'). The term reflects a Buddhist-influenced concept of the transience of time applied to a modern attitude.