In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: tilakkhaa; Sanskrit: त्रिलक्षण, trilakaa) of all existence and beings, namely impermanence (aniccā), non-self (anattā) and unsatisfactoriness or suffering (dukkha). That humans are subject to delusion about the three marks, that this delusion results in suffering, and that removal of that delusion results in the end of suffering, is a central theme in the Buddhist Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.
According to Thích Nhất Hạnh, the three seals are impermanence, non-self and nirvana. He says in "The heart of the Buddha's Teaching" that "In several sutras the Buddha taught that nirvana, the joy of completely extinguishing our ideas and concepts, rather than suffering, is one of the Three Dharma Seals. +more
Description
The three marks are: * sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā - "all saṅkhāras (conditioned things) are impermanent" * sabbe saṅkhārā dukkhā - "all saṅkhāras are unsatisfactory" * sabbe dhammā anattā - "all dharmas (conditioned or unconditioned things) are not self"
In the Mahayana Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra however, four characteristics are described instead of three:
* impermanence (anityākāra) * suffering (duḥkhākāra) * emptiness (*śūnyākāra) * selflessness (anātmākāra)
In the sutra "The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara" Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā these four marks are defined as:
* all compounded phenomena are impermanent (anitya) * all contaminated phenomena are suffering (duḥkha) * all phenomena are without self (anātman) * nirvāṇa is peaceful/peace (śānta/śānti)
In the Samyukta Agama a different formulation is made, in which the Buddha taught impermanence, nonself, and nirvana as the Three Dharma Seals. Here nirvana replaces dukkha as the Third Dharma Seal:
* nirvana - "The joy of completely extinguishing our ideas and concepts, rather than suffering, is one of the Three Dharma Seals."
Explanation
Anicca
Impermanence (Pali anicca, Sanskrit anitya) means that all things (saṅkhāra) are in a constant state of flux. Buddhism states that all physical and mental events come into being and dissolve. +more
Dukkha
Dukkha (Sanskrit duhkha) means "unsatisfactoriness, suffering, pain". The dukkha includes the physical and mental suffering that follows each rebirth, aging, illness, dying; dissatisfaction from getting what a being wishes to avoid or not getting the desired, and no satisfaction from Sankhara dukkha, in which everything is conditioned and conditioning, or because all things are not experienced as impermanent and without any essence.
Anatta
Anatta (Sanskrit anatman) refers to the doctrine of "non-self", that there is no unchanging, permanent Self or soul in living beings and no abiding essence in anything or phenomena.[a] [b] [c]
While anicca and dukkha apply to "all conditioned phenomena" (saṅkhārā), anattā has a wider scope because it applies to all dhammās without "conditioned, unconditioned" qualification. Thus, nirvana too is a state of "without Self" or anatta. +more
Application
In Buddhism, ignorance of (avidyā, or moha; i. e. +more
Gautama Buddha taught that all beings conditioned by causes (saṅkhāra) are impermanent (anicca) and suffering (dukkha), and that not-self (anattā) characterises all dhammas, meaning there is no "I", "me", or "mine" in either the conditioned or the unconditioned (i. e. +more
Correspondence with Pyrrhonism
The Greek philosopher Pyrrho traveled to India with Alexander the Great's army, spending approximately 18 months there learning Indian philosophy from the Indian gymnosophists. Upon returning to Greece Pyrrho founded one of the major schools of Hellenistic philosophy, Pyrrhonism, which he based on what appears to have been his interpretation of the Three marks of existence. +more
"Whoever wants to live well (eudaimonia) must consider these three questions: First, how are pragmata (ethical matters, affairs, topics) by nature? Secondly, what attitude should we adopt towards them? Thirdly, what will be the outcome for those who have this attitude?" Pyrrho's answer is that "As for pragmata they are all adiaphora (undifferentiated by a logical differentia), astathmēta (unstable, unbalanced, not measurable), and anepikrita (unjudged, unfixed, undecidable). Therefore, neither our sense-perceptions nor our doxai (views, theories, beliefs) tell us the truth or lie; so we certainly should not rely on them. +more
Philologist Christopher Beckwith has identified the three terms used here by Pyrrho - adiaphora, astathmēta, and anepikrita - to be nearly direct translations of anatta, dukkha, and anicca into ancient Greek.
Buddhist philosophical concepts
Buddhist eschatology
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