The Three Lakshanas Flashcards
What are the three lakshanas?
It means characteristics, signs, marks, basic facts, qualities, attributes.
They are also used to indicate something
Key quotes for the three lakshanas
“Existence can be understood only if theses three basic facts are comprehended and this is not logically, but in confrontation with ones own experience”
“Whether Perfect Ones appear in the world, or whether Perfect Ones do not appear in the world, it still remains a firm condition, an immutable fact and fixed law: that all formations are impermanent, that all formations are subject to suffering, that everything is without a self”. (Nyanatiloka)
“The three marks of existence is important in Buddhism, because it means we start to see things, situations as they really are. Everything is impermanent, suffering is a part of existence (for living things anyway), and nothing exists in and of itself, without dependencies. The three marks of existence is not an idea or theory you have to believe in. Rather it is a way to explore yourself and everything around you. (secularbuddhism.org)”
What is the dhammacakkappavattana sutra?
It can be translated as the account of the first turning of the wheel of dhamma” and it refers to the Buddhas first sermon after enlightenment.
It occurred seven weeks after the Buddhas enlightenment when he meets up with five associates with whom he had previously practised extreme ascetism.
The dhammacakkappavattana sutra is seen as the first teaching the Buddha devliered to anyone.
What does the sutta state of Dukkha?
The Sutta states of dukkha: ‘Suffering, as a noble truth, is this: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; association with the loathed is suffering, dissociation from the loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering - in short, suffering is the five categories of clinging objects.’
What happened in 1993?
In 1993, Bhikkhu Thanissaro translated from the Pali the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta and used the word ‘stress’ for dukkha, which attempts to incorporate not just physical but mental and emotional states of dukkha. The translation reads: Now this, monks, is the noble truth of stress: Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair are stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful, separation from the loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.’
What does peter Harvey translate the same passage as bhikku thanissaro
Professor Peter Harvey translates the same passage thus: “Now this, bhikkhus, for the spiritually ennobled ones, is the true reality which is pain: birth is painful, aging is painful, illness is painful, death is painful; sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, unhappiness and distress are painful; union with what is disliked is painful; separation from what is liked is painful; not to get what one wants is painful; in brief, the five bundles of grasping-fuel are painful’, referring to dukkha as ‘pain’.
How does annica relate Dhammackkappattana
Although the term anicca (impermanence) is not used in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, the idea of change, becoming, decay and rebecoming are key elements of existence and the idea runs throughout the whole sermon. Indeed, it is pertinent that the concept of anicca (impermanence) is recognised by Kondanna, one of the five listening, who immediately upon hearing the Buddha’s words, declares, ‘whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation’, that is, there is not one thing that is permanent in the chain of existence.
This realisation on the part of Kondanna is the first Enlightenment experience after the Buddha’s and marks what is known as the first turning of the wheel of Dhamma.
Key quote for the concepts of Dukakis and annica: with reference to the dhammackkappavattana?
“The moment at which the wheel of dhamma is turned occurs when kondanna develops his eye of dhamma and becomes a stream enterer - this is the point at which the Buddhas teachings bears fruit”
What does svabhana mean
Literally own being referring to a permanent substantial personal essence
What is Dukka
Dukkha is also the first of the Noble Truths. Dukkha is often translated as suffering or ill, although this does not really convey the true breadth of its application to life.
It can be better translated as ‘frustration’ as this incorporates a wider variety of interpretations of the term.
Dukkha may be either physical or mental pain or suffering. However, dukkha is not limited to painful experiences. It is vital to understand that dukkha underpins the very nature of pleasurable experiences as well. This is because dukkha involves an inability to see that things are impermanent and not-self.
Dukkha (Suffering or Unsatisfactoriness):
Meaning: Life involves suffering and unsatisfactoriness.
Explanation: This does not only refer to obvious suffering (like pain and sorrow) but also to a subtle sense of unsatisfactoriness, anxiety, and unease that pervades existence. It stems from the transient nature of things (anicca) and the misapprehension of the self (anatta). Understanding dukkha helps one to recognize the pervasive nature of suffering in life and to seek ways to overcome it.
Exmples: dying, aging etc
What is the concept of annica
Anicca means impermanence. It is the idea that there is no one thing that stays the same. In the immediate world around us appearances can be deceptive.
The universe is in a constant state of flux. A table may appear to be static and yet physics reveals the movement of tiny particles and sub-particles at the subatomic level. A flower appears unchanged from one moment to the next and yet mysteriously it blooms. Analysed at a much deeper level it can be seen that the universe is, in fact, in a constant state of movement. Even the individual person is not the same as they were five years ago. This insight, for the Buddha, was a direct result of the first three sights of sickness, old age and death.
Anicca is a law of the universe and nothing can escape this fact.
As with dukkha, anicca is not limited to just painful experiences. Change is good when a baby grows healthy and strong but change is bad when we grow old and weak. Change happens, quickly or slowly, and as Peter Harvey writes, ‘It is because of the fact that things are impermanent that they are also dukkha: potentially painful and frustrating’. But change can also mean a transformation from ignorance to insight, from sickness to health, from stress to calm. A true understanding of impermanence can be achieved only from direct meditative insight. Impermanence is not something to believe. Impermanence is not something to appreciate on an intellectual level. Impermanence is to be experienced through meditation. Enlightenment, therefore, cannot be realised without a true understanding of the fact that things are impermanent.
There is only one thing that can be said to be not subject to change and that is nibbana. Nibbana is unconditioned, uncaused and is always the same. Nibbana, however, it can be debated, is not really a ‘thing’ and lies beyond the world of existence.
Anicca (Impermanence):
Meaning: Everything is in a state of flux. All conditioned things (physical and mental) are transient and continuously changing.
Explanation: Nothing remains the same even for a moment. All phenomena arise, exist for a while, and then pass away. This impermanence is observed in nature, human experience, and even in our thoughts and emotions. Recognizing anicca helps in understanding that clinging to anything is futile, as it is bound to change.
Who is Melinda:
The Greek king in the questions of king milinda
Who is nasgasena?
The monk who debated with king milinda
What are the questions of king milinda
A famous Buddhist text explaining key Buddhist teachings in the form of a Greek king with a Buddhist monk
What is the concept of Anatta with reference to section 1 chapter 1 of the chariot passage of the questions of king milinda:
The concept Anatta has been very misunderstood in Buddhism
One of the most famous illustrations of how Buddhist teachings has been both misunderstood and at the same time very effective and accurately is the Buddhist txt milinda panda (the questions of king milinda)
King Milinda had a dialogue with an enlightened Buddhist monk called Nagasena.
The King asked for the monk’s name and the monk replied that they are called Nagasena, but that this was just a general term for common use “for there is no permanent individuality (no soul).”
The King doesn’t understand this idea and claims that there is someone before him who wears robes, meditated and lives a life of righteousness. If that isn’t Nagasena, who is it?
Nagasena answers by asking whether the King arrived on foot or in a chariot. The King responds, a chariot. Nagasena then proceeds to ask whether a particular part of the chariot is the chariot – the pole, the axle, the wheels or ropes. The King answers no each time.
Nagasena’s point is that a chariot is just a name for a particular set of things, combined in a particular way. So too is it with the self. We are just temporary set of Skandhas combined with a particular interrelation. Therefore, we cannot be a permanent soul or self.
