The Three Marks of Existence: Anicca PDF

## The Three Marks of Existence: Anicca ### What is Anicca? - Anicca is usually translated as **impermanence**. - Buddha taught that everything is impermanent and continually changing. - Anicca affects the world in three different ways. 1. It affects living things. For example, birth is followe...

## The Three Marks of Existence: Anicca ### What is Anicca? - Anicca is usually translated as **impermanence**. - Buddha taught that everything is impermanent and continually changing. - Anicca affects the world in three different ways. 1. It affects living things. For example, birth is followed by growth and then decay and finally death. 2. It affects non-living things. For example, an iron nail that is left out in the rain will rust; a temple will eventually erode and turn into ruins if it is not repaired. 3. It affects our minds. Our thoughts, feeling, morals, longings, and ideals change frequently throughout our lives. ### How Anicca and Dukkha Relate to Each Other - Even though things in the world change all the time, people expect them to stay the same. - Buddha believed that this is one of the reasons why people suffer. - People become attached to things that remain unchanged. - When things change (anicca), people experience suffering (dukkha). - Buddhists believe that accepting that all things change - including themselves - will lead to less suffering. - For Buddhists, the ultimate goal is to break the cycle of samsara and achieve nibbana, a permanent state of no suffering. ### Stories from Buddhist Tradition - When Kisa Gotami had a child she at last found happiness in her life. - Gotami's son became ill and died, and she became almost crazy with sorrow. - She took her son's corpse from house to house, asking for medicine to cure him. - A neighbour realized that Gotami's strange behaviour was due to the depth of her sorrow, and said: "Why don't you go to the Buddha; perhaps he can give you the medicine you need." - Gotami took her son's body to the Buddha, saying, "Please, O Wise One, give me some medicine for my poor sick child." - The Buddha looked at Gotami and at her dead child, and he could see that deep down Gotami had enough wisdom and strength to understand her sorrow. - The Buddha said, "Go back to the town, knock on all the doors and wherever you find a household where no one has died, ask them to give you a little mustard seed. Then, in the evening, bring me all the mustard seed you collect and we will be able to make some medicine for your child." - Gotami went into the town, knocked on the door of the first house, and said, "If no one has died in your family, please give me some mustard seed: I need it as a medicine for my sick child. The woman said, "Certainly I can give you some mustard seed, but I'm afraid that we have had many, many deaths in our family." - Gotami continued to visit many houses, and every house had experienced death. - Gotami realised that sorrow and death are part of how life is, not only for her but for everyone. - She took her son's body to the cemetery and buried him. - Gotami went back to the Buddha, and the Buddha asked, "Well, Gotami, have you got the mustard seed for the medicine?" - Gotami answered, "Thank you, O Wise One. No, I have not brought any mustard seed, but your medicine of the mustard seed has already worked, as you knew it would. Because I now see that my own sorrow is part of the sorrow of all people, and that the death of our loved ones is part of the pattern of life for everyone. That is the medicine I needed, and that is what you have helped me to understand." - Gotami became a follower of the Buddha and an Arhat. ### Discussion Activities 1. Do you think you can understand dukkha without understanding anicca? 2. Is it important to understand the concept of anicca in order to suffer less in our lives? ### Activities 1. Think of as many words or phrases as you can for the term "impermanence" (such as "temporary" or "not staying the same"). Use these words or phrases to write a definition of "impermanence". 2. Give an example of how anicca can affect non-living things. 3. Give an example of how anicca can lead to dukkha. 4. Read the story of Kisa Gotami. What did Gotami learn about suffering, and how did it help her? ### Key Terms - **Anicca:** Impermanence; the idea that everything changes. - **Dukkha:** Suffering - **Nibbana:** A permanent state of no suffering. - **Samsara**: The cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. ### Summary - You should now understand the concept of anicca, and be able to explain how it relates to dukkha. - Being able to give examples of the different ways that anicca can affect the world will help you to explain the concept of anicca more effectively.