Buddhism: Anicca, Anatta, Dukkha

Buddhism: Anicca, Anatta, Dukkha

1. These are known as the three marks of existence. Basic definitions= Anicca means impermenance (nothing stays the same, everything changes). Anatta is the concept of no self, there is no permanent fixed existence of yourself. Dukkha means suffering.

   • 3 poisons= greed, hatred and ignorance.

2. Dukkha- The four noble truths link into this because it shows us the nature of suffering and to be set free from it and understand it. The four noble truths are as follows- 1) Suffering exists and is all around us and is a fact of the world that we live in. There is suffering in old age, suffering in grief etc. 2) The nature of why we suffer is because we crave (tanha) things- we crave for things like material objects e.g. a car, we also crave for people to be permanent and grieve when they die. 3) However there is a cure so to speak for the problem of suffering and the endless cycle of samsara, 4) This is following the eighth fold path otherwise known as the middle way or path.

   • 3 types of suffering= 1) ordinary suffering- this is that the suffering that we all think of when asked to describe suffering includes things like death, aging, giving birth, grief, pain of watching others suffer etc. 2) suffering from impermanence- we suffer because we think of things as being permanent when they aren't e.g our loved ones or our possesions, 4) suffering from the notion that we have no permanent self and that we have a conditoned existence and this might lead us to see life as meaningless and that there is no point if life is like this. It is a dissatisfaction with life.

3. Anicca- This is impermanence, Buddhism says that everything is impermanent. We like to believe as humans that there are things that are actually permanent for example a God or principles of beauty, justice, love etc. However according to Buddhists this is an error in thinking. We also assume things are impermanent in every day life for example we don;t think our personal items (phone) will break but they do and we get upset/suffer. We also suffer because we think of people as being permanent, and when they die we greve because of this and find it hard to let our attachment to that person go.

   • 2 types of change- the gross level of change (physical) and the subtle level of change as well. The gross level of change is the physical notion of change, it is the thing that comes to our mind when thinking of change. Refers to historical, geographical, social change as well. We can usually observe this change with our own eyes, it is the obvious change. Doesn't require any philosophical or Buddhist understanding to be able to see this change as existing and real. Examples of gross change= change in the weather, the way things decay and people die. The other type of change is known as subtle change which is telling us that everything is in a perpetual state of flux, in that it keeps changing- this is however on a molecular level and so can't be viewed with the eyes but has to be viewed with something like a microscope. Visual changes (gross change) like ageing doesn't happen all at once it is an accumulation of many different small subtle changes which make up the change
     • that we see. This change was discovered by the Buddha via meditation which helped him understand this fact that everything is changing on a molecular basis and we now have science to back up this fact as well.This change reinforces the fact that everything is impermanent because even if we think something looks like it isn't changing, it is but on a subtle/molecular level.
   • Most people have a problem with agreeing with the fact that everything is always changing. because of the fact that it conflicts with the way the world is which is continous and it seems ordered rather than changing all the time. However Buddhism thinks that the change has some order, there is a casual connection between changes, one moment happens seamlessly after another

4. Anatta- Buddhist idea of no self. that we have no permanent state of existence as people. This involves the thought that we have no soul. Materialism says that we are simply made up of matter and are just biological process and reactions, we don't have a soul. However this doesn't account for the problem of free will or the fact we have emotions. Buddhism thinks that there is no underlining essence within us. This is also linked with impermeanance and causal connections between moments.

5. Nirvana- means exstinguishing the fires of craving, hatred and ignorance. It is the end of suffering and it is also a state of mind not an actual place that is available to the senses. It is the end goal for Buddhists and is known as enlightenment. However for a group called the Mahayana Buddhist it is only a stepping stone for the final step which is complete Buddhahood. Nirvana cannot be put into words, it is beyond words. We cannot even convey some things that are normal for example you can't explain a colour. It is also the freedom from the endless cycle of samsara and the break from rebirth. Nirvana experienced after death is called paranirvana. Buddha gave according to the Mahayana Buddhists, nirvana for the people because there one wish was to be free from suffering some how. The phantom city example illustrates this- a leader and people within him where travelling on a road to find treasures and they became tired and restless and didn't want to continue but the leader..

   • who knew the road told them to keep going and finally they reached the city, but the city was something that the leader created, called the Phantom city which was a place to relax and recover but the real goal with the actual treasure was further a long, so he told them that they must keep going and so they did.