1. Buddhism – The 3 Marks of Existence
LI: To understand the three marks of existence and show how they relate to each other.
Note:
The 3 marks of existence
The 3 universal truths
The Human condition
The nature of existence
are all referring to the same thing!

2. Anicca – CH CH CH CH CHANGE!
Translated as ‘impermanence.’
Nothing is permanent and nothing can last forever.
Therefore everything is constantly changing.
Can you think of any examples of anicca?

3. Anicca: Everything CH CH CHanges

4. Anicca: everything CH CH CHanges

5. The River and the Mountain
The stream is a constantly moving flow of water, so it appears to be one constant object. But it is, in fact, composed of many different drops of water.
The mountain changes too, due to erosion, but this happens over so many years that it appears to remain the same.

6. Therefore Anicca applies to ALL things:
The universe
ambitions
All people
possessions
All relationships

7. Dukkha Translates as suffering or ‘unsatisfactoriness’.
We will never find lasting happiness if our happiness is based on anything which is impermanent - and since everything is impermanent we can never find lasting happiness.
Things like death, illness, war, famine etc. cause us to suffer and these are unavoidable.
Because we exist we suffer - it is unavoidable.
Advantage - it is a realistic view that reduces disappointment.
Disadvantage - it is a grim view. The idea of never finding true happiness is depressing, as is the belief that we live only to suffer. No matter how many times we are reborn we will never find happiness until we are enlightened.

8. Dukkha
Dukkha is a sense of frustration caused by the limitations of human existence.
The human thirst for knowledge causes us to suffer because we don’t know the answer to everything that we want to. Our human limitations disappoint us and lead to suffering also.

9. How are they interlinked?
We want things that make us happy to last, and things that make us unhappy to end.
But since everything constantly changes, this does not happen.
For example, we want people we love to be with us forever but people die and so this will never be a possibility - so we suffer. If we are attached to things and they change we suffer. Many people want to see the world as an unchanging place, but this is not the reality of life and so they suffer.
= Attachment to or craving for permanence is what brings about dukkha

10. Explain the Dukkha and Anicca

12. Anicca (CH-CH-Change)
The Buddha realised impermanence was the key to a proper understanding of the human condition.
If people could understand this they would have less suffering in their lives. However, since some people refuse to see this they continue to be attached to things which only leads to disappointment.
This point makes Buddhism not so depressing.

13. Anatta: No Self = TaTa to the Self
We might say “this is me/ this is who I am.”
But if everything is impermanent then so are we.
Nobody stays the same from birth to death: we grow older/get wiser/even our personalities change.
Buddhism believes that because these things change from one moment to the next, the ‘Me’ ‘I’ or ‘Self’ is illusion. The ‘self’/soul simply does not exist.

14. Imagine the parts of a car are spread out on a factory floor.
Is any one part actually the car itself?
Imagine that every part changed, could you ever make the exact same car?

15. Anatta/Anicca
Imagine that every one of you were laid out on the floor.
Is any one of these parts ‘you’?

16. How are Anatta and Dukkha linked?
Buddhists believe we suffer because we constantly try to satisfy the desires of the self.
What desires can you think of that make us suffer?

17. E.g. Becoming attached to material items

18. E.g. becoming attached to looking younger

19. E.g. becoming attached to money

20. Consider getting angry when the TV doesn’t work. Why get angry
Consider getting angry when the TV doesn’t work. Why get angry? The reality is that a TV will break at some point. Imagine that a person you live dies. Why get upset? The reality is that everyone dies.
Suffering and ignorance form a vicious circle; the more ignorant you are, the more likely you are to suffer, and the more you allow yourself to suffer, the more ignorant you become

21. All of this makes us sad!
We think that we are permanent which makes us attached to things. We assume that these things are permanent. This is an illusion.
We suffer because we become attached to the things that are not permanent!

22. How are Anatta and Dukka linked?
Buddhists believe we suffer because we constantly try to satisfy the desires of the self.
When we do not get what we want, we suffer because it doesn’t last.
When we get what we don’t want, we suffer.
Even when we get what we want, we will always want again, and so we suffer.
Dukkha – Nothing is capable of bringing satisfaction.

23. Which Universal Truth do each of these pictures show?

24. The Three Universal Truths
The Three Universal Truths work on these rules:
1. Nothing remains the same, everything changes. Buddhism calls this impermanence (anicca).
2. If nothing remains the same, then I do not remain the same. Therefore there is NO ‘self’ (anatta).
3. If I realise that the ‘self’ does not exist, then I will stop trying to satisfy it and so avoid disappointment and suffering (dukkha).

25. Happiness?
This does not mean that Buddhists believe that happiness is not achievable – it’s that most of us have a false sense of how to achieve it.
We achieve true happiness by facing up to reality.
The teaching of Dukkha does not imply that we can never be happy, but that we must accept that we can never be truly content or satisfied because of the nature of existence.

26. ANICCA ANATTA DUKKHA Anicca – Anatta – Dukkha – My Explanation
An Example
An Example
An Example

27. Evaluation of the Nature of Existence
Positives
Anicca is logical and scientific: there is evidence of change, suffering and craving everywhere.
There is a clear link between Anicca and Dukkha – e.g. death of a loved one, replacement of technology etc.
There is an underlying unease at the heart of our society – depression, suicide, anorexia. Rise in cosmetic surgery is evidence of our inability to accept change.
It is clear that if we stop clinging, we can be more content.
Once you realise that there is no difference between yourself and others, you can be less selfish and more compassionate.
Negatives
Change is part of the joy of living; we do not necessarily suffer because of change.
Some things change so slowly that they are irrelevant to our lives – the Buddha overemphasises the importance of Anicca, Dukkha and Tanha. For example we see evidence in lasting relationships all the time.
Craving can make life exciting and makes us strive to do better – it links to human development and evolution.
We can dispute the view that life is suffering – for most, the good outweighs the bad. Many people endure great suffering but are still happy and still want to live.
To our Western eyes this ‘Middle Way’ could be seen as extreme…

28. Has Buddhism solved the problem of the Human Condition?
Reasons arguing Buddhism has solved the problem
Reasons arguing Buddhism has not solved the problem
Your own opinion.
See handout - you can use these arguments when asking if the Buddhist view is negative/depressing/accurate.

29. Exam Practice
“Belief in the 3 marks of existence is central to understanding the human condition.” How far would Buddhists agree with this statement. 10

30. Kisa Gotami and the Mustard Seed
In what ways does the story of Kisa Gotmi illustrate the Buddhist teaching on Anicca and Dukkha? (analysis)

31. The Cause and the Cure
If the cause of all our suffering is desire (wanting)…
… then what is the cure?
The Buddha explains the cure in his 4 Noble Truths…

32. Greek philosopher (non Buddhist) Haraclitus:
“You cannot step in the same river twice, for neither you nor it will be the same.”