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The Three Marks of Existence

Useful Definitions
Recommended Prerequisites

The Three Marks of Existence (or the Three Universal Truths) is three truths about life and existence. They are:

  • Anicca - Impermanence
  • Dukkha - Suffering
  • Anatta - No fixed self

Anicca - Impermanence​

Anicca means impermenance. Everything in the world is constantly changing.

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For more information on impermenance, see Dependant Arising.

Anicca can be thought of as affecting the world in three different ways:

  1. It affects living things
    • For example, a human is born, grows old, and dies
  2. It affects non-living things
    • For example, an iron nail left in the rain will eventually rust
  3. It affects our minds
    • Our thoughts, feelings and morals frequently change throughout our lives

Dukkha - Suffering​

Dukkha means suffering. The Buddha taught that there are seven states of suffering:

  1. Birth
  2. Old age
  3. Sickness
  4. Death
  5. Sorrow, lamentation and despair
  6. Contact with unpleasant things
  7. Not getting what one wishes for

He also taught that there are three types of dukkha:

Dukkha-dukkhata - Suffering​

This refers to normal pain or suffering. It means physical and mental pain. Examples include:

  • Breaking a leg
  • Getting ill
  • Being seperated from someone you love
  • Being upset at not achieving something

Viparinama-dukkha - Change​

This means change. One of the Buddha's teachings is that nothing is permanent and things are always changing.

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For more information on impermenance, see Dependant Arising.

This could be:

  • A small change (like the weather changing)
  • A gradual change (like aging)
  • A large change (like moving city)

This can also be felt during something good: the uneasy feeling of knowing that it won't last. This means that even happiness could be seen as dukkha.

Samkhara-dukkha - Attachment​

This suffering is caused by attachment. Buddhism teaches that everybody is attached to something: people, objects, activities, etc. However, they suffer when they try to hold on to the things they are attached to. This is one of the harder forms of dukkha to understand since it is often described as more of a subtle dissatisfaction with life.

Anatta - no fixed self​

Anatta means that there is no fixed self for a person, and instead we are simply a sum of our parts.

Nagasena and the Chariot​

This is a story that illustrates anatta.

One day, a monk called Nagasena arrived at the court a Greek king. The king asked his name, to which he replied that he was known as Nagasena, but that was merely his name and did not reference a real self or person. The king was confused and ask how there could be a person before him if Nagasena was just a name.

Nagasena replied by asking what a chariot was, to which the king replied. Nagasena replied that a chariot is the the wheels, axle or planks, but something separate. So the term 'chariot', like 'Nagasena' is merely a name used to refer to a collection of parts.

The Five Aggregates​

The Buddha taught that people are made up of five parts called the Five Aggregates. They are:

  1. Form (our bodies)
  2. Sensation (our feelings)
  3. Perception (our recognition of what things are)
  4. Mental formation (our thoughts)
  5. Consciousness (our awareness of things)

For example, imagine watching a TV show. Your eyes in your body (form) looks at the TV, you recognise the objects shown on screen (perception), you understand what is happening (consciousness), you create an opinion on whether or not you like it (mental formation) and feel happy or sad depending on that opinion (sensation).