In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: tilakkhaá¹Âa; Sanskrit: à ¤¤à ¥Âà ¤°à ¤¿à ¤²à ¤Âà ¥Âà ¤·à ¤£ trilaká¹£aá¹Âa) of all existence and beings, namely anicca (impermanence), dukkha (commonly translated as "suffering" or "cause of suffering", "unsatisfactory", "unease"), and anattà(without a lasting essence). The concept of humans being subject to delusion about the three marks, this delusion resulting in suffering, and removal of that delusion resulting in the end of dukkha, is a central theme in the Buddhist Four Noble Truths, the last of which leads to the Noble Eightfold Path.
There are different lists of the "marks of existence" found in the canons of the early Buddhist schools.
In the Pali tradition of the Theravada school, the three marks are:
The northern Buddhist SarvÃÂstivÃÂda tradition meanwhile has the following in their Samyukta Agama:
In the Ekottarika-ÃÂgama and in Mahayana sources like the YogÃÂcÃÂrabhà «mi-à ÂÃÂstra and The Questions of the NÃÂga King SÃÂgara (SÃÂgaranÃÂgarÃÂjaparipá¹ÂcchÃÂ) however, four characteristics or âÂÂfour seals of the Dharmaâ (Sanskrit: dharmoddÃÂna-catuá¹£á¹Âayaá¹ or catvÃÂri dharmapadÃÂni, Chinese: Ã¥ÂÂæ³Âå°) are described instead of three:
Impermanence (Pali: anicca, Sanskrit: anitya) means that all things (saá¹ khÃÂra) are in a constant state of flux. Buddhism states that all physical and mental events come into being and dissolve. Human life embodies this flux in the aging process and the cycle of repeated birth and death (Samsara); nothing lasts, and everything decays. This is applicable to all beings and their environs, including beings who are reborn in deva (god) and naraka (hell) realms. This is in contrast to Nibbana, the reality that is nicca, or knows no change, decay or death.
Dukkha (Sanskrit: duḥkha) means "unsatisfactory", commonly translated as "suffering", or "pain". Mahasi Sayadaw calls it 'unmanagable, uncontrollable'.
As the First Noble Truth, dukkha is explicated as the physical and mental dissatisfaction of changing conditions as in birth, aging, illness, death; getting what one wishes to avoid or not getting what one wants; and "in short, the five aggregates of clinging and grasping" (skandha). This, however, is a different context, not the Three Marks of Existence, and therefore 'suffering' may not be the best word for it.
The relationship between the three characteristics is explained in the Pali Canon as follows: What is anicca is dukkha. What is dukkha is anatta (Samyutta Nikaya.Vol4.Page1).
Anatta (Sanskrit: anatman) refers to there being no permanent essence in any thing or phenomena, including living beings.
While anicca and dukkha apply to "all conditioned phenomena" (saá¹ khÃÂrÃÂ), anattàhas a wider scope because it applies to all dhammÃÂs without the "conditioned, unconditioned" qualification. Thus, nirvana too is a state of without Self or anatta. The phrase "sabbe dhamma anatta" includes within its scope each skandha (group of aggregates, heaps) that compose any being, and the belief "I am" is a conceit which must be realized to be impermanent and without substance, to end all dukkha.
The anattÃÂ doctrine of Buddhism denies that there is anything permanent in any person to call one's Self, and that a belief in a Self is a source of dukkha. Some Buddhist traditions and scholars, however, interpret the anatta doctrine to be strictly in regard to the five aggregates rather than a universal truth. Religious studies scholar Alexander Wynne calls anattÃÂ a "not-self" teaching rather than a "no-self" teaching.
In Buddhism, ignorance (avidyÃÂ, or moha; i.e. a failure to grasp directly) of the three marks of existence is regarded as the first link in the overall process of saá¹ÂsÃÂra whereby a being is subject to repeated existences in an endless cycle of dukkha. As a consequence, dissolving that ignorance through direct insight into the three marks is said to bring an end to saá¹ÂsÃÂra and, as a result, to that dukkha (dukkha nirodha or nirodha sacca, as described in the third of the Four Noble Truths).
Gautama Buddha taught that all beings conditioned by causes (saá¹ khÃÂra) are impermanent (anicca) and suffering (dukkha), and that not-self (anattÃÂ) characterises all dhammas, meaning there is no "I", "me", or "mine" in either the conditioned or the unconditioned (i.e. nibbÃÂna). The teaching of three marks of existence in the Pali Canon is credited to the Buddha.