<p>Depends on the person's potential and faculties. For some who's already practiced the Path for many lives, s/he'd naturally understand the 3 characteristics. But for some who never had previous exposure, it's important to learn about the 3 characteristics from an experienced teacher or from the sutras/suttas just so that one won't mis-understand these concepts.</p>

<p>The problem with us worldlings is that while we might gain a conceptual understanding of the teaching, we rarely apply them in our daily life. We think about these things when we're at the temple or when we study Dhamma books, but when seeing a woman with a young voluptous body walking by, all we have in mind at that moment is the smell of her perfume and her sexy curves. We'd tend to forget that that beauty is also subjected to impermanence, suffering, and non-self. She will gets old, sick, and eventually die.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-16T19:57:00.880Z
2014-11-16T21:17:16.700Z
2014-11-16T21:17:16.700Z
santa100
<p>Traditionally, I read that both eternalism and nihilism are false concepts.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/111.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/111.htm</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-26T02:34:32.590Z
2014-11-26T02:34:32.590Z
Barry Landis
<p>According to my present (non-sectarian) teacher, the way the Three Marks are to be used is not simply as dogma to be mindful of, but rather as a tool for enquiry into our psyche -- our attachments, or preconceptions.</p>

<p>The way to use Three Marks for enquiry into preconceptions is to try accepting one Mark at a time and see what resistance it causes.</p>

<p>For example, you may spend a week trying to accept the truth of impermanence with all its implications. Does it highlight the cases of you trying to solve any problem "once, completely, and forever"? Knowing that a stable state can't be realized -- does it make all your efforts seem futile? Can you get at peace with doing your best despite this futility? Keep saying "everything is temporary" and keep watching yourself in real situations. All kinds of preconceptions, imprints and deep-lying assumptions will come up. </p>

<p>Similarly, spend a week applying the truth of suffering to your situations at hand. Can you see micro-suffering hiding in millisecond-level activities? Frustration of having to apply effort. Unmet expectations. Do you secretly crave for perfect ease, with reality always matching your wishes? Do you secretly hope existence can ever be effortless? Same thing here, keep telling yourself "life is suffering" with regards to real life situations and see what reaction it causes in you. Is there an area that rebels against the inescapable universal suffering? If so, that's the preconception you need to go through.</p>

<p>The same way, spend another week contemplating the truth of corelessness or no-I amidst real situations. If there is no "I", where do my choices are coming from now? What is the source of my thoughts now? Are my convictions and my values really mine or could this thing called "I" be an accumulations of formulas picked up over time? Am I really as all-important as I have always assumed to be? Do people really care what I do, how I do it and even whether I exist? What if free will is illusion and all my actions are predetermined? What if life is completely pointless and has no purpose and no meaning? Watch yourself as you try these thoughts on. In your mind, is accepting pointlessness of life connected with fear of ambiguity, essentially fear of taking responsibility? Is there deep-lying conviction that something you deem of value is trully of absolute importance? If so, that's your preconception, a piece of your ego, look at it carefully.</p>

<p>So, try each of these on for a week: "everything is temporary", "life is suffering" and "in the grand scheme of things I don't really exist, what I think is my life is just a ripple on the surface of reality" and see what comes up. When Buddhism talks about "attachments" that's what these are, now perhaps for the first time you can meet them face to face.</p>

<p>Eventually, the Three Marks should be fully accepted, with all their implications. Interestingly, accepting each Mark has a surprising effect, almost the opposite of what you'd expect:</p>

<ul>
<li>Accepting Impermanence awakens you to the eternal Now.</li>
<li>Accepting Suffering makes suffering disappear and turns all existence into bliss.</li>
<li>Accepting Pointlessness aka losing self-importance gets us in touch with unconstricted creativity and the endless energy of the absolute.</li>
</ul>

<p>Altogether, accepting Three Marks of Existence liberates us from Samsara and connects with Spontaneous Perfection of Unconditioned Nirvana.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-17T04:32:24.187Z
Wonderful Answer. But I have certain doubts about the opposite effects you talk about. Have you really accepted suffering and really experienced bliss? Have you really accepted impermanence and living in the now always? Are these real truths or are we just passing down untested ancient wisdom? You may say "Go find it yourself" But my mind suspects "What if its a wild goose chase and its possible to accept things as they are?"
PS: 'You' doesn't necessarily mean 'you'. So pls don be offended at the direct questions. By 'you', I mean people who've really "experienced" things
Pavan Manjunath
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-17T12:54:50.403Z
Yes, I'm speaking from experience. However, I'm still a student albeit an advanced one. Accepting Three Marks is not a boolean value, True or False. To the degree that I accept them, I experience the fruit. Learning Nirvana is like learning to ride a bike: these days I can keep balance most the time, but when I start doing tricks I still fall.
Andriy Volkov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-17T02:25:00.213Z
2014-11-17T03:13:37.420Z
2014-11-17T03:13:37.420Z
Andriy Volkov
<p>This is something you cannot force. Any form of force is based on craving or aversion hence you loose the balance of your mind.</p>

<p>Through meditation you can realize "impermanence, suffering and non-self" at an experiential level. This is not a concept of thought or notion of it.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-25T04:39:30.593Z
2014-11-25T04:39:30.593Z
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
<p>If one doesn't know the notion of "impermanence, suffering and non-self", can one see it by one's self?</p>

<p>I know that I don't need to "force" myself to see impermanence: but do I need to keep in mind "impermanence, suffering and non-self" when practising?</p>

<p>EDIT: How much do i need to keep in mind "impermance..", because if it is to low, one can see it but not realise it, if it is to high, one can intellectualize it.</p>

<mindfulness><anatman><impermanence><suffering>
Keeping in mind impermanence, suffering and non-self
# Keeping in mind impermanence, suffering and non-self

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-16)

If one doesn't know the notion of "impermanence, suffering and non-self", can one see it by one's self?

I know that I don't need to "force" myself to see impermanence: but do I need to keep in mind "impermanence, suffering and non-self" when practising?

EDIT: How much do i need to keep in mind "impermance..", because if it is to low, one can see it but not realise it, if it is to high, one can intellectualize it.

**Tags:** mindfulness, anatman, impermanence, suffering


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-11-17. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

According to my present (non-sectarian) teacher, the way the Three Marks are to be used is not simply as dogma to be mindful of, but rather as a tool for enquiry into our psyche -- our attachments, or preconceptions.

The way to use Three Marks for enquiry into preconceptions is to try accepting one Mark at a time and see what resistance it causes.

For example, you may spend a week trying to accept the truth of impermanence with all its implications. Does it highlight the cases of you trying to solve any problem "once, completely, and forever"? Knowing that a stable state can't be realized -- does it make all your efforts seem futile? Can you get at peace with doing your best despite this futility? Keep saying "everything is temporary" and keep watching yourself in real situations. All kinds of preconceptions, imprints and deep-lying assumptions will come up.

Similarly, spend a week applying the truth of suffering to your situations at hand. Can you see micro-suffering hiding in millisecond-level activities? Frustration of having to apply effort. Unmet expectations. Do you secretly crave for perfect ease, with reality always matching your wishes? Do you secretly hope existence can ever be effortless? Same thing here, keep telling yourself "life is suffering" with regards to real life situations and see what reaction it causes in you. Is there an area that rebels against the inescapable universal suffering? If so, that's the preconception you need to go through.

The same way, spend another week contemplating the truth of corelessness or no-I amidst real situations. If there is no "I", where do my choices are coming from now? What is the source of my thoughts now? Are my convictions and my values really mine or could this thing called "I" be an accumulations of formulas picked up over time? Am I really as all-important as I have always assumed to be? Do people really care what I do, how I do it and even whether I exist? What if free will is illusion and all my actions are predetermined? What if life is completely pointless and has no purpose and no meaning? Watch yourself as you try these thoughts on. In your mind, is accepting pointlessness of life connected with fear of ambiguity, essentially fear of taking responsibility? Is there deep-lying conviction that something you deem of value is trully of absolute importance? If so, that's your preconception, a piece of your ego, look at it carefully.

So, try each of these on for a week: "everything is temporary", "life is suffering" and "in the grand scheme of things I don't really exist, what I think is my life is just a ripple on the surface of reality" and see what comes up. When Buddhism talks about "attachments" that's what these are, now perhaps for the first time you can meet them face to face.

Eventually, the Three Marks should be fully accepted, with all their implications. Interestingly, accepting each Mark has a surprising effect, almost the opposite of what you'd expect:

* Accepting Impermanence awakens you to the eternal Now.
* Accepting Suffering makes suffering disappear and turns all existence into bliss.
* Accepting Pointlessness aka losing self-importance gets us in touch with unconstricted creativity and the endless energy of the absolute.

Altogether, accepting Three Marks of Existence liberates us from Samsara and connects with Spontaneous Perfection of Unconditioned Nirvana.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Wonderful Answer. But I have certain doubts about the opposite effects you talk about. Have you really accepted suffering and really experienced bliss? Have you really accepted impermanence and living in the now always? Are these real truths or are we just passing down untested ancient wisdom? You may say "Go find it yourself" But my mind suspects "What if its a wild goose chase and its possible to accept things as they are?" PS: 'You' doesn't necessarily mean 'you'. So pls don be offended at the direct questions. By 'you', I mean people who've really "experienced" things  
> **username_3**: Yes, I'm speaking from experience. However, I'm still a student albeit an advanced one. Accepting Three Marks is not a boolean value, True or False. To the degree that I accept them, I experience the fruit. Learning Nirvana is like learning to ride a bike: these days I can keep balance most the time, but when I start doing tricks I still fall.  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2014-11-25. Score: 4

This is something you cannot force. Any form of force is based on craving or aversion hence you loose the balance of your mind.

Through meditation you can realize "impermanence, suffering and non-self" at an experiential level. This is not a concept of thought or notion of it.


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### Answer by username_1 on 2014-11-16. Score: 2

Depends on the person's potential and faculties. For some who's already practiced the Path for many lives, s/he'd naturally understand the 3 characteristics. But for some who never had previous exposure, it's important to learn about the 3 characteristics from an experienced teacher or from the sutras/suttas just so that one won't mis-understand these concepts.

The problem with us worldlings is that while we might gain a conceptual understanding of the teaching, we rarely apply them in our daily life. We think about these things when we're at the temple or when we study Dhamma books, but when seeing a woman with a young voluptous body walking by, all we have in mind at that moment is the smell of her perfume and her sexy curves. We'd tend to forget that that beauty is also subjected to impermanence, suffering, and non-self. She will gets old, sick, and eventually die.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2014-11-26. Score: 0

Traditionally, I read that both eternalism and nihilism are false concepts.

<http://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/111.htm>


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