5 - Lakshanas

Lakshana = One of the three marks of existence.

It was through the Buddha’s enlightenment experience, that he really came to understand the significance of them.

Theravada Buddhist monk Ajahn Sumedho offers a distinction on three levels (in his book ‘The Four Noble Truths’) between basic buddhist teachings as philosophical statements and how those same teachings are understood by buddhists.

The three levels are:

1) The initial teaching and statement is identified

2) This is investigated and reflected upon

3) The truth is understood

The point is - to truly understand the teachings is far beyond simply acknowledging a label or identifying them as a part of a system that fits together nicely so we can make sense of it.

“The Four Noble Truths are a lifetime’s reflection” - Sumedho

“Existence can be understood only if these three basic facts are comprehended, and this not only logically, but in confrontation with one’s own experience.” - Nyanaponika Thera

The three Lakshanas are:

1) Annica

2) Dukkha

3) Anatta

Annica: Impermanence

“Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation” - Kondanna (One of the five listening)

This insight was a direct was a direct result of the Buddha’s first three sights of sickness, old age and death.

Impermanence is to be experienced through meditation therefore enlightenment cannot be realised without a true understanding of impermanence.

Nibbana is the only thing that is not subject to change as it is unconditioned, uncaused and is always the same. It can be debated that Nibbana lies beyond the world of existence.

Dukkha: Suffering

“The suffering that is waiting in the future we fail to see, we think it will never happen. When it happens, then we know. That kind of suffering , the suffering inherent in our bodies, is hard to foresee.” - Ajahn Chah

There are various translations of Dukkha. 

“That which is difficult to endure” - Narada Thera 

‘Frustration’ or ‘general unsatisfactoriness’ - Peter Harvey 

Can include pleasurable experience such as holidays due to the knowledge that it will come to an end. 

Anatta: No-self

Buddha’s view is totally materialistic in a philosophical sense (not believing in the supernatural) as buddhism rejects an existence of an eternal, unchanging essence within an individual.

The question remains, “if a person is anatta and has no permanent and unchanging metaphysical self, then precisely what constitutes a human being?”

The buddhist response to this is the five Skandhas (form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness). These components make up the buddhist concept of a person’s physical and mental existence.

the five Skandhas: 

1) Rupa - form

2) Vedana - feeling 

3) Sanna - perception 

4) Sankhara - mental formations 

5) Vinnana - consciousness 

The concept of Anatta has been very much misunderstood in Buddhism. One of the most famous illustrations of this misunderstanding is the story which is usually translated as The Questions of King Milinda.