Researched by- Myoma Myint Kywe
ဦးျမင့္ၾကြယ္ (
ၿမိဳ ႔မ
ျမင့္ၾကြယ္ ) သမိုင္းပညာရွင္
ဆိုရွိကိ ကရာေတးအသင္း နည္းျပခ်ဳပ္
"All conditioned things are impermanent" — when one
sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.
-The Buddha
( Dhammapada, verse 277).
Impermanence is one of the essential
doctrines or three marks of existence in Buddhism. anicca is a
pali word composed with two combined words: "nicca" and the
privative particle "a". "nicca" implies the
idea of permanence, of continuity. anicca means the absence of
continuity, the absence of permanence.
In Buddhism, the three marks of
existence are three characteristics (Pali: tilakkhaṇa) shared by all
sentient beings, namely impermanence (anicca), suffering or
unsatisfactoriness (dukkha), and non-self (anatta).
The various stages in the life of a man, the childhood, the adulthood, the old age are not the same at any given time. The child is not the same when he grows up and becomes a young man, nor when the latter turns into an old man. The seed is not the tree, though it produces the tree, and the fruit is also not the tree, though it is produced by the tree.
The concept of impermanence and
continuous becoming is central to early Buddhist teachings. It is by becoming
aware of it, by observing it and by understanding it, one can find a suitable
remedy for the sorrow of human life and achieve liberation from the process of anicca.
Anicca (impermanence or inconstant), dukkha (suffering or unsatisfactoriness) and anatta (non-existence
or non-selfhood) together make up the ti-lakkhana, or three characteristics of
all phenomenal existence. That the human body is subject to change is
empirically observable in the universal states of childhood, youth, maturity,
and old age. Similarly, mental events come into being and dissolve. Recognition
of the doctrine of impermanence is one of the first steps in the Buddhist's
spiritual progress toward enlightenment. Impermanence is one of the essential
doctrines or three marks of existence in Buddhism.
The
Buddha says, "Life is suffering". What does
"suffering" mean? The sutras say: "Impermanence therefore
suffering". Everything is impermanent and changeable. The Buddha says that
life is suffering because it is impermanent and ever-changing. For example, a
healthy body cannot last forever. It will gradually become weak, old, sick
and die. One who is wealthy cannot maintain one’s wealth forever. Sometimes
one may become poor. Power and status do not last as well, one will lose them
finally. From this condition of changing and instability, although there is
happiness and joy, they are not ever lasting and ultimate. When changes come,
suffering arises.
Thus,
the Buddha says life is suffering. Suffering means dissatisfaction,
impermanence and imperfection. If a practising Buddhist does not understand the
real meaning of "suffering" and think that life is not perfect and
ultimate, they become negative and pessimistic in their view of life. Those who
really understand the teaching of the Buddha will have a totally different
view. We should know that the theory of "Life is suffering"
taught by the Buddha is to remind us that life is not ultimate and lasting, and
hence we should strive towards Buddhahood — a permanent and perfect life.
This
is similar to one who is sick. One must know that one is sick before wanting to
seek the doctor’s treatment. Only then can the sickness be cured. Why is life
not ultimate and permanent and full of suffering? There must be a cause for the
suffering. Once one knows the cause of suffering, one will try one’s best to be
rid of the causes, and hence end the suffering and attain ultimate peacefulness
and happiness.
A
practising Buddhist should practice according to the Buddha’s instruction, and
change this imperfect and non-ultimate life to an ultimate and perfect one.
Then would come a state of permanent joy, personality, and purity.
Permanent
means ever-lasting, joy means peacefulness and happiness, personality means
freedom and non-attachment, purity means cleanliness. This highest aim of
Buddhism is not only to break through the suffering of life but to transform
this suffering life into a life that has permanent peacefulness, joy, freedom
and purity.
The
Buddha told us the cause of suffering and instructed us to strive towards the
goal. The stage of permanent, joy, personality and purity is an ultimate ideal
phenomena. It is full of brightness and hope. It is a stage that is attainable
by all of us. How can we say that Buddhism is negative and pessimistic?
Although
not all practising Buddhists are able to attain this highest point of practice,
there is still boundless benefit in knowing this theory. Most people know that
they have to strive to do good when they are poor, but once they become rich,
they forget about everything, and only think about their own enjoyment and
hence walk towards the wrong path foolishly.
A
practising Buddhist should remember to strive not only when one is poor and in
difficulties, but should also be mindful when one is enjoying, because
happiness is not permanent. If one does not strive towards the good, they will
degenerate and fall very quickly. The teaching of "Life is suffering"
reminds us not to look forward for enjoyment only and go the wrong way. This is
the important implication in the teaching of "Life is suffering",
taught by the Buddha.
The great Vipassana meditation
teacher, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, wrote:
"Impermanence (anicca) is, of course, the essential fact which must be
first experienced and understood by practice." Anicca is a gateway, an
opening. The complexity and multiplicity of the phenomena of the world can
appear like a thicket (a dense group of bushes or trees), but as a person walks
the path of Vipassana meditation, suddenly there is an emergence from the
tangle. Anicca is the clearing.
U Ba Khin wrote: "Anicca is the first essential factor-for progress
in Vipassana meditation, a student must keep knowing anicca as continuously as
possible." The pali word anicca is translated into English as
impermanence or change.
Anicca is a word-indicator that
points to a fact of reality beyond any concept: the ceaseless transformation of
all material in the universe. Nothing is solid, permanent, and immutable. Every
"thing" is really an "event."
The Buddha said, sabbe sankhara
anicca-the entire universe is fluid. For the practitioner of Vipassana,
anicca is a direct experience of the nature of one's own mind and body, a
plunge into universal reality directly within oneself. "Just a look into
oneself", U Ba Khin wrote, "and there it is-anicca."
Impermanence means that everything changes and nothing remains the same
in any consecutive moment. And although things change every moment, they still
cannot be accurately described as the same or as different from what they were
a moment ago.
Heraclitus said “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's
not the same river and he's not the same man”.
When we bathe in the river today
that we bathed in yesterday, is it the same river? Heraclitus said that
we couldn’t step into the same river twice. He was right. The water in the
river today is completely different from the water we bathed in yesterday. Yet
it is the same river. When Confucius was standing on the bank of a river
watching it flow by he said, “Oh, it flows like that day and night, never
ending.”
Everything is
impermanent.
Hatred is also
impermanent.
Position is also
impermanent.
Happiness is
impermanent.
Material happiness is
also impermanent.
Wealth is also
impermanent.
Poorness is also
impermanent.
The essence of Dharma (the insider)
comes from the fact that Buddha always taught to look inside the mind
for the solution to all external problems.
The SIX negative thoughts which are
the source of suffering are: Greed, Anger, Pride, Jealousy, Attachment
and Ignorance.
Just as the light of a candle has the power to dispel darkness in a room, so also the
light developed in one man can help dispel darkness in several others. As
in the days of the Buddha (BC 623-BC 543), one should work hard to maintain the
awareness of anicca, and if one can do so he will surely get himself rid
of many troubles.
http://www.vridhamma.org/The-Experience-of-Impermanence-through-Vipassana
