Buddhism is all about Anicca, Dukkha and Anatma

B.M. Seneviratna Bandara

Continued from 12.06.2010

The four Nobel Truths is the doctrine which does not change from reality into any stated nature. To make life happy first of all the realisation of nature of life and samsara must be acquired. Next craving must be eradicated. Likewise life must be spent correctly.

All the paths which the Buddha has taught to follow are contained in the nobel Eight fold Path which is not merely a super mundane one to realise Nibbana but which also helps to succeed in the present life and makes succeeding life happy. To get anything done a correct understanding is necessary for which a good thought must be acquired. It is then that speech, actions and employment become good. A person can conceive wisdom, by making a good effort and a mindfulness.

The Buddha has preached the Noble Eight Fold Path in one order the seriality of which is very important. They are important even in practical use. The Great One who preached for 45 years based his discourses on Dhammachakkappavattana Sutta which expounds the whole of Buddhism. Although the Four Noble Truths cannot be analysed it has been done so for purpose of clarification to live in conformity with it. The primary idea of not being extreme, which is the teaching of Middle Path, can be made use of from personal life to governing countries. Many politicians in the world today who do not follow extreme political policies admit that a good political ventilation can be had by not joining political parties through a central policy. They try it.

The Middle Path teaches the primary idea it requires. Craving motivates stealth. One who follows the Middle Path succeeds in his living by neutralizing craving which enables him to spend a consoled life in this world, free from suffering. The Middle Path gives huge advantages to maintain our personal as well as social life successfully. The simple eight teachings which can be obeyed in pursuance of the shallow meanings of those eight folds can be used for building up a successful living. There is no mundane welfare that cannot be got by one who follows the Noble Eight Fold Path.

The only constant energy is the change. Impermanency is the only constant nature in the world. Buddhism is the four retention of mind (Satipattana) Sanskhara is merits and demerits. Buddhism is an analytics. For complete understanding of Buddhism and the reality of the worldlings analysis is essential, Sanskhara being the most important discourse among them. There is nothing in the world that does not change. Whatever that has an arising nature is all that has the ceasing nature. In the absence of a changing cause and a cause that changes, there does not exist a being who is organised by cause of suffering in the world. With the creation of any action, the cessation too takes place. The Buddha pointed out to the humanity the suitable way for both mundane and super mundane welfare.

Dependent Origination which is the Buddhist cause and effect theory was discovered by the Buddha on the last night of first week after attaining Buddhahood. It is a cause of twelve links. Dependent Origination is the creation by means of a cause. The Dependant Origination which is a profound doctrine is a primary teaching in Buddhism. The Buddha has preached that as the communities embrace wrong views they cannot cross the sansaric ocean until they realise Dependant Origination and if one realise it he understands Dhamma by which he realises Dependant Origination which means causality. Buddhism analyses everything in the world including property, individual and event founded on this principle. This being thus comes to be. With the arising of this, this arises. Not being this does not come to be. With the cessation of this, this ceases. The Buddha recollected that as the twelve reasons of suffering work reciprocally suffering causes and it annihilates as a result of their non-working.

The cause of suffering is known as direct order (anuloma) while the indication of suffering is known as reverse order (Patiloma) of Dependant Origination. Dependant Origination which is everlasting and spreading in the universe is the result of finding the causes of sufferings by birth, decay and death of the beings. This doctrine which operates both during the times that a Buddha lives and not is realise and preached by Buddha to the world-ling. It is in agreement with the Dependant Origination that both the origin and cessation of sorrows alias problems of both personal and social are created with cause and secondary reasons.

Buddhism defines Kamma as the good or bad intentions. Thoughts are called Kamma. Buddhism teaches that one fifth of the things happening in this world is through Kamma which is collected purposely through mind, body and speech. Rebirth takes place as a result of Kamma collected by an individual in this world in the absesnce of which birth will not take place. Kamma is the seed.

Conception is its fruit. Sanskhara is merits and demerits or Kamma. When Thodeiyaputra asked as to what the reasons for variety of beings are, the Buddha preached thus. Beings are owners, inheritors and causers of Kamma which place them high and low. Various Kamma which are motivated by intentions are caused by mind, body and speech. Good deeds caused by mind, body and speech are called merits which are initiated by three good intentions called liberty, love and wisdom. Every action done without lust, hate and ignorance is a meritorious act while demeritorious Kamma are those that are harmful to the doer as well as to the others. All the Kamma are divided into two main parts called present Kamma and past Kamma. Resulting of Kamma take place in two ways:

1. Getting conceptions in an existence; and

2. by getting results while maintaining life after conception.

Kamma pursues and results an individual until he passes away after attaining Arahantship. When a meritorious deed is done, its result follows the doer like a shadow and gives him happy result while the result of a demeritorious deed follows the doer as the wheel that follows the bull tied to the cart giving distress. Not worrying to others is a merit while the working for the benefit of others is a more powerful merit. The employment of good deeds for one’s progress is a merit which enables the individual to enjoy the results of those deeds in this life itself. Likewise, he manages to pave the way for getting the results of merit of deeds done in the past births.

The discourse on Kamma which has 16 types is one of the main teachings of Buddhism. Kamma means doing or action. Everything thought or done and spoken is a deed. The mind initiates action. The working of the mind is known as intention (thinking). Intentions may be either good or bad. Intention is known as Kamma. Chetanahan Bhikkave Kamman Vadami, Chetaiva Kamman Karoti Kayena Vachaya Manasa. Kammic intentions occur in meditation also. The origination only of intentions can cause complete demeritorious Kamma also into which fall greed, hatred or aversion and wrong views. They are very powerful Kamma.

Intentions occur in strings. Demetritorious Kamma result in enhancing samsaric suffering while meritorious Kamma help to cease samsaric suffering by giving happiness. These two Kamma must be destroyed to get liberation from samsaric suffering. Kamma which cause results orginate through craving and ignorance of the Four Noble Truths.

As such Buddhism is a theory which teaches that Kamma are caused by intentions and deeds. The Buddha admitted the results of three sections namely past Kamma, present Kamma and things caused by other outward reasons. Buddhism teaches that an intelligent person can escape from the results of some demerits and that there is room for a tactless and foolish person to lose the results of merits. Although the results of some demeritorious Kamma can be escaped by good behavior results of all Kamma cannot be evaded. To put sufferings to an end the cause of both defilement and Kamma should be eradicted. The three factors of defilement Kamma and results compose personal life as cause and effect. The universe rests on Kamma. So also is the mankind. Craving consciousness and Kamma effect rebirth. Old Kamma are the six senses, namely eye, ear, nose, tongue, mind and body. New Kamma are intentions aroused by mind, body and speech. Actually, the nature of both intentions and Kamma is the same. Chetana and Chetaitva Kamma are there. The being reaps as he has sown. Kamma have been categorised according to the powerfulness of function, the time of resulting, the place of resulting and the occasion.

The three characteristics are known as the three main characteristics that exist in the world. They are impermanency, suffering and not self. It has been preached that these are natures common to every time and place. An intelligent person can attain the path and fruit by realising profoundly one of them.

In the same way, one cannot attain Arahantship without realising at least one of them. When the worldling has an understanding about the three characteristics he moderately lives in accordance with the eight vicissitudes. He will be courteous and pious. As all animate and inanimate things change (impermanency) one must act promptly. The self does not exist as one wishes. Therefore, it is mentioned in Buddhism as “yan aniccan tan dukkan” which means that an impermanent thing is of a suffering character. And also “yandukkan tan anatta” means that something sufferable is not self. The eight aspects that the Buddha preached comprises three words. They are anicca, dukkha, anatma which mean that the whole of Buddhism is included in them.

May all beings minimise rebirth.

May all beings attain Nibbana.