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The Three Marks of Existence

The Three Marks of Existence are sometimes known as the Three Universal Truths. They are:

Buddhism infographic showing the Three Marks of Existence: Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta.
  • Anicca (impermanence) - This means instability, or a lack of permanence.
  • Dukkha (dissatisfaction) - This means that everything leads to suffering.
  • Anatta (no soul) - This means no soul and is the idea that people can and do change in life.

Anicca is concerned with how resilient a Buddhist is. It encourages Buddhists to accept death and suffering as a part of life. Buddhists accept that everything changes, things are not permanent and everything is temporary.

Dukkha is belief in three types of suffering. They are:

  1. Ordinary suffering, which includes emotional, physical and mental suffering and pain.
  2. Suffering through change (viparinama-dukkha), which is linked to anicca, which is concerned with the suffering that happens through ordinary life and the impermanence of things.
  3. Suffering through dissatisfaction or attachment (samkhara-dukkha), which refers to suffering because of being attached to objects, people and the things you do in life.

Anatta - Buddhists believe that there is no permanent self or soul. Because there is no unchanging permanent essence or soul, Buddhists sometimes talk about energy being reborn, rather than souls.

Question

What will acceptance of impermanence lead to, according to Buddhists?

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