Week Seven – Anicca, Anatta, and Dukkha

“Be mindful of impermanence to end conceit. When impermanence is understood it is also understood that none of this is self. Understanding not-self uproots conceit, uproots I-making. When fully established release is complete.” Sambodhi Sutta (AN 9:1)

Impermanence is an essential concept of the Dhamma. Impermanence, (Pali: Anicca), describes the environment in which unhappiness and stress arises and is maintained. All things in the phenomenal world are impermanent and all events are uncertain as to occurrence, effect and duration. Even the view of self changes from moment to moment.

Impermanence, not-self, and stress (dukkha) are the three linked characteristics of life in the phenomenal world.  Impermanence, not-self, and stress are also known as “The Three Marks of Existence.” Understanding these three concepts is developed within framework of The Eightfold Path.

What is perceived as a self is an ego-personality that has arisen from certain conditions known as the “12 Links of Dependent Origination.” The ego-personality is the form arisen from wrong view and maintained by clinging to wrong views. The Buddha describes the ego-self as “anatta” to show that what is perceived to be a self is not a self and that the belief in a permanent and substantial self is rooted in ignorance. 

The wisdom developed through the Eightfold Path ends ignorance of impermanence, not-self, and stress.

Dependent Origination is explained in detail in week eight. I will also refer to not-self (non-self) as ego-self or ego-personality. Anatta is first presented here for context and is explained in week eight in the context of dependent origination.

Not-Self has been misinterpreted to mean that the self is nothing, or a void, and has led some to seek an experience of “nothingness.” Not-Self simply means that what is commonly viewed as “self” is impermanent and insubstantial. This is a wrong view arising from ignorance. Not-Self is an impermanent and insubstantial view that must be abandoned. 

Having arisen within impermanence, the ego-self has the characteristics of impermanence. Not-Self is what is subject to the distraction of dukkha, perpetuating delusion. It is the establishment and maintenance of the ego-self that continues stress.

Impermanence also allows for the ego-self to be extinguished, and the distraction of stress brought to an end. Views of self leading to suffering are formed due to a lack of understanding, due to ignorance. Developing understanding, developing wisdom, ends unhappiness and stress.

It is clinging that perpetuates the ego-self.  It is the ego-personality’s preoccupation with stress that perpetuates clinging and continues disenchantment and unhappiness.

It is within the environment of impermanence that stress arises, and all wrong views of self are established and maintained. It is also within the environment of impermanence that awakening occurs.

What is awakening? The Buddha describes awakening simply and directly, without any ambiguity, esoterica, or magical thinking:

“Awakening is understanding stress, abandoning the cause of stress (clinging), experiencing the cessation of stress, and developing the path leading to the cessation of stress.” 

Understanding impermanence brings an end to all clinging views.

As the way of understanding the environment of impermanence and clinging the Buddha taught Four Noble Truths.  The development and understanding of The Four Noble Truths occurs within the environment of impermanence. 

Through understanding the environment in which the ego-self is established and maintained, all views of self can be recognized. Through recognition and Right Intention all views of self can be abandoned. The Eightfold Path develops understanding known as Right View. Right View is understanding the truth of stress and the impermanent environment that the ego-self is established and maintained.

The sole purpose of the Dhamma is to recognize and abandon all clinging views of an ego-self. Clinging causes the distraction of Dukkha. Abandoning clinging brings an end to Dukkha.

As concentration increases through Jhana meditation the process of establishing and maintaining an ego-self is able to be mindfully observed and with Right Intention, abandoned.

Impermanence, stress and the ego-self are all observable facts of our human existence.

Impermanence is the pervasive, over-arching experience of all life in the phenomenal world. By clinging to the form of an ego-self stress is experienced within the environment of impermanence through perception and feeling and reactive and distracted thinking. The ego-personality establishes and maintains itself by clinging to impermanent objects, events, views, and ideas. It is your ego-personality that is subject to unhappiness and stress.

The ego-personality is associated with a physical form that is interpreted through consciousness. This combination of consciousness and form is known as Nama-Rupa. Nama-Rupa means Name and Form. Name, or nama, (conscious identity or identification as an ego-personality) is the mental or psychological factor of an ego-self and rupa, form, is the physical factor. This mental/physical self is an aggregate of five impermanent phenomenal aspects that together comprise what is called a self. There is nothing permanent about any individual aspect of the five aggregates nor in the combination of all five. 

These five factors of not-self, known as “The Five Clinging Aggregates” are: 

1. Physical Form
2. Feelings
3. Perceptions
4. Mental Fabrications 
5. Consciousness

The Five Clinging-Aggregates is explained in detail in week Eight.

Anatta is the word the Buddha used to describe what is commonly referred to as “self” to be “anatta”, not a self. He is simply pointing out that though firmly entrenched in the human psyche through common agreement and support, the belief in an ego-self is an ignorant view and leads to endless confusion and suffering. Any further establishment of self-identity in any form or any realm, physical or non-physical, will only lead to more confusion and suffering.

The Buddha’s teaching on what constitutes a self has taken on confusing and misleading esoteric, magical and mystical interpretations. Anatta means  “not-self” or “non-self” and refers to that which is to be abandoned through understanding and developing The Four Noble Truths. It would be (and is) confusing to attempt to describe a concept of self without the context of developing an understanding of The Four Noble Truths. 

The Buddha consistently avoided this as it would prove a distraction to his stated purpose. “Not-self” simply refers to an insubstantial and impermanent ego-personality that is mistaken as a substantial and permanent individual identity.

Not-self refers to the impermanence and insubstantiality of the ego-personality. The insubstantiality of the ego-self is obscured by the preoccupation of maintaining anatta within the impermanent environment of stress. The stress and unhappiness of the ego-self is an underlying characteristic of the experience of life in the phenomenal world. In short anatta rooted in ignorance and impermanence is dukkha.

Shedding the ego-personality by ceasing clinging to impermanent objects and ignorant views brings lasting peace and happiness.

It is in the continual attempt to establish and maintain an ego-self within the environment of impermanence that perpetuates dukkha. Some “Buddhist” practices do just this by over-emphasis on conceptual notions of not-self and creating mystical connotations to non-self. Creating ideals for the ego-self to aspire to further establishes the ego-self and continues confusion and suffering.

All aspects of self are impermanent and any conditioned thought or thought construct that attempts to distract from this truth is also clinging, specifically clinging to views and ideas. Clinging to views and ideas maintains the distraction of stress and generates additional karma. This is why all views of self are to be recognized and abandoned. This is the purpose of insight: to clearly recognize impermanence and all wrong views of self.

The simplest way to describe the Buddha’s teaching on Not-self is this: anything that the ego-self clings to, whether objects, people, events, views, or ideas, or the pursuit of happiness through acquisition of objects, people, events, views, or ideas, will create confusion, disenchantment and lasting unhappiness – let them go. In other words, the self you think you are is the self that is prone to stress and unhappiness. It is a self born of a lack of understanding and no matter what theoretical or experiential knowledge the non-self acquires; it will never develop understanding.

Still another way to see this is by definition and association. The self is defined by attachments. Association is another word for attachments. The self is also defined by its associations. Who you associate with and what you associate with, including impermanent ideas or notions of an altruistic self, defines the self you will experience. This does not mean that you should have no associations. It does mean you should be mindful of all associations and to not try to make what is impermanent permanent. 

Do your associations support developing understanding within the framework of The Eightfold Path? Do your associations increase your own and other’s confusion and suffering through validation of yours and other’s unskillful actions? The Eightfold Path provides a highly effective framework for guiding associations and focus for practice. 

The Buddha did not teach that there is no self, only that the self we have fabricated through an observable process is not worth defending or continually re-establishing. Anatta, not-self refers, to an ego-personality that has arisen from ignorance. It is the ego-personality that is prone to endless confusion and suffering. Not-self has created endless views of itself that are all subject to impermanence and suffering. 

Insight into this one thing, that all views arising from an ego-self cause stress and unhappiness, will bring lasting peace and happiness. Within the framework of The Eightfold Path all views of self are recognized. As new views arise they are quickly abandoned. It is not-self, the ego-personality that is subject to stress. It is only this impermanent and insubstantial ego-personality that is to be abandoned.

Awakening is understanding the nature of experience in the phenomenal world. The phenomenal world is all that is perceived through contact with the five physical senses and discriminating consciousness. 

It is due to the effects of stress that make understanding stress paramount in the Buddha’s teaching. It is preoccupation with stress that blocks awakening. It is the preoccupation with the need to continually establish and defend the impermanent, ever-changing ego-personality that blocks awakening.

Understanding that all things are impermanent is the key to understanding how your thinking has created the condition of stress. 

Some physical objects, such as a mountain, or planet, or a house, maintain a physical form for a longer period of time than a butterfly, an apple, a thought, or a human body. All will decay, change form, and fade from existence. 

Anatta, not-self, can only seek to establish itself in impermanent objects, views, and ideas. This is the purpose of the phenomenal world and why the ego-self is so enamored with the world. As long as anatta continues this quest confusion and suffering will prevail. As long as anatta continues this quest, karma will continue.

Due to unquenched desire for existence, the ego-personality creates karma. Kamma unfolds moment-by-moment as the distraction of stress and unhappiness. Though physical form will change due to impermanence, karma continues the experience of stress and unhappiness. 

This is an important example of impermanence. Continuity is not permanence. Continuity is recurrence due to repeatedly recreating the conditions leading to an experience, in this case continued re-establishment of an ego-self subject to confusion and suffering.

Kamma and rebirth are explained in week nine.

Recurring life situations and intellectual or emotional reactions are simply an impermanent, but repetitive, and discursive, product of discriminating consciousness or conditioned mind. Conditioned thinking and conditioned mind is formed due to ignorance of impermanence, maintained by the distraction of stress, and given validity by an ego-personality.

In order to understand stress and the ego-self we must first understand impermanence. Understanding impermanence is seeing clearly that all phenomenal things, including what we perceive as self, will sooner or later cease as an individual and (seemingly) eternal form. As wisdom of impermanence arises, grasping and attachment ceases.

Look closely at anything with a form, and you will find that it is also formless, without any permanent characteristics. What has a form will also be formless. Out of formlessness, form appears.  (This teaches impermanence, not emptiness.)

Initially it is desire for existence that conditioned mind arises. Continued grasping after contentment and pleasure and aversion to what is uncomfortable or unpleasant reinforces conditioned mind. The Eightfold Path interrupts the self-perpetuating nature of conditioned mind.

If it were not for the truth of impermanence you could not liberate yourself from stress. You would be bound endlessly to disappointment, stress, dissatisfaction and suffering caused by your initial craving and clinging to phenomenon.

The second characteristic of the phenomenal world, stress and unhappiness, is caused by ignorance of impermanence. Stress and unhappiness is maintained by the discriminating and discursive way conditioned mind reacts to the ever-changing events of phenomenal existence.

Even the events of our lives that bring us happiness or satisfaction will eventually be the cause of stress due to uncertainty and impermanence.

It is an obvious fact that all things are impermanent, but the ego-personality continues to hold on to that which brings safety, pleasure and fulfillment, and develops aversion (clinging to avoidance) towards people and events it wishes to avoid.

It is this constant preoccupation with craving and aversion that only maintains a self subject to suffering.

Another way of describing the impermanence of all phenomenal things is that uncertainty is characteristic of all phenomenal things. We can never know what the next moment will bring. Ignorance of uncertainty allows for clinging which causes stress. Wisdom is knowing, understanding, and accepting uncertainty. Wisdom brings a mind of spacious equanimity.

The third characteristic of the phenomenal world, not-self, is unique to the teachings of the Buddha, and perhaps the most difficult to observe and understand. The more conditioned thinking is, the more difficult it will be to grasp this third observable truth.

If you look closely at what you normally perceive as “self” you will see that there is nothing permanent that you can perceive through your five physical senses and interpretive consciousness, or your six senses (the six-sense base). This is a kind of feedback loop or discursive thinking: From wrong view (or ignorant view, lacking wisdom) you perceive yourself through contact with your senses as the “perceiver” and all perceived phenomenon as outside of yourself, therefore you must in fact have a permanent and separate existence from other observed phenomenon that appear “outside” of the “perceiver”, yourself. This wrong view can only perpetuate wrong view. Ignorance can never lead to wisdom, only wisdom ends ignorance.

Misunderstanding the vehicle for how all things in the phenomenal world are inter-connected has led to a subtle but distraction-causing over-emphasis on interconnectedness. Due to the nature of how an ego-self arises and perceives, all objects are inter-connected, but all objects are also impermanent and insubstantial. Creating conceptual interconnectedness, inter-dependence, or inter-being for the ego-self only creates additional craving and clinging and only perpetuates delusion and suffering.

The suffering caused by ignorance should not be ignored but it should be seen that creating specialness of impermanent objects, events, views, and ideas due to phenomenal inter-connection perpetuates distraction and stress.

Any further establishment of anatta, the ego-self, in any realm to support any idea or ideal will only create further confusion and suffering as it encourages further craving and clinging. Anatta, the ego-self is maintained by craving and clinging.

Much like a chair deconstructed to its component parts would no longer have characteristics of a chair, a human form deconstructed to its component parts could no longer be identified as a human. The chair’s identity is linked to all of its component parts coming together in a certain form.  Identification as a self is dependent on this phenomenon as well. The human body holding a “consciousness” that is perceived to be a “self” is just as “empty” of a permanent identify as its deconstructed components. Since none of the individual components can be said to have a “self,” it is only in the clinging together of the discrete components, or individual aggregates, that we say that the body houses a separate and unique self.

The human form is simply an instrument that has arisen to interact with the physical world and is dependent on the same causes and conditions of all phenomena for its existence. This ego-self, subject to the same truth as all physical phenomena, arises from the formless, becomes form, and will again enter the formless state.

What the Buddha discovered upon his awakening, with a quiet and well-concentrated mind, is that all things are conditioned particles of energy that have coalesced into the appearance of form. Out of the formless state we now have form. The seemingly separate forms that we perceive are impermanent and absent of any self-inherent nature, including the form we perceive as “I.”

It requires continued, ever-vigilant directed thought to maintain the ego-self in an impermanent environment. This is stress. This is dukkha. This confused and deluded thinking can be refined and purified and bring relief from craving and clinging and develop lasting peace and happiness.

Through the development of all factors of The Eightfold Path, insight into impermanence, uncertainty and clinging arises. Understanding how ignorance contributes to the establishment and maintenance of a “self” develops the ability to abandon all views of self.

These are not abstract, mystical, magical, or esoteric ideas. Holding Right View and Right Intention brings virtuous thoughts, words, and deeds. Being mindful of Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood, insight into craving and clinging is developed. Developing Right Concentration by engaging in Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Meditation will lead to insight into impermanence, disappointment, and your ego-self. Understanding impermanence, stress and your ego-self is fundamental to understanding the Dhamma and developing The Noble Eightfold Path.

By using Jhana meditation within the framework of The Eightfold Path insight is gained to the impermanent nature of thoughts and of all phenomena.  Wisdom arises and all delusional thoughts are observed directly. The nature of impermanence, stress and the ego-self is understood with true mindfulness.

Through the heightened wisdom gained from a Dhamma practice of heightened virtue and heightened concentration, the impermanence of all things is realized. Once impermanence is completely understood, the ego-self falls away as insubstantial and unsustainable. As the ego-self is abandoned through wisdom, craving and clinging ceases and stress and unhappiness comes to an end. 

With no impermanent ego-self attached to stress, lasting peace and happiness arises within your once confused and unhappy mind.

“Just as in the autumn a farmer, plowing with a large plow, cuts through all the spreading rootlets as he plows; in the same way, my dear friends, the perceiving of impermanence, developed and frequently practiced, removes all sensual passion… removes and abolishes all conceit of “I am.”  The Buddha [1]

 This Week’s Dhamma Study

• Continue with your meditation practice in the morning and early evening. If you feel comfortable with adding a few minutes to your practice do so. 10 to 15 minutes of meditation each session should be comfortable now.
• In meditation, remain mindful of your breathing as you dispassionately notice feelings and thoughts arise and dissipate. When you notice that you are caught up in your own thoughts and have lost awareness of your breath, put aside the focus on your thoughts and place your awareness on your breathing. Continue to be aware of your mind from a dispassionate observational view, a mind-state of choiceless awareness always mindful of your breath.
• Continue to develop wisdom by noticing your attachments to the people and events of your life, including yourself. Continue to generate the Right Intention to let go of all attachments and all impermanent views.
• In your day-to-day life notice when you are engaged in Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood and when you are not. Develop the strong intention to abandon all wrong speech, action and livelihood. As concentration deepens, non-virtuous thoughts, words and deeds become apparent.
• Continue to develop Right Effort. Put aside time for a regular meditation practice and maintain a priority to your practice. There will always be life events distracting away from practice. Very rarely will these events be more immediate or important than putting aside some time twice a day for a period of meditation. Bring mindfulness into all areas of your life by staying focused in the present moment.
• Keep a journal of any persistent thoughts and your awareness of the impermanence of all thoughts. Avoid being analytical. This is a dispassionate observance of thoughts and feelings as they arise and pass away. Take note of developing a more mindful presence in your life. Notice when you are fully present with another. Notice when you are not as distracted or reactive.
• Write a paragraph or two regarding your Dhamma practice and write down any questions or insights into impermanence and how impermanence contributes to stress and unhappiness. Note your deepening understanding of how impermanence and clinging give rise to the stress and unhappiness of the ego-personality. 
• To submit your writing, please use this form: Contact – Cross River Meditation
• Responses are generally within 24 to 48 hours.
• Continue your Dhamma study with week eight.
• Always be gentle with yourself and enjoy your practice!
  
  [1] Samyutta Nikaya 22.102 (unverified reference)