Three Dharma Seals
Pāli: tilakkhaṇa · Sanskrit: trilakṣaṇa · Vietnamese: Tam pháp ấn
The Three Dharma Seals are three fundamental marks identifying the Buddhist view of conditioned phenomena: impermanence, suffering, and not-self. Impermanence means all conditioned phenomena change. Suffering means the mind becomes unsettled when it clings to changing things as though they guaranteed lasting happiness. Not-self means no independent, permanent, absolutely controlling self exists within body and mind. These seals are not pessimistic slogans. They are tools for examining experience: do emotions arise and cease, does grasping tense the mind, is the idea of ‘I’ truly fixed? Seeing these three marks helps learners live more realistically, deceive themselves and blame others less, and return to mindfulness, ethical conduct, concentration, and wisdom.
A guide by Inti Foundation · updated
Praise arises and passes away: impermanence. Wanting to preserve the feeling of being praised can create suffering. The thought ‘I must always be recognized’ is not a solid self, but a conditioned psychological construction.
Understanding impermanence, suffering, and not-self does not mean minimizing others' pain. Seeing phenomena's fragility instead brings greater compassion, care, and responsibility in the present.
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A common presentation includes impermanence, suffering, and not-self. Some traditions also emphasize the peace of Nirvana as a related Dharma Seal.
No. Suffering points to the incompleteness and inability to provide lasting satisfaction of phenomena that are clung to; it does not deny wholesome joy.
No. Not-self breaks attachment to a fixed self, but actions still have consequences and learners must still live responsibly.
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