Anicca

With perfect understanding of Dependent Origination, Lord Buddha began his teaching on Anicca –impermanence.  Lord Buddha says:

“Anicca vata Sankhara –Uppada Vayadhammino

Uppajjitva Nirujjhanti-Tesam Vupasamo Sukho.

All component things are impermanent.

They arise and cease, that is their nature.

They come into being and pass away.

Released from them is the Bliss Supreme.”

“Sabbe Sankhara Anicca.  Sabbe Sankhara Dukkha: All phenomena including mental as well as material are transient and impermanent.  All conditioned or compounded things experience suffering (Dhammapada).”  This is the natural law of existence.

In narrower sense the word Dukkha means suffering, misery or sorrow but the same term in wider sense means un-satisfactoriness.

Every phenomenon is a product of antecedent cause, which is also not permanent.  Every event is a result of concatenation of a preceding event. 

The teaching on impermanence is understood clearly and correctly with the understanding of Dependence Origination, which together with Four Noble Truths hold all Buddhist schools of diverse practices together.

The tenet of Buddhist teaching is that the Samsara is the result of cause an effect and it is based on the reality of Dependent Origination.  It is the fundamental philosophy that denies existence of external entity, supernatural power or God responsible for creation, maintenance or destruction of any entity or all of Samsara. 

Lord Buddha’s teaching stems from the recognition that in Samsara every being is inflicted with suffering, that suffering has its source, that suffering can be removed, and that there are paths for eradicating suffering. 

It is natural to be curious to know the cause of a phenomenon.  When the cause and effect are at proximity and so close, it is not difficult to account the occurrence of the event.  But when the effect is far away from the cause, the effect is not easily accountable.  In such cases it appears to be no cause and it is deduced that the occurrence is due to supernatural cause, which leads to belief on God, independent of phenomena.

This world is supported by a polarity: that of existence and non-existence.  When one sees origination of the world as it actually is with right discernment, non-existence with reference to the world does not occur.  But, when one sees cessation of the world as it actually is with right discernment, existence with reference to the world does not occur. 

Lord Buddha’s teaching on Anicca –impermanence, is based on the relative truth of phenomenal world which is transient and lacks absolute truth. 

Our existence extends from apparent level to subtlest level.  At apparent level we exist in gross.  It is the apparent truth.  At apparent level our existence in phenomenal.  We live with Ego, which creates illusion and confusion in mind, and we suffer.  When we progress from apparent level of existence to the subtlest level, one will come to know the ultimate truth, which is Sunya, pure, no attachment, no Ego, no clinging, no suffering.

Once a Bhikkhu Sati misunderstood Lord Buddha’s teaching to mean that human consciousness is eternal, which passes from one existence to another. 

To Bhikkhu Sati, Lord Buddha said; “Annatra Pachaya Nathi Vinnanassa Sambhavo.  There is no arising of human consciousness without reference to a condition.”

Lord Buddha explained to Bhikkhu Sati: “O Bhikkhu! That which is called consciousness, arises as one thing and ceases as another. 

For example the eye consciousness is impermanent as it is seeing the visible object, which is also impermanent.  The mental phenomenon arising as a result of what the eyes have seen is also impermanent. 

The human consciousness is evolutionary, as everything is.  It will reach its apogee at the end of the time.  In the mean time one should cultivate small garden of enlightenment, for no one truly knows what ultimate enlightenment is. 

One should continue to make small steps towards enlightenment for that is real.  One should seek divine being, the Buddha Nature within, which is available to all human being.  That is precondition for any form of enlightenment.” 

Here Lord Buddha has referred enlightenment and divine-being; both referring to the same thing; the realisation of Buddha Nature, which is essentially the inner consciousness at subtlest level.

The outer human consciousness belongs to matter and it is impermanent.  It is evolutionary, and considering what is impermanent as permanent is ignorance –the source of suffering.  The inner consciousness at the subtlest level is Buddha Nature.  It is divine and it is eternal.  With perfect understanding of these two truths, Lord Buddha discarded the God factor, the independent supernatural factor, but continued with divinity in the form of Buddha Nature. 

Lord Buddha finally told Bhikkhu Sati; “He who discern origin by way of cause he discerns the Dhamma.  He who discerns the Dharma he discerns origin by way of cause.” 

Every being is a compound, an aggregation of elements.  When the elements are disaggregated into independent component element, dissolution is ensured.  This is what is called impermanence of a composite entity.

Every individual being comes to existence by a combination of causes and conditions, and has no independent noumenon of its own.  When the combination of cause and condition is dissolved, its destruction is ensured. 

The impermanence of a composite entity is best described by the formula: “being is becoming.”  We are changing from moment to moment; physically, mentally and psychologically. 

The phenomenal world, as we perceive it, belongs to relative truth.  The entire creation out of the continuum of particles in space obeyed the laws of cause and effect.  The time and space only exist relative to particular reference and to our experience. 

A being of the past has lived, but it does not live nor will it live.  A being of a future moment will live but had not lived nor does it live.  The being of the present moment does live but had not lived and will not live. 

In this changing world, the present moment holds the key to moral and ethical progress towards divinity.  The psychological ‘now’ contains all the potentials, and with ethical actions one commands one’s own destiny. 

In phenomenal existence, our thought and action caused by attachment are impermanent.  Our being due to attachment is impermanent.  But the Buddha Nature that pervades in every one of us exists eternally and it alone is permanent. 

When one comes out from attachment sees the absolute truth and experience true happiness.  It is only possible by realizing Buddha Nature, the divine self, inherently present within by purifying our thought and action. 

Based on causation and conditionality, Lord Buddha avoided two extremes and said, “Sabbam Atthi -everything is, Sabbam Natthi -everything is not, and Sabbam Bhavati -everything happens i.e. happens by way of cause and effect.”

According to the doctrine of Anicca, there is nothing which is absolutely singular.  A thing is nothing more than coming together of all causes and nothing has a single cause.  No phenomenon is independent and it depends on several causes for its existence. 

In this world, infinitesimal change is taking place.  When one is born, the death is sure.  One cannot hold on to good things all the time.  One cannot hold on at any stage of the change continuum.  A thing exists on the basis that a set of cause and condition exist, when the cause and condition vanish, that thing also vanish. 

Every form of existence is impermanent, and the impermanence cannot be the basis of permanent.  Whatever is transient and changing cannot be eternal and by that fact the state of change is always at unsatisfactory state that causes suffering. 

When we are attached to things that are constantly changing, we experience un-satisfactoriness and we suffer.  But when we know things as they truly are; Yathabhutam -Anicca, Anatta and Dukkha, we do not get agitated by them, we do not take refuse in them, and we do not suffer. 

By nature we want to be happy, a state of being satisfied.  But we long worldly happiness.  For worldly happiness we depend on another, on society and on environment.  We oppose any change on them against our wish and hence there is a constant battle in us between change and desire. 

Our relationship with others is based on personal and possessive love.  Can we love and yet not possess?   This question unfolds our psychological dependence which is responsible for creating fear and greed.

To be happy and remain so, we have perceived idea of completeness and satisfactoriness.  We fear of losing what we possess and greed for what we do not possess.  We cling on to our perceived idea and to any alteration on them we oppose and become unsatisfied.  From that state of un-satisfactoriness we experience suffering. 

The primary cause of un-satisfactoriness is Ego, the center of unified craving.  It is Ego that creates possessiveness in us.  When we understand the process of possessiveness, we come to know how to love without dependence and how to overcome the desire.

The doctrine of Anicca validates that everything is mutually conditioned.  Since everything is mutually conditioned, nothing is truly separate and there are no independent entities. 

To be satisfied and happy it requires that our thoughts and feelings are harmonious with thoughts and feelings of others.  It is not how others act and react but how we act and react is important.