The three imps
Next time you're berating other drivers or complaining about the weather, reflect on whether your distress is the result of misguided expectations about life
The previous post hinted at the relationship between dependent arising and emptiness. That is, the teaching of how phenomena arise in dependence on other phenomena, which means that they are "empty of inherent existence" as the tradition phrases it. A thing cannot absolutely be itself if it depends on external conditions.
Today I want to talk about how we experience emptiness on a day-to-day basis in terms of the three characteristics. I think this would be a useful perspective for many people to have. In Buddhist traditions, the three characteristics of conditioned existence are said to be:
- Dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness, imperfection)
- Anicca (impermanence, inconstancy)
- Anattā (Not self, impersonality).
The three imps
I like to call these the three imps: imperfection, impermanence, and impersonality. It's often explained that everything is impermanent and what is impermanent cannot ultimately satisfy, nor can it constitute a sovereign self that is independent from the conditions of the world. We can argue whether these really are true descriptions of reality across all times and places, but what is undeniable is that they broadly characterise many of our experiences in life—especially if our expectations are unrealistic.
These three are all consequences of emptiness: the fact that conditions are always changing and are "empty" of any fixed way of being. Nothing is quite dependable, nothing is quite certain. If our happiness depends on good weather, or a stock market rally, we might be disappointed. And even if luck is with us, we may be anxious because we know that good fortune can be reversed.
This might seem like a pessimistic way of looking at life, but in fact it frees us from a lot of negativity. The ancient Stoics, for example, recommended envisaging hardships as a way of pricing them in, rehearsing for them, and appreciating what we have. However optmistic our view of life, we all know that sickness, old age, and death are realities. This life is provisional. It is conditional, and we are not in control of these conditions. The conditions of life are indifferent to us.
But reflecting on these three characteristics can save us a lot of trouble and heartache. We're less likely to be taken in by the promises of marketers and more likely to seek quiet pleasures, contemplation, and to serve others where we can. Meditating and being mindful of these aspects of life is also said to bring profound insights and freedom. In many ways, noticing stress, impermanence, and impersonality is the subtext of many forms of mindfulness practice.
Are there exceptions to the three characteristics?
Interestingly, the Buddha described nibbāna (the end of suffering) as being anattā, impersonal, but the other two characteristics of suffering and impermanence do not apply. The reason for this is said to be that nibbāna is not a conditioned phenomenon. To say that something is conditioned is to say that it depends on, consists of, or is influenced by external factors. There are objections to this understanding of nibbāna as "the unconditioned", however.
The Buddha also stated that virtue, one's good karma, follows one from life to life, which I read as agreeing with the Stoic assessment that virtue is the only good: the one thing really worth possessing. I'm not an expert on this but I feel that when the Buddha said conditioned phenomena are unsatisfactory and impermanent, his intended targets were material posessions, wealth, power, and status: those kinds of conditions are vulnerable to change and don't necessarily create virtue or nobility of character.
I am sure that the Buddha also viewed virtue as conditioned, too, but it's also clear that virtue is a worthwhile good. Buddhism isn't a nihilistic teaching that "everything is suffering, nothing matters". It is actually trying to direct us towards those things that do matter, that are good: virtue, a peaceful and healthy mind, and wisdom.