The Doctrine of Impermanence



Impermanence (Sanskrit: अनित्य anitya; Pāli: अिनच्च anicca; Tibetan: mi rtag pa; Chinese: wúcháng; Japanese: 無常 mujō) refers to the Buddhist notion that every conditioned existence, including gods, is inconstant and in flux. It is one of the essential doctrines or Three marks of existence in Buddhism. According to this doctrine, human life embodies this flux in the aging process, the cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara), and in any experience of loss. The doctrine further asserts that because things are impermanent, attachment to them is futile, and leads to suffering (dukkha). Impermanence is also intimately associated with the doctrine of anatta, which suggests that things have no fixed nature, essence, or self and the only true end of impermanence then is nirvana, the reality that knows no change, decay or death. .

Comments

Anonymous said…
Could you please tell me what specifically the symbol in the image above translates as and what language it is derived from?

Many thanks :-)
footiam said…
The Chinese characters? Wu Chang? I suppose you can translate them literally as 'not always'.
Alex said…
Hi there!

Excuse me for not knowing, but the painted characters in the picture differ from the characters in the text - I guess there are different ways of writing them? But they mean the same?
footiam said…
The characters in the picture are Chinese characters, read as Wu Chang, translated into 'not always'. I suppose that means things are not permanent and are always changing.