I feel very grateful for all the practices that Thay, our venerable teacher, offers to help us transform our suffering and live a happier life. One of these practices is the Five Mindfulness Trainings, which are guidelines that help us look deeply into our daily life. The question one might ask could then be: “How do we look deeply?”
In his Book No Death, No Fear, Thay answers this question:
All authentic practices of the Buddha carry within them three essential teachings called the Dharma Seals. These three teachings of the Buddha are: impermanence, no self and nirvana. Just as all-important legal documents have the mark or signature of a witness, all genuine practices of the Buddha bear the mark of these three teachings.
If we look into the first Dharma Seal, impermanence, we see that it doesn’t just mean that everything changes. By looking into the nature of things, we can see that nothing remains the same for even two consecutive moments. Because nothing remains unchanged from moment to moment, it therefore has no fixed identity or a permanent self. So in the teaching of impermanence we always see the lack of an unchanging self. We call this “no self,” the second Dharma Seal. It is because things are always transforming and have no self that freedom is possible.
The third Dharma Seal is nirvana. This means solidity and freedom, freedom from all ideas and notions. The word “nirvana” literally means “the extinction of all concepts.” Looking deeply into impermanence leads to the discovery of no self. The discovery of no self leads to nirvana. (39-55)
In my daily life, I try my best to remind myself of the gift of impermanence: For example, when I suffer, I know it won’t be forever, and when I am happy, I am taking my time to fully feel and embody happiness or, as the neuroscientist and meditator Dr. Rich Hanson would say, “I am taking in the good.” And by taking in the good, I am watering my seed of happiness which then becomes stronger and, in turn, will sustain me in difficult times.
In The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, Thay tells us that “we need to learn to appreciate the value of impermanence.” He goes on by saying:
From the point of view of time, we say “impermanence,” and from the point of view of space, we say “nonself.” Things cannot remain themselves for two consecutive moments, therefore, there is nothing that can be called a permanent “self.” […] Looking deeply at impermanence, you see nonself. Looking deeply at nonself, you see impermanence. We cannot say, “I can accept impermanence, but non-self is too difficult.” They are the same. (132)
As Thay explains, the Buddha offered the Three Dharma Seals as keys to unlock the door of reality:
We touch not only the phenomenal aspects of reality but the ground of being, the substance of all that is. A wave does not have to die in order to become water. Water is the substance of wave. The wave is already water. We are also like that. We carry in us the ground of interbeing, nirvana, the world of no-birth and no-death, no permanence and no impermanence, no self and no nonself. Nirvana is the complete silencing of concepts. The notions of impermanence and nonself were offered by the Buddha as instruments of practice, not as doctrines to workship, fight, or die for.” (136)
Thay continues:
Nirvana means pacifying, silencing, or extinguishing the fire of suffering. Nirvana teaches that we already are what we want to become. We don’t have to run after anything anymore. We only need to return to ourselves and touch our true nature. When we do, we have real peace and joy. (140)
Monday night, after our sitting and walking meditations, we will be invited to share about our practice and how the Three Dharma Seals help us create peace and joy in our daily life. I am looking forward to our evening together.
In gratitude for the Three Jewels,
Brigitte
You can read further on the chapter on The Practice of Looking Deeply.