THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL THINGS
Ducca, Anicca and Anatta
ஆசையே அலைபோலே
நாமெல்லாம் அதன் மேலே
ஓடம் போலே ஆடிடுவோமே
வாழ் நாளிலே!
...
சூறைக் காற்று மோதினால்
தோணி ஓட்டம் மேவுமோ?
வாழ்வில் துன்பம் வரவு,
சுகம் செலவு, இருப்பது கனவு.
காலம் வகுத்த கணக்கை இங்கே
யார் காணுவார்?
கவிஞர் கண்ணதாசன்
As Kannadasan beautifully points out desire is in such control of our lives that we pointlessly go up and down like a rudderless boat on waves.
Dukkha or unsatisfactoriness or stress is dominant in most lives. Day to to day happiness is short and fleeting. And the future is uncertain.
These verses refer to the first 2 (of 4) noble truths that the Buddha taught.
In Buddhism we often come across that the all mental and physical phenomena have three characteristics. They are unsatisfactory (pali: dukkha , துன்பம்), they are impermanent (anicca நிலையாமை) and they have no self (anatta தான் இன்மை).
For example, let us consider an iPhone4. It is an example of a physical phenomenon. It is a tool for communication and information. No more. If we get attached to it we are bound to experience dukkha - such as when it gets lost. I know a person who lost his iPhone. He got it back but he sure was miserable while it was lost! The iPhone is definitely impermanent. The manufacturer would not be giving a limited 1 year warranty otherwise. It will become obsolete and it will stop working. Just a question of time. Finally it has no self and is not ours. It is not part of what we consider to be our self. If we think otherwise we are bound to suffer when it stops working.
Replace the iPhone with a child and the 3 characteristics can be seen with a child too. Our child is another example of a physical phenomenon. Our child can cause us much suffering. When she is sick we worry. When she is late home we worry. When he does poorly at school we worry. They are also impermanent. Some day they will be separated from us. Not a question of whether, but when. It could be tomorrow, 10 years from now or longer.
All the more reason to enjoy their company at the present moment and at the present place. Finally, they are not ours or part of our self. If they do poorly in sports do not take it personally. When we don't have control over our own bodies (our body does not listen to us if we tell it not to age or get sick, does it?) how can we be in control of some other body? We can do everything possible for our child and show love and kindness to them and enjoy their company but the Buddhist advice would be not to be overly attached to them.
Consider anger. It is an example of a mental phenomenon. No need to explain anger is dukkha. It is so uncomfortable that we want to get it out of us - at times by screaming and shouting and throwing things. Fortunately it is also anicca (impermanent). The trick is to realize we are angry. We can be angry and also know that we are angry. This is mindfulness, one of the qualities of the mind. (Other qualities of the mind are thoughts, memory ..) Developing this mindfulness or noting quality of the mind is one purpose of meditation. Once we note that we are angry we realize it is just another passing phenomenon soon replaced by sadness or ecstasy or a pain in the leg or whatever the mind chooses to focus on next. Finally it has no self. It is not our anger.
"I am angry."
Buddhist response: "Whose anger is it?"
"It is my anger."
"If it is yours why don't you put it down and move away?"
In other words if the anger is really ours should we not have complete control over it and do as we wish?