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1 THE THREE UNIVERSAL TRUTHS:[1] IMPERMANENCE Once the Buddha overcame his own suffering and became enlightened, he started teaching others how they could become free from their unhappiness and suffering. What he taught was that the main reason people suffer is because they are constantly craving things to make them happy. He said that this was because they didn’t understand the truth about the person that does the craving (themselves!) as well as the things that they crave for, and that if they did understand the truth about these things the craving would stop and suffering would come to an end. To help people get rid of their misunderstanding and stop craving, he taught the THREE UNIVERSAL TRUTHS; they are called universal truths because Buddhists believe they are true for every single thing in the universe. The Three Universal Truths are ‘Impermanence’ (Pali-Anicca, pronounced ‘Aneecha’), ‘Selflessness’ (Pali-Anatta, pronounced ‘Anatter’), and ‘Suffering’ (Pali-Dukkha, pronounced ‘Ducker’). Pali is an ancient Asian language that some of the Buddhist scriptures are written in. THE 1st UNIVERSAL TRUTH:IMPERMANENCE-ANICCA The Buddha taught that everything that exists, from all of the infinite universes down to the tiniest atoms is constantly changing-nothing is fixed. Even our thoughts and feelings do not stay the same from one moment to the next. Things only appear to stay the same because something similar arises to replace them, like the stream of a waterfall. TASKS In silence, sit and watch a candle flame for five minutes. Then answer the following questions: v Is the flame you watched at the beginning of the exercise the same as the one at the end or has it changed? v If you think it has changed, when did this change happen? v Make a detailed list of the changes that took place in the candle, you, the room and the world outside during the five minutes. v Is there anything in the universe that is the same as it was when you started the task? v What does the term ‘Anicca’ mean? v Put the teaching on IMPERMANENCE into your own words, using examples to illustrate the meaning. KS3 Buddhism, lesson 5 G Beesley & the Dechen Community 2 v According to medical experts, in the space of a few years every single cell in the body has died and been replaced by new cells. In light of this, do you think you are the same person as you were 5 years ago? What has changed? v Describe all of the things that make up ‘you’. Among all of the things, are any of them permanent? v Does thinking about the fact that everything is changing all the time make you feel different? In what way? KS3 Buddhism, lesson 5 G Beesley & the Dechen Community