Three Marks of Existence

Overview & Purpose Education Standards Addressed

To introduce the three marks of existence. Students should come away understanding the importance that they have on Buddhist perspectives of the nature of the universe.

Activity Aims Time Given Other Open lesson by asking students To get students to think critically 5 Minutes what 3 things they think define about the nature of the universe. existence. Encourage them to think on a large scale. Remind them that it must apply to everything in existence Introduce the three marks of Students should be able to apply 10 Minutes Try to get students to use the Pali/Sanskrit existence one at a time. Dukkha is Buddhist theory to modern day terms for the marks rather than English. a good starting point for this. issues. Dukkha as unease is a more accurate Read the passage from the translation than suffering. Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta which outlines the different types of dukkha. Write them out on the board and ask students to write examples for each type. Explain to the students that Students should be able to recall 10 Minutes Analogies from the Pali Canon might be anicca applies to everything that previous lessons on the Middle Way. helpful in explaining the relationship between exists within samsāra. As a result They should also be aware of how anicca and the Middle Way, the Kevaddha everything is in a constant state radical this idea must have been at Sutta is a good example of this. of flux. How does this make the the time. students feel? Ask how this relates to Buddhism being the Middle Way?

Explain to students that within Students should be able to 10 Minutes Not-Self is a better translation than no-soul. It Buddhist thought there is the recognise the significance of this could also be worth introducing the Middle concept of anatta. There is no particular teaching and how it Way into this part of the lesson. With both ‘self’ that goes from life to life. differs from other ideas that were anicca and anatta could it be argued that Stress to students that there is a present in India at the time. Buddhism is nihilistic? ‘conventional’ self, the identity of the individual but it is one that changes, thus impermanent. For students who might require it use the analogy of the chariot that was given to King Milinda. Get the students to divide into Students should have a knowledge 15 Minutes groups and give each group one and understanding of the teachings of the three marks. Ask them to of the Buddha. They should be write a modern analogy confident in using Buddhist explaining their particular mark. terminology. After 5 minutes get the class to share their analogies.