The 3 aspects of human existence

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According to Budhism there are 3 principal characteristics of human existence:

  • impermanence
  • egolessness
  • suffering or dissatisfaction

And, according to them, our lives are marked by these 3 qualities. Recognizing these qualities to be real and true in our own experience helps us to relax with things as they are…

If we pause here and let this sink in, it means that what we struggle against all our lives are in fact ordinary experiences. Life does go up and down. Continually. Friends, colleagues, situations are sometimes unpredictable. We sometimes get what we want. And sometimes we don’t. It is not our personal inability to get things right, that makes us suffer. There is not really a cure for the facts of life.

So instead of struggling against them, how about stopping to struggle against reality? Stop harming ourselves and others? Stop trying to escape the succession of pleasure and pain? Instead, how about relaxing and staying fully present in our lives? No judgment!