Anicca
Also called: Anitya · Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"
Meaning
Anicca means "impermanence". It is the Buddhist teaching that the world is transient, which means it is always changing and nothing lasts. Every person, thing and feeling arises and then passes away. Because of this, clinging to anything leads to sorrow. Anicca is one of the three marks of existence in Buddhism, along with anatta (soullessness) and dukkha (sorrow).
Example
A grieving mother, Kisā Gotamī in Buddhist tradition, begged the Buddha to bring her dead child back to life. He did not perform a miracle. He asked her to bring mustard seed from a house where no one had ever died. She found no such house, and so she understood that death comes to everyone.
Don't confuse with
- Anatta: anicca says everything changes. Anatta says there is no permanent soul in anything.
Related concepts
- Four Noble Truths
- Dukkha
- Anatta
- Pratityasamutpada
- Middle path
- Eightfold Path
- Nibbana
- Sarnath
- Buddha's teachings to laity
- Panchashila of Buddhism