The Three Characteristics in Buddhism: Impermanence, Suffering, and Non-Self ExplainedBy Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
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According to the Buddha, all conditioned phenomena share these three qualities, and awakening comes from deeply realizing them in direct experience.
While these concepts originated over 2,500 years ago, they resonate strongly with modern psychology. When examined carefully, they reveal not only the nature of reality but also practical insights into how the mind constructs identity, clings to certainty, and struggles with change. In this article, we’ll explore what each characteristic means, how psychology can illuminate these teachings, and how we can begin to see through them in our own lives. Get The FREE Awakening eBook✓ Discover what awakening is like
✓ Learn about the four stages between awakening & enlightenment ✓ Get exercises to progress Sign up below to get our FREE eBook. What Are The Three Characteristics? (The Three Marks of Existence)Impermanence (Anicca)
Impermanence means that everything is in flux. Nothing stays the same for long—our thoughts, emotions, bodies, relationships, and even mountains are subject to change. From the Buddhist perspective, clinging to permanence is one of the main causes of suffering. Psychologically, impermanence is easy to observe in our inner world. Emotions like anger or joy rise and fall. Thoughts flicker through consciousness and disappear. Memory itself is not fixed but reconstructive and ever-changing. Neuroscience shows that our brains are plastic, constantly rewiring in response to experience. Recognizing impermanence allows us to relate to life with more flexibility and less attachment. Suffering (Dukkha) The second characteristic, dukkha, is often translated as "suffering," though it also encompasses unsatisfactoriness, stress, or unease. It points to the reality that life rarely matches our expectations. Pleasant experiences fade, painful experiences arise, and we are often caught in cycles of craving and aversion. In psychological terms, this can be understood as the inevitable gap between what we want and what actually is. Cognitive-behavioral psychology shows how distorted thinking—like perfectionism, catastrophizing, or clinging to control—intensifies dissatisfaction. From a mindfulness-based lens, suffering is less about pain itself and more about how we resist or attach to it. Non-Self (Anatta) Perhaps the most challenging and radical of the three characteristics is anatta, or non-self. This teaching suggests that the "self" we think of as solid and enduring is actually a mental construction. Instead of a permanent essence, the self is a dynamic process made up of thoughts, sensations, and perceptions arising moment by moment. Psychology echoes this in many ways. The concept of the "narrative self" in cognitive science shows how identity is a story we construct. Developmental psychology reveals how self-concept changes across the lifespan. Trauma studies demonstrate how identity can fragment and be restructured. Far from being fixed, what might describe as a self is fluid, context-dependent, and relational. Realizing non-self is not about denying our experience but about loosening the grip of identification. The Buddhist Approach to the Three CharacteristicsIn Buddhism, the Three Characteristics are not abstract doctrines to be accepted on faith but direct insights to be cultivated through practice. Meditation, mindfulness, and ethical living are all tools to observe reality as it actually is. When meditators watch the breath, body, and mind closely, they begin to see impermanence in the arising and passing of sensations, dukkha in the unsatisfactory nature of clinging, and non-self in the lack of a solid "I" behind experience.
The ultimate purpose of seeing the Three Characteristics is liberation. By penetrating these truths deeply, one uproots ignorance and craving, leading to freedom from suffering and the realization of nirvana. How to See Through Each of the Three CharacteristicsRecognizing the Three Characteristics is not just an intellectual exercise; it’s an experiential shift. Here are ways to begin seeing through each of them in both Buddhist and psychological practice:
Seeing Through Impermanence From a Buddhist perspective, meditation on the breath or body reveals impermanence directly. Each inhalation arises, stays for a moment, and dissolves. Emotions, too, transform as we observe them without clinging. From a psychological perspective, journaling about moments of change—such as shifting moods, evolving beliefs, or life transitions—can highlight impermanence. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs train individuals to notice how sensations and feelings naturally pass. Recognizing this helps reduce the fear of change and softens attachment to fixed outcomes. Seeing Through Suffering Buddhists encourage careful examination of craving and aversion. When we want pleasant things to last or unpleasant things to end, suffering arises. By watching this in meditation, we can see how dissatisfaction is linked to grasping. Psychologically, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) teaches that suffering often comes from distorted beliefs and thoughts. For example, believing "I must always succeed" creates anxiety and stress. By challenging such beliefs and learning acceptance, suffering is reduced. Practices like gratitude and self-compassion also counteract the tendency to fixate on dissatisfaction. Seeing Through Non-Self In meditation, the practice of noting or observing reveals that thoughts, sensations, and perceptions simply arise and vanish without a central controller. The "self" is experienced as a process, not a solid entity. Psychologically, we can experiment with loosening identity. For example, instead of saying "I am anxious," one might say "Anxiety is arising." This reframing shows that emotions are experiences, not defining features of identity. Therapies like Internal Family Systems (IFS) further illustrate how the self is made of many parts, each arising in context, rather than one unified core. The Three Characteristics from a Nondual PerspectiveWhile Buddhism traditionally presents the Three Characteristics—impermanence, suffering, and non-self—as realities to be deeply understood and observed, the nondual perspective takes this understanding one step further. Nonduality points to the recognition that these characteristics, like all phenomena, lack inherent existence. Their apparent reality depends on identification with a sense of a separate self.
Impermanence (Anicca) and the Illusion of Change From a nondual standpoint, the sense that things are coming and going relies on the assumption of independent objects and a self that perceives them. Once we see the world from a nondual perspective, nothing truly “comes” or “goes”; there is only the seamless unfolding of reality. Indeed, nothing is permanent, but nothing is really impermanent either. Suffering (Dukkha) and the Dissolution of Resistance Suffering, in the nondual view, arises only when experience is interpreted as separate from us and when we resist what is. If we examine suffering directly, moment by moment, without the overlay of “me” versus “other,” the sense of dukkha loses its grip. Emotional pain, discomfort, and tension may continue to appear in experience, but there is no one suffering—they are simply manifestations of all that is. In this realization, suffering is not negated but recognized as empty of a reality or self, and therefore its power to bother us fades. Non-Self (Anatta) and the Collapse of Identity Nonduality emphasizes that the self is not just constructed, but entirely illusory. Thoughts, sensations, and emotions appear as if they belong to a separate “I,” but this “I” has no independent reality. By investigating experience without clinging to a self, the distinction between observer and observed collapses. What remains is everythingness. The Three Characteristics themselves are seen as arising within this awareness—they are not ultimate realities but transient appearances. Moving Beyond Suffering In nondual recognition, the Three Characteristics fall away as solid truths. Impermanence is not feared, suffering is not resisted, and the self is not defended. It is seen that there is no separate entity to cling to, no real suffering to avoid, and no permanent objects to grasp. This is the essence of liberation: the mind rests in its own natural, uncontrived state, free from attachment, aversion, and identity. Through this lens, the Three Characteristics are useful (at first) but eventually transcended. They serve as pointers that guide attention toward the unreality of separation, ultimately revealing that what we take to be life’s obstacles are empty manifestations. Once seen this way, they no longer hold sway, and the sense of suffering naturally dissolves.
Final Thoughts on The Three CharacteristicsThe Three Characteristics—impermanence, suffering, and non-self—are foundational insights in Buddhism, and they also resonate deeply with modern psychology. Understanding them allows us to navigate life with greater flexibility, acceptance, and clarity. Impermanence teaches us to release attachment to what is fleeting. Suffering reveals the limitations of clinging and resisting. Non-self invites us to recognize the fluid and constructed nature of identity.
From a nondual perspective, these characteristics can be seen as empty of inherent reality. Impermanence is not a source of fear, suffering is not a binding force, and the self is not a fixed entity. Their apparent solidity depends entirely on the assumption of separateness. When we rest in this recognition, the Three Characteristics themselves “fall away,” and what remains is a direct experience of reality free from attachment, aversion, and identification. |
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