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Basic Buddhist Teachings 18 - The Three Dharma Seals
We are in the midst of Right Concentration and Right View, and in order to understand the three samādhis—the three important concentrations (the three doors of liberation)—we must first clearly grasp the three Dharma seals, the “imprint of the true Dharma.” Any teaching that does not bear these three seals is not an authentic teaching of the Buddha.
The three Dharma seals are usually understood as:
- Impermanence (anitya)
- Non-self (anatma)
- Nirvana (nirvana)
In the Theravada tradition, the three Dharma seals are often understood as impermanence, suffering, and non-self, while the Mahayana tradition emphasizes impermanence, non-self, and nirvana. The Samyukta Agama Sutra 262 repeats at least five times: “All conditioned things are impermanent, all dharmas are non-self, nirvana is the ultimate peace,” affirming that all phenomena are impermanent, without a separate self, and that Nirvana is the state of peace and cessation.