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Duy Biểu No. 4

Thich Nhat Hanh · November 26, 1992 · Plum Village, France
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The Three Dharma Seals are three marks that confirm the teachings of the Buddha as true:

  1. All formations are impermanent
  2. All dharmas are without self
  3. Nirvana is cessation

In the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra (second century) and the Saṃyukta Āgama Sutra (Chinese translation, volume 10), the Three Dharma Seals are affirmed as the essence of the Buddha’s Way. The teachings are only skillful means—“the finger pointing to the moon”—to help us contemplate impermanence, non-self, and to move toward nirvana, not the ultimate goal themselves. If we only hold on to the idea of the three seals without practicing meditation with concentration and insight, we will be caught in the form of practice and lose the opportunity to experience true silence, peace, and freedom.

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