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The Buddhist doctrine of annicca, the transitoriness of all
phenomena, finds classical expression in the oft-recurrent
formula: Sabbe sankhara annicca and in the more popular statement:
Annicca vata sankhara. Both these formulae amount to saying
that all conditioned things or phenomenal processes, mental
as well as material, that go to make up the samsaric plane
of existence are transient or impermanent. This law of impermanence
is not the result of any kind of metaphysical inquiry or of
any mystical intuition. It is a straight forward judgement
arrived at by investigation and analysis, and as such its
basis is entirely empirical.
It is in fact for the purpose of showing the unsubstantially
and impermanence of the world of experience that Buddhism
analyses it into a multiplicity of basic factors. The earliest
attempts at explaining this situation are represented in the
analyses into five khandhas, twelve ayatanas, and eighteen
dhatus. In the Abhidhamma we get the most detailed analysis
into eighty one basic elements, which are introduced by the
technical term, dhamma. These are the basic factors into which
the empiric individuality in relation to the external world
is ultimately analysed. They purport to show that there does
not exist a "unity", "substance", "atta"
or "jiva". In the ultimate analysis the socalled
unity is a complex of factors, "one" is really "many".
This applied to both mind and matter equally. In case of living
beings there is no soul or self which is immortal, while in
the case of things in general there is no essence which is
ever-perduring.
What is revolutionary about the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence
is that it is extended to include everything, including consciousness,
which is usually taken to be permanent, as the soul or as
one of its qualities. The Majjhimanikaya records how Bikkhu
Sati misunderstood the Buddha's teaching to mean that consciousness
is a permanent entity, which passes from one existence to
another, like the nirasrayavijnana of Upanisads. This led
Buddha to formulate the well known principle Annatra paccaya
natthi vinnanassa sambhavo. There is no arising of consciousness
without reference to a condition. This is further explained
to mean that consciousness comes into being (sambhoti) in
dependence on a duality. "What is that duality?"
it is eye, which is impermanent, changing, becoming other,
and visible objects, which are impermanent, changing and becoming
other: such is the transient, fugative duality (of eye-cum
visible objects), which is impermanent, changing and becoming
other.Eye consciousness too is impermanent. For how could
eyeconsciousness arise by depending on an impermanent
condition being permanent? The coincidence, concurrence and
confluence of these three factors which is called contact
and those other mental phenomena arising as a result are also
impermanent." The same formula is applied to the other
sense organs and the consciousness named after them. (XXXV
93-SAMYUTTA-NIKAYE) Because of its acceptance of this law
of universal impermanence, Buddhism stands in direct opposition
to sassatavada or eternalism, which usually goes hand in hand
with atmavada, i.e. belief in some kind of immortal soul.
The Brahmajala Sutta of the Digha Nikaya alone refers to
more than ten varieties of eternalism, only to refute them
as misconceptions of the true nature of the empirical world.But
this refutation of eternalism does not lead to the acceptance,
on the part of Buddhism, of the other extreme, namely ucchedavada
or annihilationism, which usually goes hand in hand with materialism.
The Buddhist refutation of both these extremes finds classical
expression in the following words of the Buddha: "This
world, 0 Kaccayana, generally proceeds on a duality, of the
'it is' and the 'it is not.' But 0 Kaccayana whoever perceives
in truth and wisdom how things originate in the world, for
him there is no 'it is not' in this world. Whoever, Kaccayana,
perceives in truth and wisdom how things pass. away in the
world, for him there is no 'it is' in this world." (11,
17-SAMYUTTANIKAYA).
This statement of the Buddha refers to the duality (divayata)
of existence (atthita and non-existence (natthita).According
to Buddhism, everything is the product of the antecedent causes
and therefore of dependant origination (paticcasamupanno).
These causes themselves are not ever lasting and static, but
simply antecedent aspects of the same ceaseless becoming.
Every event is the result of a concatenation of dynamic processes
(sankhara). Neither being nor non-being is the truth. There
is only Becoming, happening by way of cause, continuing without
identity, persistence without a persistent substance. "He
who discerns origin by way of cause he discerns the Dhamma,
he who discerns the Dhamma he discerns origin by way of cause."Thus
by accepting the theory of causation and conditionality, Buddhism
avoids the two extremes of sabbam natthi (everything is) and
sabbam natthi (everything is not), and advocates "sabbam
bhavati" "everything becomes" i.e. happens
by way of cause and effect. It is also because of this theory
that Buddhism could avoid the two extremes of niyativada (Determinism)
and ahetu-appaccaya-vada (indeterminism). According to the
former everything is absolutely pre-determined, according
to the latter everything happens without reference to any
cause or condition. According to both there is no room for
free will and as such moral responsibility gets completely
ruled out. By its theory of causation Buddhism avoids both
extremes and establishes free will and moral responsibility.The
second basic characteristic of the world of experience, namely
dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) is but a logical corollary arising
from this law of universal impermanence. For the impermanent
nature of everything can but lead to one inescapable conclusion"
as everything is impermanent, they cannot be made the basis
of permanent happiness. Whatever is transient is by that very
fact unsatisfactory - yad anniccam tarn dukkham. Since every
form of samsaric existence is impermanent it is also characterized
by unsatisfactoriness. Thus the premise: sabbe sankhara annicca,
leads to the conclusion: sabbe sankhara dukkha.
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