“If you’re invested in security and certainty,
you are on the wrong planet.” 
– Pema Chödrön

 

The 3 Marks of Existence and The Path of Meditation – Wes Nisker

Jun 11, 2000

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The Buddha outlined the ‘3 Characteristics of Existence’ as Impermanence, Unsatisfactoriness, and Non-Self (or anatta).
In this talk, Wes shares how these are foundational to the path of meditation.

Highlights include:

  • The concept of “Radical impermanence”
  • The Tibetan appreciation for our precious existence as human beings.
  • How non-self stems from the interdependence with everything,
  • That our consciousness is the consciousness of the Universe.
  • That human beings are the only creatures that can see ourselves in context.
  • Mindfulness is a non-interfering awareness, a clear knowing.
  • Freud’s view that our personality can be viewed as a pet.

______________
Wes Nisker, the co-founder and editor of the international Buddhist journal Inquiring Minds, has practiced Vipassana meditation for 30 years. He is the author of “Buddha’s Nature: Evolution as a Guide to Enlightenment,” “Crazy Wisdom: A Romp Through the Philosophies of East and West,” and “The Buddha, the Big Bang, and the Baby Boom: The Spiritual Experiments of My Generation.”

In addition to leading a regular sitting group in Berkeley, he teaches classes in meditation and philosophy at Spirit Rock and at other locations around the country.
Learn more at https://wesnisker.com/