The Three Dharma Seals of Buddha Bodhi

The Three Dharma Seals of Buddha Bodhi 

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom 

(Māhāprājñāpāramitāśāstra), Vol. 5

"The three concentrations (S. samādhi) are those of emptiness (śūnyatā; C. kong 空 ), wishlessness (S. apraṇihita; C.wuyuan/wuzuo 無願/無作) and signlessness (S. ānimitta; C. wuxiang 無相)."

Remark: 

The Three Dharma Seals are also called the Three Samādhis or the Three Doors of Liberation. The notion of Dharma Seal has been created by the Buddha as a guideline for verifying Buddhist practitioners’ realization of the Buddha Dharma. Any teaching that fails the verification of the Three Dharma Seals denotes incorrect Buddha Dharma.

 What are the Three Dharma Seals? They consist of the following three forms: “all formations are impermanent, all dharmas are selfless, and nirvana is perfect quiescence.” They can be classified into two types: the arising-and-ceasing dharma and the neither-arising-nor-ceasing dharma. Among the three forms, “all formations” and “all dharmas” indicate that there exists an enormous amount of dharmas; these two belong to the category of arising-and-ceasing dharma. On the other hand, “nirvana is perfect quiescence” cannot be quantified and refers to one dharma. The term nirvana denotes neither arising nor ceasing; it is cool and real and exists permanently, without undergoing change. It belongs to the category of neither-arising-nor-ceasing dharma.

 The arising-and-ceasing dharma can increase and decrease in quantity. Take the noble truth of suffering in the Four Noble Truths as an example. On the basis of the observation that everything in the three realms and six destinations of rebirth is suffering, the sound-hearer dharma sometimes says that everything is suffering, taking this as the fourth Dharma Seal. Therefore, it can be seen that the arising-and-ceasing Dharma Seal can be increased or decreased. Furthermore, there is no limit to the increase in its physical quantity. It can also be decreased even down to zero. Thus, the arising-and-ceasing Dharma Seal is like the arising-and-ceasing dharma, which can either be increased or decreased.

The Dharma Seal of nirvana belongs to the other category of neither-arising-nor-ceasing dharma and is permanent. Its quantity cannot be increased or decreased.

The Buddha established the Three Dharma Seals to capture the characteristics of the life of each and every sentient being. The life of every person has both an arising-and-ceasing part and a neither-arising-nor-ceasing part. The part that is neither arising nor ceasing is the eighth vijnana (consciousness), the tathagatagarbha, while the arising-and-ceasing part consists of the ever-changing five aggregates.

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