In this post, we discuss Buddha’s doctrine known as the Three Delicate Marks (Chinese: 三細相). It is a critically important doctrine in which Buddha not only teaches the consequences of being unenlightened but also the role of observation in the delusional misunderstanding of the reality humans experience.
The doctrine of the Three Delicate Marks originates in Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana (Chinese: 大乗起信論), which is “an influential Mahayana Buddhist treatise for East Asian Buddhism.”
A) In Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana, it is written, “because of unenlightenment, three marks arise, concomitantly inseparable from unenlightenment (Chinese: 依不覺故生三種相，與彼不覺相應不離“).
Mark is known in Romanized Sanskrit as laksana.
Laksana (Chinese: 相), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “In Sanskrit, a polysemous term for a ‘mark’, ‘characteristic’, ‘attribute,’ or a ‘sign;’ used in a variety of contexts to indicate either the principle characteristics or defining quality of something.”
“Unenlightenment,” as discussed in many earlier posts, together with non-luminosity, refers to a state of fluctuating mentality. They are in contrast to the quiescent mentality of Citta, which Buddha deems enlightened and luminous. While both terms can refer to a state of fluctuating mentality, unenlightened usually refers to the mental state of living beings. In contrast, non-luminosity usually refers to the realm of fluctuating mentality permeating the universe. Another significance of understanding a fluctuating mentality is that it defines consciousness, in contrast to a quiescent mind, which represents a state of being aware.
So, the first thing to understand about the three delicate marks is to find out who the unenlightened being is from whom the three marks can be “concomitantly inseparable.”
Given that unenlightenment and consciousness both refer to a state of fluctuating mentality, it follows that unenlightenment and having consciousness occur simultaneously. Therefore, the first being to have consciousness should also be simultaneously the first unenlightened being.
In a cosmos where there is Nothing but Mentality, the first beings to have consciousness and be unenlightened are the epiphenomena in non-luminosity. As ripples in a field of fluctuating mentality, these epiphenomena gain consciousness and become unenlightened simultaneously with the onset of fluctuations in mentality. As discussed in the previous post, the epiphenomenon in non-luminosity is known as “neighbor-to-emptiness dust (Chinese: 鄰虛塵).” Therefore, a “neighbor-to-emptiness dust” represents the first incidence of an unenlightened being from which the three marks can be “concomitantly inseparable.”
The Three Delicate Marks are:
- Mark of the Non-Luminous Karma (Chinese: 無明業相).
According to Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana, “Because of unenlightenment, the mind moves, named as karma. There is no motion when enlightened. When there is motion, there is suffering. Fruition is inseparable from causation.” (Chinese=依不覺故心動。說名為業，覺則不動，動則有苦. 果不離因故).”
Karman (Chinese=業), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “in Sanskrit, “action”: in its inflected form “karma,” it is now accepted as an English word, a term used to refer to the doctrine of actions and its corresponding “ripening” or “fruition (Vipaka), according to which virtuous deeds of body, speech, and mind produce happiness in the future (in this life or subsequently lives), while nonvirtuous deeds lead instead to suffering.”
Karman is closely related to Causality, known in Romanized Sanskrit as hetupratyaya.
Hetupratyaya (Chinese=因緣), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “In Sanskrit, ’causes and conditions,’ or ‘causality,’ one of the cardinal teachings of Buddhism. In the Buddhist account of this causal process, Hetu designates the main or primary cause of production, and Pratyayare the subsidiary factors that contribute to the production of an effect, or ‘fruit’ (Romanized Sanskrit: phala; Chinese: 果), from that cause. In the production of a sprout from a seed, e.g., the seed would be the cause (hetu), such factors as light and moisture would be conditions (pratyaya), and the sprout itself would be the result or ‘fruit (phala).'”
In these few words describing the First Mark, Buddha makes it clear why suffering is existential for living beings (Romanized Sanskrit: sattva, Chinese: 眾生/有情).
- Unenlightenment is the mind moving. According to the First Mark, a moving mind is called karma. Furthermore, karma is suffering. Since a moving mind is conscious, it follows that unenlightenment, karma, and suffering are innate for any living being born with consciousness.
- In his doctrine known as the Eight Sufferings (Romanized Sanskrit: astakuhkha; Chinese: 八難), Buddha lists birth, aging, sickness, and death as the first four. This is the meaning of existential suffering. Suffering is existential because aging, sickness, and death inevitably follow birth. Indeed, it is common knowledge among human beings that their existence is impermanent.
- As discussed in the previous post, as the first living being in the universe, the lifespan of a “neighbor-to-emptiness dust” is the shortest among all conscious beings. Described by Buddha as “born here, annihilated the same here (Chinese: 當處出生，隨處滅盡),” its life terminates pretty much at the same time and place it is born.
- Fortunately, even as Buddha teaches that existential suffering is innate, he instructs, “There is no motion when enlightened.”
- Indeed, since the definition of enlightenment is “no thought,” understanding the illusory nature of physical existence through enlightenment is the solution to ending one’s existential suffering arising from an active mind.
- As discussed in Post 10, an enlightened person becomes an Arhat, who is no longer subject to the karma-produced cycles of rebirth that cause existential suffering. These karma-produced cycles of birth and rebirth are known as “Paricchedajaramarana, or “determinative birth-and-rebirth (Chinese=分段生死),”
- Additionally, with the liberation from cycles of determinative birth-and-rebirth through enlightenment, an Arhat enters cycles of “transfigurational birth-and death,” known as parinamikajaramarana (Chinese: 變易生死).
- According to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, parinamikajaramarana means that “While these beings may then appear to be reborn, these rebirths are actually transfigurations of their mind-made bodies (manomayakya (Chinese: 意生體), which may be manipulated at will to change their appearance or to extend their life span indefinitely.”
- Indeed, in a universe where there is Nothing but Mentality, not only is the “physical” body illusory, but it is burdensome because, without it, there would be no existential suffering. When enlightened and liberated from a karma-induced body, the life of the enlightened becomes more carefree, as the appearance and lifespan of their mind-made bodies can be “manipulated at will.”
- Additionally, with the liberation from cycles of determinative birth-and-rebirth through enlightenment, an Arhat enters cycles of “transfigurational birth-and death,” known as parinamikajaramarana (Chinese: 變易生死).
2. Mark of Ability to Observe, or the Observer (Chinese: 能見相):
According to Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana, “motion leads to the ability to observe an external realm. Without motion, there is no observation” (Chinese: 依動故能見，不動則無見).
3. Mark of A Delusional Realm (Chinese: 妄境相), or the Observed (Chinese: 所見相):
It is essential to realize the significance of Buddha calling the observed realm delusional. Delusion refers to the misunderstanding of reality, resulting from what Buddha calls “the reification of what are actually imaginary external phenomena.” Since the origination of delusion is observation, it follows that the root cause of delusion is observation.
In science, this is called the “Observer Effect,” referring to the result of a double-slit experiment that observation changes what is invisible (waves) into what is visible (particles). To some scientists, this change in visibility seems to alter reality. In the minds of many scientists, waves and particles are different. But they are not, as explained in Post 29.
Of course, scientists are not to be blamed for their delusional misunderstanding of reality. After all, like all conscious beings, humans are born unenlightened, with an innate delusional misunderstanding of reality.
Philosophers like to wonder about the meaning of existence. From the Buddhist perspective, wondering about the meaning of existence is akin to wondering about the meaning of having dreams. Indeed, as the enlightenment experiences of Adyashanti and two prominent monks in the Tang Dynasty China have verified, bodily existence is as illusional as dreams. Only when one wakes from a dream does one realize that nothing in a dream existed.
This is why enlightenment is also defined as awakening from the deep sleep of unenlightenment. However, enlightenment is not easy. In the meantime, until one is enlightened, one should know that Buddha is the only one able to tell you the true nature of reality humanity experiences. Since science cannot answer “What Exists?”, it canalso not tell humanity that suffering is existential, that karma, causality, and a delusional misunderstanding of reality resulting from observation accompany consciousness at birth. It cannot tell humanity to minimize the negative impacts of causality by living a wholesome, benevolent, and altruistic life, and by treating others as you would like to be treated. In Buddhism, there is no savior to help humanity because there is no forbidden fruit to be eaten. The journey to your salvation is your own responsibility.
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