The Four Seals Of Dharma, Karmapa

• wisdomeye

  6 Sep 10, 01:01

   Four Seals of Dharma are:

  1. All compounded things are impermanent.
  2. All stained emotions are painful.
  3. All phenomena are empty.
  4. Nirvana is peace.

  Very important for anyone who doesn't understand this topic to learn about it seriously because it is essence of Buddhism.

  Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx-VfQKuxAE
  (12 parts, but from here onwards you can click for the other 11 parts)

• Amitayus48

  6 Sep 10, 15:05

  The above four dharma seals are rather a little unclear. The expansion of it is:
  http://www.chan1.org/ddp/talks/dharmawheel.html

  Another more explicit version is the below but resting on purity of mind, when the mind is purified to a minimum level of æ‚Ÿ, this do all good would not cause problem to the dharma practitioner :

  诸�莫�,众善奉行 ,自净其�，是诸佛教

  http://politics.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/306088?page=1
  Many people say 'do good, avoid evil' is Buddhism. But if you 诸�莫�,众善奉行 (avoid all evil, do all good) but never 自净其� (purify your mind), then what you are cultivating is merely worldly blessings of human and devas... not different from other religions.

  Below explained the Therava and Mahayana on four dharma seals:

  http://bbs.foyuan.net/viewthread.php?tid=61994
  佛教法å�°——“诸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œã€‚诸善奉行。自净其æ„�。是诸佛教。”
  诸�莫作。诸善奉行。自净其�。是诸佛教。此一四一��总括一切佛教，佛教之广海，摄尽于此一�。大�乘八万之法�，自此一��出也。

  增一阿å�«ä¸€æ›°ï¼š‘时大迦å�¶é—®é˜¿éš¾æ›°ï¼šå¢žä¸€é˜¿å�«ä¹ƒèƒ½å‡ºä¸‰å��七é�“å“�之教，乃诸法皆由此生。阿难报言：如是如是，（中略）增一阿å�«ä¸€å�ˆä¹‹ä¸­ï¼Œä¾¿å‡ºä¸‰å��七å“�å�Šè¯¸æ³•ã€‚迦å�¶é—®è¨€ï¼šä½•ç­‰å�ˆä¸­å‡ºç”Ÿä¸‰å��七å“�å�Šè¯¸æ³•ï¼Ÿæ—¶å°Šè€…阿难便说是å�ˆè¯¸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œè¯¸å–„奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。’

  北本涅盘ç»�å��四曰：‘何等å��为伽陀ç»�？除修多罗å�Šè¯¸æˆ’律，其余有说四å�¥ä¹‹å�ˆï¼Œæ‰€è°“诸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œè¯¸å–„奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。’

  智度论å��八曰：‘éš�相门者，如佛说å�ˆï¼šè¯¸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œè¯¸å–„奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。’

  法å�ŽçŽ„义四之一曰：‘戒ç»�云：诸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œè¯¸å–„奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。诸æ�¶å�³ä¸ƒæ”¯è¿‡ç½ªï¼Œè½»é‡�é�žè¿�，五部律明其相，如是等戒所防止。诸善者善三业若散若é�™ï¼Œå‰�å�Žæ–¹ä¾¿ï¼Œæ”¯æž—功德，悉是清å�‡ï¼Œæ•…称为善。自净其æ„�者，å�³æ˜¯ç ´è¯¸é‚ªå€’，了知世间出世间因果正助法门，能消除心垢，净诸瑕秽，岂过于慧，佛法旷海，此三摄尽。’释æ°�è¦�览上曰：‘阿难云：诸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œä¼—善奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。’世谓之七佛通戒å�ˆã€‚其义虽为通诫，然七佛å�„å�„有ç¦�戒å�ˆã€‚此四å�¥å�ˆä¸ºç¬¬å…­ä½›è¿¦å�¶å¦‚æ�¥ä¹‹å�ˆä¹Ÿã€‚增一阿å�«ç»�å››å��四曰：‘于此贤劫中有佛å��为迦å�¶å¦‚æ�¥ï¼Œå¯¿äºŒä¸‡å²�，二å��年中æ�’以一å�ˆä»¥ä¸ºç¦�戒。一切æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œå½“奉行其善，自净其志æ„�，是则诸佛教。 http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/21979846.html?fr=ala0
  

• wisdomeye

  7 Sep 10, 01:01

  Originally posted by Amitayus48:

  The above four dharma seals are rather a little unclear. The expansion of it is:
  http://www.chan1.org/ddp/talks/dharmawheel.html

  Another more explicit version is the below but resting on purity of mind, when the mind is purified to a minimum level of æ‚Ÿ, this do all good would not cause problem to the dharma practitioner :

  诸�莫�,众善奉行 ,自净其�，是诸佛教

  http://politics.sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/306088?page=1
  Many people say 'do good, avoid evil' is Buddhism. But if you 诸�莫�,众善奉行 (avoid all evil, do all good) but never 自净其� (purify your mind), then what you are cultivating is merely worldly blessings of human and devas... not different from other religions.

  Below explained the Therava and Mahayana on four dharma seals:

  http://bbs.foyuan.net/viewthread.php?tid=61994
  佛教法å�°——“诸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œã€‚诸善奉行。自净其æ„�。是诸佛教。”
  诸�莫作。诸善奉行。自净其�。是诸佛教。此一四一��总括一切佛教，佛教之广海，摄尽于此一�。大�乘八万之法�，自此一��出也。

  增一阿å�«ä¸€æ›°ï¼š‘时大迦å�¶é—®é˜¿éš¾æ›°ï¼šå¢žä¸€é˜¿å�«ä¹ƒèƒ½å‡ºä¸‰å��七é�“å“�之教，乃诸法皆由此生。阿难报言：如是如是，（中略）增一阿å�«ä¸€å�ˆä¹‹ä¸­ï¼Œä¾¿å‡ºä¸‰å��七å“�å�Šè¯¸æ³•ã€‚迦å�¶é—®è¨€ï¼šä½•ç­‰å�ˆä¸­å‡ºç”Ÿä¸‰å��七å“�å�Šè¯¸æ³•ï¼Ÿæ—¶å°Šè€…阿难便说是å�ˆè¯¸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œè¯¸å–„奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。’

  北本涅盘ç»�å��四曰：‘何等å��为伽陀ç»�？除修多罗å�Šè¯¸æˆ’律，其余有说四å�¥ä¹‹å�ˆï¼Œæ‰€è°“诸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œè¯¸å–„奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。’

  智度论å��八曰：‘éš�相门者，如佛说å�ˆï¼šè¯¸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œè¯¸å–„奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。’

  法å�ŽçŽ„义四之一曰：‘戒ç»�云：诸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œè¯¸å–„奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。诸æ�¶å�³ä¸ƒæ”¯è¿‡ç½ªï¼Œè½»é‡�é�žè¿�，五部律明其相，如是等戒所防止。诸善者善三业若散若é�™ï¼Œå‰�å�Žæ–¹ä¾¿ï¼Œæ”¯æž—功德，悉是清å�‡ï¼Œæ•…称为善。自净其æ„�者，å�³æ˜¯ç ´è¯¸é‚ªå€’，了知世间出世间因果正助法门，能消除心垢，净诸瑕秽，岂过于慧，佛法旷海，此三摄尽。’释æ°�è¦�览上曰：‘阿难云：诸æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œä¼—善奉行，自净其æ„�，是诸佛教。’世谓之七佛通戒å�ˆã€‚其义虽为通诫，然七佛å�„å�„有ç¦�戒å�ˆã€‚此四å�¥å�ˆä¸ºç¬¬å…­ä½›è¿¦å�¶å¦‚æ�¥ä¹‹å�ˆä¹Ÿã€‚增一阿å�«ç»�å››å��四曰：‘于此贤劫中有佛å��为迦å�¶å¦‚æ�¥ï¼Œå¯¿äºŒä¸‡å²�，二å��年中æ�’以一å�ˆä»¥ä¸ºç¦�戒。一切æ�¶èŽ«ä½œï¼Œå½“奉行其善，自净其志æ„�，是则诸佛教。 http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/21979846.html?fr=ala0
  

  
  The four dharma seals stated above is a standard teaching to describe the characteristics of reality insofar as it can be described (cut and pasted from another website). They are more specific.  I'm not sure, but the Theravadan version should be impermanence, non-self and suffering... which are basically the same.

   

• wisdomeye

  7 Sep 10, 01:10

  Found this,

  Three Dharma Seals by Thich Nhat Han

  http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/G%20-%20TNH/TNH/The%20Three%20Dharma%20Seals/The%20Three%20Dharma%20Seals.htm

  Enjoy!

• Amitayus48

  9 Sep 10, 09:43

  万法皆空 All dharma is emptiness å› æžœä¸�空 benevolence prevails is known as the four dharma seals of all religions and secularism (是诸佛教). It is one's loving bliss nature.

   

• wisdomeye

  21 Sep 10, 19:23

  Nyanaponika Thera:
  
  
  If we contemplate even a minute sector of life's vast range, we are faced with a variety of living forms so tremendous that it defies all description. Yet three basic features can be discerned as common to everything that has animate existence, from the microbe to man, from the simplest sensations to the thoughts of a creative genius:

  impermanence or change (anicca);
  suffering or unsatisfactoriness (dukkha);
  non-self or insubstantiality (anatta).

  These three basic facts were first found and formulated over 2,500 years ago by the Buddha, who was rightly called "the Knower of the World" (loka-vidu). They are designated, in Buddhist terminology, the three characteristics (ti-lakkhana) — the invariable marks or signs of everything that springs into being, the "signata" stamped upon the very face of life itself.
  
  Of the three, the first and third apply directly to inanimate existence as well as to the animate, for every concrete entity by its very nature undergoes change and is devoid of substance. The second feature, suffering, is of course only an experience of the animate. But the Buddha applies the characteristic of suffering to all conditioned things, in the sense that, for living beings, everything conditioned is a potential cause of experienced suffering and is at any rate incapable of giving lasting satisfaction. Thus the three are truly universal marks pertaining even to what is below or beyond our normal range of perception.
  
  The Buddha teaches that life can be correctly understood only if these basic facts are understood. And this understanding must take place, not only logically, but in confrontation with one's own experience. Insight-wisdom, which is the ultimate liberating factor in Buddhism, consists in just this experiential understanding of the three characteristics as applied to one's own bodily and mental processes, and deepened and matured in meditation.
  
  To see things as they really are means to see them consistently in the light of the three characteristics. Not to see them in this way, or to deceive oneself about their reality and range of application, is the defining mark of ignorance, and ignorance is by itself a potent cause of suffering, knitting the net in which man is caught — the net of false hopes, of unrealistic and harmful desires, of delusive ideologies and of perverted values and aims.
  Ignoring or distorting the three basic facts ultimately leads only to frustration, disappointment and despair. But if we learn to see through deceptive appearances, and discern the three characteristics, this will yield immense benefits, both in our daily life and in our spiritual striving.
  
  On the mundane level, the clear comprehension of impermanence, suffering and non-self will bring us a saner outlook on life. It will free us from unrealistic expectations, bestow a courageous acceptance of suffering and failure, and protect us against the lure of deluded assumptions and beliefs. In our quest for the supramundane, comprehension of the three characteristics will be indispensable. The meditative experience of all phenomena as inseparable from the three marks will loosen, and finally cut, the bonds binding us to an existence falsely imagined to be lasting, pleasurable and substantive. With growing clarity, all things internal and external will be seen in their true nature: as constantly changing, as bound up with suffering and as unsubstantial, without an eternal soul or abiding essence. By seeing thus, detachment will grow, bringing greater freedom from egoistic clinging and culminating in Nibbana, mind's final liberation from suffering.