Reply To: Discourse 1 – Nicca, Sukha, Atta

#35617
Lal
Keymaster

Anitya is not incompatible with anicca.
– It is just that there is no Pali word “anitya.” The Pali word for impermanent is “addhuva”. The Pali word for permanent is “dhuva” and the Sanskrit word is “nitya.”

The Buddha said that world things have both anicca AND addhuva (impermanent) characteristics.
– See, “19 results for anicco AND addhuvo
The addhuva (impermanent) nature is very easy to see, as you wrote. That is why most people think they understand Buddha Dhamma but really don’t.

It is the anicca nature that is hard to see. For that one needs to understand Paticca Samuppada and realize that things happen ONLY due to causes and conditions (and not according to one’s wishes/wants).

The other BIG problem is that most translators translate BOTH anicca and addhuva as “impermanent.”
– You can see that in the reference that I provided above.
– But here is a sutta where it is easy to see the problem with the translations:
Nakhasikhā Sutta (SN 22.97)

In the beginning, there is the verse, “atthi nu kho, bhante, kiñci rūpaṁ yaṁ rūpaṁ niccaṁ dhuvaṁ sassataṁ avipariṇāmadhammaṁ sassatisamaṁ tatheva ṭhassati?”

It is translated as, “Sir, is there any form at all that’s permanent, everlasting, eternal, imperishable, and will last forever and ever?” in the first translation.
In the second translation: “Is there, venerable sir, any form that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, and that will remain the same just like eternity itself?”
– So, you can see all three words permanent, everlasting, and stable mean the same thing: nitya (in Sanskrit) or dhuva (in Pali).

They both mistranslate the CRITICAL Pali word “nicca” as “permanent”. That is the problem.
– Furthermore, the Pali words “nicca” and “anicca” CANNOT be translated to any language as just one word. That is why I have had to write so many posts on this subject.