ABSTRACT
As we have seen, Buddhism often identifies knowledge of the three characteristics as vital to liberation. It is thought to bring an end to craving and hence suffering. However, it can be objected that people often understand that entities are impermanent, have no fixed essence and cause suffering when craved and yet this understanding does not result in the cessation of their craving and attachment. Admittedly, some Unawakened people do think that some things are permanent. For example, there is a common religious belief in a permanent soul and an eternal God. However, many Unawakened people, especially those without such religious convictions, seem to have no such belief in permanent entities. On the contrary, they would claim to believe that things are impermanent. Furthermore, they would also apparently accept that craving for such transitory phenomena causes suffering. For instance, I do not seem to be ignorant about the impermanence of entities. I appear to understand that entities have no fixed essence and that they often change in disagreeable ways. I seem to understand that what I possess will fall out of my possession. I apparently accept that all entities must pass away. And I seem to acknowledge that my craving causes suffering. Yet I am certainly not free from craving and attachment. Buddhism, according to the explanation that I have given, appears to say that my understanding of the three characteristics should liberate me. But the reality is that I continue to crave and suffer. How, then, might one preserve the common Buddhist claim that knowledge of the three characteristics of existence results in liberation in the face of this objection? This is the question that the present chapter will address.
