The three marks of existence
I can explain the three marks of existence and how they influence Buddhists today.
The three marks of existence
I can explain the three marks of existence and how they influence Buddhists today.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- These are three fundamental marks (or signs) of reality, sometimes also called the Three Universal Truths.
- Anicca reminds Buddhists that nothing is fixed or stable.
- Buddhism teaches that a person's feelings, beliefs and character, even their soul, changes.
- The story of Nagasena and the Chariot is used to explain the idea of having ‘no self’.
- The impermanence of existence (anicca) means that pleasant experiences do not last.
Keywords
Anicca - a belief that nothing is permanent
Anatta - a belief that there is no fixed self/no soul
Dukkha - a belief that all life includes suffering and unsatisfactoriness
Common misconception
The three marks of existence, in particular dukkha, only describe negative aspects of life.
The three marks of existence are meant to help Buddhists understand life so they can live more freely and peacefully by accepting change, letting go of attachments and thereby reducing suffering.
To help you plan your year 10 religious education lesson on: The three marks of existence, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 religious education lesson on: The three marks of existence, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Buddhism: beliefs unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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