Characteristics of the Conditioned
A very short discourse addressed to mendicants. It states that the conditioned has three characteristics: arising is evident, vanishing is evident, and change while persisting is evident. It then states the reverse for the unconditioned: no arising is evident, no vanishing is evident, and no change while persisting is evident. Neither term is defined, and no examples are given. The two halves mirror each other exactly, and the whole text can be read in under a minute. It says nothing about how to see these characteristics; it simply names them and stops.
A note on this text. Uses ‘the conditioned’ and ‘the unconditioned’ as technical terms without any explanation.
The full text
Numbered Discourses 3.47 · 5. The Lesser Chapter · Characteristics of the Conditioned · translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · public domain (CC0) · about 1 min · on SuttaCentral
“Mendicants, the conditioned has these three characteristics. What three? Arising is evident, vanishing is evident, and change while persisting is evident. These are the three characteristics of the conditioned.”
Explained: Arising, vanishing, and change
Characteristics of the Unconditioned
“The unconditioned has these three characteristics. What three? No arising is evident, no vanishing is evident, and no change while persisting is evident. These are the three characteristics of the unconditioned.”