Do I still need to write about anicca? It is obviously another word for "death". [Note] If I don't write about it, I will need to explain it over and over until I am blue in the face. Because anicca is not only about "death." Many words and phrases of Buddhism have been so abused and obfuscated, that it might be better to explain them. Because the real meaning of these words have been replaced, and this presents an obstacle for practitioners.
The real meaning of anicca is "changeable." What changes the fastest? The answer is time, part of the Buddhism's Three Marks of Genuine Dharma. Three Marks of Genuine Dharma are used to determine if a Buddhist Text meets the standard of Buddha's teaching after Buddha achieve nirvana. This is because there are many chaotic and confusing presentations of Buddhism after the time of Buddha. So Three Marks of Genuine Dharma become Buddhism's most important ideas. No matter what you have to say about Buddhism, it can never exceed the boundary set by these three marks.
"All phenomenons are anicca" is one third of Three Marks of Genuine Dharma. It should be very concrete if we use time to explain anicca. Time passes away every second, the good, the bad, the liked, the hated, the keepers, the throw-aways, none can be held on to by man kind. Everything is always changing, and made people who does not want to change at a loss, not knowing what to do. People even reject it, but time still left.
Maybe it is because things that changes are mostly heartless and mindless, and Buddhists cannot accept it. So that when they need to describe something with anicca, it is usually about "death." It is a pity that such an important method had been lead to such a narrow confine.
( 註一 :三法印 : 一、諸行無常,二、諸法無我,三、涅槃寂靜。)
[Note1: Three Marks of Genuine Dharma: 1. All phenomenons are anicca, 2. All phenomenons' characteristics are anatta, 3. Still and silent nirvana)
半寄 Master Ban Ji
[Note: 無常 Anicca in Chinese is often used to denote life is impermanent, therefore, all about passing away.]