“All phenomena are non-self” — when one sees this with wisdom, one becomes disenchanted with suffering. This is the path of purification.

Sabbe dhammā anattāti — all phenomena are non-self: the third mark. Note that here the formula changes from saṅkhārā (conditioned formations) to dhammā (all phenomena, including nibbana). Anattā applies to absolutely everything — not only to the conditioned but to the totality of experience.

Yadā paññāya passati — when one sees this with wisdom: direct seeing of anattā is the deepest and most liberating of the three. Seeing that there is no permanent self in any phenomenon dissolves the very basis of attachment.

Verses 277-279 form one of the most important sequences in the Dhammapada and all of Buddhism. The three marks of existence (tilakkhaṇa) — anicca, dukkha, anattā — are three lenses through which to see the same reality. Each leads to disenchantment (nibbidā) and purification.

Esa maggo visuddhiyā — this is the path of purification: the refrain repeats for the third time, etching it in memory. The path of purification has three doors of entry, three perspectives on the same truth.