I heard somewhere that either Buddhism or Zen takes joy in change, in the transient nature of all things. This is in contrast to the often pessimistic western perception of Buddhist religion. I'm wondering if this is true/valid, and what's it's origin..
The three marks of existence are suffering (Dukkha), impermanence (Anicca) and lack of inherent nature (Anatta - Lit. no soul).
Ah. Kudos. I assume this is integral to Buddhist faith ?, How does one proceed in accepting one's existence ?
Buddhists tend to be very pragmatic when dealing with the physical universe. They trust their senses, and they trust the extensions to those senses we have created over the centuries, from glass lenses to large hadron colliders. In that context, what is it about the existence of anything tangible, much less of oneself, that would be the least bit difficult to "accept"? We're here. We exist. Next question please?
Buddhism is a system that sets out to eliminate suffering. And it tends to present challenges to notions of continuity we take for granted in the West. Suffering is seen as caused by desire, which is often a desire for permanence - in relationships, of possessions, etc. They see or try to see change as the rule and permanence as illusory, especially when it come to 'all things with component parts' which must perish. And not someday in the future when one dies at the average 78 or whatever it is where you are, but, in a sense, right away. Perhaps transience - divorce, death of loved ones, friends changing and becoming distant - leaves you in complete equanimity, but for most people it does not. But not, to the Buddhist, in the ways Westerners tend to think of this. To say 'Buddhists trust their senses' is a distortion. They engage in a great deal of practice to purify their senses. I also think the idea of a self and that it persists and is tangible is at best partially supported by Buddhism. I would say the greater weight in the texts would be that it is not these things.