''Dhamma'' () or ''Dharma'' () in Buddhism can have the following meanings: The state of Nature as it is (''yathā bhūta'')

The Laws of Nature considered collectively.

The teaching of the Buddha as an exposition of the Natural Law applied to the problem of human suffering.

A phenomenon and/or its properties.

Etymology and Linguistic variants

Dharma is derived from Telugu of the 'Dharmam', meaning "what is established, law, duty, right". The derived Prakrit word is Dhamma

In East Asia, the character for ''Dharma'' is 法, pronounced fǎ in Mandarin Chinese, hō in Japanese and beop in Korean. The Tibetan complete English translation of this term is chos (}}). In Uyghur, Mongolian, and some other Central Asian languages, it is nom, which derives from the Ancient Greek word , ''nómos'', meaning "law".

Etymologically, the word ''Dhamma'' (Sanskrit: ''Dharma'') is derived from the root "''dham''," meaning "to uphold" or "to support," and the commentary further explains that it is that which upholds or supports the practitioner (of Dhamma) and prevents him or her from falling into states of misery or birth in a woeful existence. Of all Buddhist terminology, the word Dhamma commands the widest, most comprehensive meaning . ''Dharma'' is to cultivate the knowledge and practice of laws and principles that hold together the fabric of reality, natural phenomena and personality of human beings in dynamic interdependence and harmony.

''Dharma'' within Indian Religions

Religion in India comes within the general purview of the concept of ''Dharma''. ''Dharma'' means ''Law'' in the widest sense (see article ''dharma'') as well as life that is lived in accord or in harmony with the law (whether legal statutes or natural law). ''Dharma'' in this latter sense is 'the path of righteousness', the way of 'correct', 'appropriate', 'decent', or 'proper' behaviour. The different religious traditions of India are conceived as so many variations of this path of righteousness. Therefore a Jain practices ''Jain-dharma''; a Hindu follows ''Sanatana-dharma''; and a Buddhist practices ''Buddha-dharma''.

Historically, the Indian mindset has been characterized by religious pluralism and inclusivity. All religion is considered a matter of eternally valid laws of nature (''sanatana dharma'') because suffering and bondage and the path to freedom and liberation is conceived (even if one believes in a personal God) in terms of causes and effects. ''Dharma'' (as the perennially fixed set of natural laws governing causation) presents the structure of rules which if understood correctly leads to natural or skillful action (''dharma'' or ''kusala kamma'') or if not understood and contravened leads to unskillful action (''adharma'' or ''akusala kamma'') with unfortunate consequences. It is the persistence of the laws of nature (and the principle of causation) from day to day, from year to year and across the vastness of time that enables one to conceive ''dharma'' as eternal. Wholesome, fair-minded actions always bring forth positive future results whereas unwholesome and unjust actions lead to suffering, misery and future retribution.

Though each path of ''dharma'' (Jain, Buddhist, Hindu, etc.) signifies a particular religious form with its own rules and practices there is nontheless general uniformity among these traditions concerning the underlying philosophy of liberation. To walk the path to liberation is to unravel and reorganize the entangled and disharmonious psycho-physical structures formed in the course of the path of unskillful action and the principal means by which this is achieved is Yoga, a central feature of Indian religions. Yoga is the ascetic path of purification by which the effects of sin (''akusla kamma'') may be undone. Most forms of Indian religion employ some form of yogic discipline as an important, if not central, tool in the process of mind-body purification.

''Buddhism'' (a word invented by British scholars and Christian missionaries at the beginning of the nineteenth century) is therefore, properly speaking, ''Buddha-dharma'', the system of analysis taught by the Buddha (recorded in the Pali canon) regarding the causes of suffering and the necessary course of action needed to undo these causes. In India and the Asian countries to which the Buddha's doctrine of liberation was transmitted over the centuries the teaching has always been referred to as ''Buddha-dharma''; ''Buddha-dharma'' signifying that path of disciplined practice that Gautama Buddha undertook and espoused.

''Dhamma-vinaya''; the Buddha's Path of Practice

Gautama Buddha referred to the path that he prescribed his students as ''dhamma-vinaya'' (''dhamma'' is the conventional rendering of the Pali word into Roman script compared to Sanskrit which is rendered as ''dharma'') which means ''this path of discipline'' (vinaya means discipline). The path of the Buddhas (Gautama Buddha saw himself as one in a long line of Buddhas stretching back into remote antiquity) is a path of self-imposed discipline. This discipline involves refraining as much as possible from sexual activity (this is called Brahmacarya), a code of ethical behaviour (Śīla) and effort in the cultivation of mindfulness and wisdom. (See also Threefold Training)

In the Buddhist Scriptures, the expression "The Dharma" often refers to the Buddha's teachings and their scriptural recension (e.g. the Vinaya and Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon), and can more broadly include the later traditions of interpretation and exegesis that the various schools of Buddhism have developed to help explain and expand upon the Buddha's teachings. In later Mahayana tradition, this was seen as the 84,000 different teachings (the Kangyur/bka.'gyur) that the Buddha gave to various types of people based on their needs.

In this sense of being synonymous with the Buddha's teachings the Dharma constitutes one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism in which practitioners of Buddhism take refuge (what one relies on for his/her lasting happiness). The three jewels of Buddhism are the Buddha (mind's perfection of enlightenment), the Dharma (teachings and methods), and the Sangha (the community of committed practitioners of the ''buddha dharma'' who provide mutual support, encouragement and spiritual friendship).

Understanding Nature; ''dhamma vicaya''

The cultivation and attainment of wisdom is part of the goal and practice of Buddhism. In order to attain wisdom one must understand the nature of things (the dharma) and part of the practice of Buddhism is the investigation of Nature - ''dhamma-vicaya''. This means to adopt an objective, scientific approach to understanding the causal relationships between various phenomena. In particular it refers to the dispassionate self-observation discussed in teachings such as the ''Satipatthana Sutta''. The Buddha himself has been called a great or even a super-scientist because his teachings on the way out of suffering use analyses of the causal relationships between the different factors which constitute mind and body. The crowning achievement of this analysis is the doctrine of dependent origination.

The Buddha's Dharma Body

The qualities of the Dharma (Law, truth) are the same as the qualities of the Buddha and form his "truth body" or "Dhamma Kaya": In the Samyutta Nikaya, Vakkali Sutta, Buddha said to his disciple Vakkali that, :"" :''O Vakkali, whoever sees the Dhamma, sees me [the Buddha]''

Another reference from the Agganna Sutta of the Digha Nikaya, says to his disciple Vasettha:

: "Tathāgatassa h'etam Vasettha adivacanam Dhammakayo iti pi ...": :''O Vasettha! The Word of Dhammakaya is indeed the name of the Tathagata''

Qualities of Buddha Dharma

The Teaching of the Buddha has six supreme qualities:

# Svākkhāto (Sanskrit: Svākhyāta "well proclaimed"). The Buddha's teaching is not a speculative philosophy but an exposition of the Universal Law of Nature based on a causal analysis of natural phenomena. It is preached, therefore, as a science rather than a sectarian belief system. Full comprehension (enlightenment) of the teaching may take varying lengths of time but Buddhists traditionally say that the course of study is 'excellent in the beginning (sīla – Sanskrit śīla – moral principles), excellent in the middle (samādhi – concentration) and excellent in the end' (paññā - Sanskrit prajñā . . . Wisdom). # (Sanskrit: "able to be examined"). The ''Dhamma'' is amenable to scientific scrutiny and is not based on faith alone. It can be tested by personal practice and he who follows it will see the result for himself by means of his own experience. # Akāliko (Sanskrit: Akālika "timeless, immediate"). The ''Dhamma'' is able to bestow timeless and immediate results here and now, for which there is no need to wait until the future or next existence. The ''dhamma'' does not change over time and it is not relative to time # Ehipassiko (Sanskrit: Ehipaśyika "which you can come and see" — from the phrase ehi, paśya "come, see!"). The ''Dhamma'' invites all beings to put it to the test and come see for themselves. # Opanayiko (Sanskrit: "leading one close to"). Followed as a part of one's life the ''dhamma'' leads one on to liberation. In the "Vishuddhimagga" this is also referred to as "Upanayanam." # (Sanskrit: "To be personally known by the wise"). The ''Dhamma'' can be perfectly realized only by the noble disciples (Ariyas) who have matured in supreme wisdom.

Knowing these attributes, Buddhists believe that they will attain the greatest peace and happiness through the practice of the ''Dhamma''. Each person is therefore fully responsible for himself to put it in the real practice.

Here the Buddha is compared to an experienced and skillful doctor, and the ''Dhamma'' to proper medicine. However efficient the doctor or wonderful the medicine may be, the patients cannot be cured unless they take the medicine properly. So the practice of the ''Dhamma'' is the only way to attain the final deliverance of Nibbāna.

These teachings ranged from understanding karma (Pāli: kamma) (literal meaning 'action')) and developing good impressions in one's mind, to reach full enlightenment by recognizing the nature of mind.

Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology

Other uses include dharma, normally spelled in transliteration with a small "d" (this differentiation is impossible in the South Asian scripts used to write Sanskrit), which refers to a ''phenomenon'' or ''constituent factor'' of human experience. This was gradually expanded into a classification of constituents of the entire material and mental world. Rejecting the substantial existence of permanent entities which are qualified by possibly changing qualities, Buddhist Abhidharma philosophy, which enumerated seventy-five dharmas, came to propound that these "constituent factors" are the only type of entity that truly exists. This notion is of particular importance for the analysis of human experience: Rather than assuming that mental states inhere in a cognizing subject, or a soul-substance, Buddhist philosophers largely propose that mental states alone exist as "momentary elements of consciousness", and that a subjective perceiver is assumed.

One of the central tenets of Buddhism, is the denial of a separate permanent "I", and is outlined in the three marks of existence. The three signs: 1. (Pali: Dukkha) - Suffering, 2. Anitya (Pali: Anicca) - Change/Impermanence, 3. Anātman (Pali: Anatta) - Non-self. At the heart of Buddhism, is the realization of no "self" or "I" (and hence the delusion) as a separate self-existing entity.

Later, Buddhist philosophers like Nāgārjuna would question whether the dharmas (momentary elements of consciousness) truly have a separate existence of their own. (i.e. Do they exist apart from anything else?) Rejecting any inherent reality to the dharmas, he asked (rhetorically):

''' When all dharmas are empty, what is endless? What has an end? What is endless and with an end? What is not endless and not with an end? What is ''it''? What is ''other''? What is permanent? What is impermanent? What is impermanent and permanent? What is neither? Auspicious is the pacification of phenomenal metastasis, the pacification of all apprehending; There is no dharma whatsoever taught by the Buddha to whomever, whenever, wherever. —, 25:22-24

Meanings of "Dharma"

Dharma in the Buddhist scriptures has a variety of meanings, including "phenomenon", and "nature" or "characteristic".

Source

Dharma can mean the source of all mental experiences. In major sutras (for example, the Mahasatipatthana sutra), Dharma is paired with ''citta'' (heart/mind) to show ''citta'' as the reflection of Dharma. This teaching is paralleled with the pairing of ''kaya'' (body) and ''vedana'' (feelings or sensations), where ''vendana'' arise within the body but is experienced through the mind. Dharma in this context is the origin of order and organization that is the foundation of ideas, wisdom, understanding, and values.

Teachings of natural law

Dharma is also used to refer to the teachings of the Buddha, not in the context of the words of one man, even an enlightened man, but as a reflection of natural law which was re-discovered by this man and shared with the world. A person who lives their life with an understanding of this natural law, is a "dhammic" person, which is often translated as "righteous". The Buddha would teach the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three marks of existence, and other guidelines in order to achieve the freedom and liberation from suffering.

References

Category:Buddhist terms Category:Mahayana Category:Tibetan Buddhism Category:Buddhist philosophical concepts

br:Dharma (boudaegezh) fa:دین دارمایی ko:법 (불교) it:Dharma (Buddhismo) mr:धम्म simple:Dharma (Buddhism) sl:Dharma (budizem) th:พระธรรม (ศาสนาพุทธ) tr:Dharma (Budizm) zh:法 (佛教)