Dharma

The word dharma (P. dhamma; T. chos ཆོས་; C. fa; J. hō 法) has multiple usages within Buddhism. The most common usages are:

• the teachings of the Buddha, also referred to as buddhadharma ("dharma of the Buddha"), saddharma ("true dharma"), buddhavacana ("word of the Buddha"), and so on
• factors of existence, commonly referred to as dharmas; see dharmas as factors of existence

The term dharma can also be used to refer to non-Buddhist customs, traditions, or doctrines (e.g. "the dharma of that country"). See below for other usages.

Etymology

The word dharma derives from the root word dhṛ, meaning "to uphold," "to maintain," "to support," "to sustain."

Charles Willemen states:

Sanskrit uses the term dharma in a variety of contexts requiring a variety of translations. Dharma derives from the root √dhṛ ̊ (to hold, to maintain) and is related to the Latin forma. From its root meaning as “that which is established” comes such translations as law, duty, justice, religion, nature, and essential quality. Its oldest form, dharman, is found in the pre-Buddhist Ṛgveda, which dates to at least three thousand years ago. Thus, the Buddha must have known and used the term even before his enlightenment. At present, dharma is used generically for “religion,” indicating religious beliefs and practices. Theravada Buddhism uses the Pāli variant dhamma; Gāndhārī Prākrit, as attested in the Dharmapada from Khotan (second century C.E...) uses either dhama or dharma.

The Princeton Dictionary states,

In Buddhism, dharma has a number of distinct connotations. One of its most significant and common usages is to refer to "teachings" or "doctrines," whether they be Buddhist or non-Buddhist."

Traditionally, the doctrine or dharma of the Buddha is distinguished from non-Buddhist dharmas by using terms such as buddhadharma, saddharma, and so on.

Referents for the term "dharma"

Ten referents from Vasubandhu

See also: Ten referents for "dharma"

Ten referents for the word dharma are identified by Vasubandhu in his text Well Explained Reasoning (Vyākhyāyukti). These referents are also cited by the Tibetan scholar Buton Rinchen Drub in his History of Buddhism.

The ten referents for "dharma" are:

No.	Referent	Description	Sample usage
1.	jñeya	What can be known or cognized (T. shes bya); see dharmas as factors of existence.	"Dharmas are conditioned or unconditioned."
2.	mārga	The path to liberation	"Dharma is completely pure view."
3.	nirvana	Complete enlightenment	"I take refuge in the Dharma." (Where Dharma refers to complete enlightenment.)
4.	manoviṣaya	“Whatever is exclusively an object for the mind itself and does not depend on sense fields”; aka "a mental object"	"dharma basis"
5.	puṇya	aka "merit"; the accumulation of wholesome karma	"They behaved in accord with the dharma"
6.	āyus (T. tshe)	"this life" or "lifespan"; in this context, refers to "only having regard for this life"	"Worldly beings are attached to this present life, worldly dharma."
7.	Teachings of the Buddha	The teachings are also referred to as buddhadharma, saddharma ("true dharma"), buddhavacana ("word of the buddha"), dharmapravacana ("speech of the Buddha"), etc.	"The Dharma consists of Sutra, Vinaya, Abhidharma and so on."
8.	That which is subject to change or aging	A reference to material objects (Skt. bhautika; T. 'byung 'gyur) subject to change or aging	"This body is endowed with the dharma of aging."
9.	niścaya (T. nges pa)	Religious vows or rules	"the four dharmas of a monk or nun."
10.	nīti (T. chos lugs)	Worldly customs or spiritual traditions	"the dharma of that country"

All of these referents relate to the sense of ‘holding’, which is the meaning of dhṛ, the root of the word dharma.

The general usage in English for the typography of the term 'dharma' is to use an upper case when referring to Buddha's teachings, the path or the truth of cessation (cases 2, 3 & 7).

Six referents from Rupert Gethin

Contemporary scholar Rupert Gethin states:

While different scholarly authors might identify fewer or more meanings, give more or less emphasis to a particular aspect of the early Buddhist understanding of dhamma, or present the relationship between the different meanings in different ways, there is a basic consensus in the range of meanings identified. While no particular writer presents the usage of the term dhamma in precisely the following terms, I think this consensus can be summed up by way of six basic meanings:

(1) the ‘teaching’ of the Buddha;

(2) ‘good conduct’ or ‘good behaviour’, in general, but also more specifically the putting into practice of the good conduct prescribed by the Buddha’s teaching and constituting the Buddhist path, namely keeping ethical precepts (sīla), developing calm and concentration (samatha, samādhi, jhāna), and insight and knowledge (vipassanā, paññā, vijjā) through the practice of meditation;

(3) the ‘truth’ realized by the practice of the Buddhist path;

(4) any particular ‘nature’ or ‘quality’ that something possesses;

(5) the underlying and objective ‘natural law or order’ of things which the Buddha has discerned;

(6) a basic mental or physical ‘state’ or ‘thing’, a plurality of which, at least in the texts of the Abhidhamma, becomes explicitly to be conceived as in some sense constituting the ‘reality’ of the world or experience. (See dharmas as factors of existence.)

"Dharma" as teachings of the Buddha

The sense of dharma as teaching of the Buddha is central to the Buddhist tradition.

Traditionally, there are many terms that are used to refer to the teachings of the Buddha, including:

• buddhadharma ("the dharma of the Buddha")
• saddharma ("true dharma")
• buddhavacana ("word of the buddha")
• dharmavinaya - the term used by the Buddha to refer to what he taught; this refers to the vinaya teachings (vinaya) + all other types of teachings (dharma)
• dharmapravacana (T. gsung rab) - scriptures, excellent speech, etc.
• buddha-sāsana - "the message, teaching, instruction or dispensation of the Buddha."

Three jewels

In the sense of the Buddha's teachings, the Dharma constitutes one of the Three Jewels in which practitioners of Buddhism take refuge. The three jewels are:

• the Buddha (can also be understood as buddhahood, i.e. enlightenment),
• the Dharma (teachings and methods), and
• the Sangha (the community of committed practitioners of the buddhadharma).

"Dharma" as constituents of reality

Main article: Dharmas as factors of existence

The term dharma, in the sense of "what can be known or cognized (Skt. jñeya)," is used to describe the constituents of reality, or phenomena.

These constituents of reality, or what is ultimately real, were explored in great detail in the teachings of the Abhidharma.

"Dharma" as qualities of the Buddha (dharmakaya)

The auspicious qualities of the Buddha (physical, verbal or mental) are often referred to as the "dharmas of the Buddha."

According to Buswell, in this context, the term dharmakaya "seems to have originally been meant to refer to the entire corpus (kaya) of the Buddha's transcendent qualities (dharma)."

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Gethin, Rupert (2004), "He Who Sees Dhamma Sees Dhammas: Dhamma in Early Buddhism" (PDF), Journal of Indian Philosophy, 32: 513–42 
• Goodman, Steven D. (2020), The Buddhist Psychology of Awakening: An In-Depth Guide to the Abhidharma (Apple Books ed.), Shambhala Publications 
• Horner, I. B. (1997), "Buddhism: The Theravada", in Zaehner, R. C., Encyclopedia of the World's Religions, New York: Barnes and Noble, pp. 263–292 
• Willemen, Charles (2004), "Dharma and dharmas", in Buswell, Robert E., Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Vol. 1, MacMillan Reference USA, pp. 217–224 
• Dharma, Rigpa Shedra Wiki

External links

• The Many Meanings of Dharma, Tricycle