Dharma
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Dharma (sanskrit, roughly law or way) is the way of the higher Truths. Beings that live in harmony with Dharma proceed quicker towards moksha, nirvana, or personal liberation, a concept first taught in Indian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism).
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Meanings and origins of the word Dharma
The word Dharma (Sanskrit; "धर्म" in the Devanagari script) or dhamma (Pali) is used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, the dharmic faiths, namely Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Dharma also is practiced in the Surat Shabda Yoga traditions. In its oldest form, dharman, it first appears in the Vedas.
It is difficult to provide a single concise definition for Dharma (life fails to convey its connoted complexity). The word has a long and varied history and complex set of meanings and interpretations. Certain Westerners and Orientalists have proposed a number of possible translations, from "justice" to "religion", however these definitions have evolved with their associated usage in Western culture.
"Dharma" derives from the verbal root dhri, which simply means "manner of being." The term must therefore be understood in its original (i.e. metaphysical) context, that of a conformity to a divine or creative principle at work in an individual and in nature. It represents the individual's internal law, to which obedience must be given if that individual life is to live in accordance with a Divine Will. This is what Hindus consider the sole or primary purpose of life. It explains how justice finds its place among the many modern definitions of the word dharma.
Rene Guenon, father of the 20th century school of Perennial Philosophy, defines it as such:
It [dharma] is, so to speak, the essential nature of a being, comprising the sum of its particular qualities or characteristics, and determining, by virtue of the tendencies or dispositions it implies, the manner in which this being will conduct itself, either in a general way or in relation to each particular circumstance. The same idea may be applied, not only to a single being, but also to an organized collectivity, to a species, to all the beings included in a cosmic cycle or state of existence, or even to the whole order of the Universe; it then, at one level or another, signifies conformity with the essential nature of beings… (from Guenon's "Introduction to the Study of Hindu Doctrines")
This said, certain Western definitions of the word must be considered in the light of this original definition—that is, as branches from a single root. Monier Monier-Williams, for example (while covering the entire scope it would seem), gives its primary definition as:
that which is established or firm, steadfast decree, statute, ordinance, law; usage, practice, customary observance or prescribed conduct, duty; right, justice (often as a synonym of punishment); virtue, morality, religion, religious merit, good works,
of which the first, "that which is established or firm" seems to be the most ancient and etymological. Dharma is cognate with the Latin firmus, the origin of the word firm. Meanings related to law, morality, scripture, and teachings were probably acquired through analogy, by being regarded as firm and called as such. For the phenomenological or psychological meaning, see below.
Yama, the lord of death, is also known as Dharma, since he works within the laws of karma and morality, regulated by divine principles. More familiar is the embodiment of Dharma in Lord Rama, an avatar of Vishnu. The eldest Pandava, Yudhishthira was referred to as DharmaRaj owing to his steadfastness to Truth & Dharma.
The teachings, doctrines, philosophies and practices associated with furthering Dharma are also referred to as such. Sometimes, specific qualifiers are used - viz. Bauddha-Dharma and Jain-Dharma to distinguish them from Sanatana_Dharma.
For many Buddhists, the Dharma most often means the body of teachings expounded by the Buddha. The word is also used in Buddhist phenomenology as a term roughly equivalent to phenomenon, a basic unit of existence and/or experience.
In scripture translations dharma is often best left untranslated, as it has acquired a lively life of its own in English that is more expressive than any simplistic translation. Common translations and glosses include "right way of living," Divine Law, Path of Righteousness, order, faith, "natural harmony," rule, fundamental, and duty. Dharma may be used to refer to rules of the operation of the mind or universe in a metaphysical system, or to rules of comportment in an ethical system.
Dharma in Hinduism
Within Indian philosophy "dharma" also means "property" and "dharmin" means "property-bearer". In a Sanskrit sentence like "zabdo 'nityaH" (Sanskrit transliterated according to the Kyoto-Harvard convention), "sound is impermanent", "sound" is the bearer of the property "impermanence". Likewise, in the sentence "iha ghataH", "here, there is a pot", "here" is the bearer of the property "pot-existence" - this just goes to show that the categories property and property-bearer are closer to those of a logical predicate and its subject-term, and not to a grammatical predicate and subject.
Origin and development in Hinduism
A common manner of describing Hinduism among its adherents is as a way of life, as "Dharma." It defies dogma and thus seeks to instead align the human body, mind, and soul in harmony with nature.
Our very limitation is guided under a universal understanding, that of Dharma. The Atharva Veda, the last of the four books of the Vedas, utilizes symbolism to describe dharma's role. Thus we are bound by the laws of time, space and causation according to finite reality, which itself is a limitation imposed by the self-projection of the infinite Brahman as the cosmos. Dharma is the foundation of this causal existence, the one step below the infinite. Indeed, dharma is the projection of divine order from Brahman, and as such:
- "Prithivim Dharmana Dhritam"
- "This world is upheld by Dharma"
- -- (Atharva Veda)
Proto-dharma: rta in the Vedas
To assess a concept whose explication is bewildering in range, it is useful to trace its nascence and subsequent development in Vedic culture. In the Vedas, which span back to 2000 BCE (and much further in oral tradition), the first concept that is strikingly dharmic is that of rta.
Rta literally means the "course of things." At first, the early Hindus (or followers of the "Sanatan Dharma") were notably confused as to the inscrutable order of nature, how the heavenly bodies, the rushing winds and flowing waters, the consistent cycling of the seasons, were regulated. Thenceforth sprang rta, whose all-purpose role it was to signify this order, the path that was always followed. Through all the metamorphoses and permutations of nature, of life in general, there was one unchangeable fact: rta.
Soon it transcended its passive role as a mere signifier and took on a greater one, that of an active imposition of order. Not only the natural principles, but the gods and goddesses themselves, were obliged to abide by rta. Rta became the father, the law of justice and righteousness, unyielding but eminently fair. It grew, as Radhakrishnan states, from "physical" to "divine" in its purvey.
The world's seeming mess of altercating fortune, the caprice of the divinities, was now intelligible. Indeed, there was a single, unchanging harmony working 'behind the scenes.' A right path existed, ready to be taken by the righteous ones. Rta signifies the way life ought to be, shifting from physical to divine, from natural to moral order. Rta was morality, the equitable law of the universe. The conception of this all-transcending, supramental force that is, practically, the same concept as later understandings of dharma, is captured in this early Vedic prayer, preempting the liturgical strains of classical Hindu mantras involving dharma:
- "O Indra, lead us on the path of Rta, on the right path over all evils."
- --(Rig Veda Book X, Chapter CXXXIII, Verse 6)
Thus we see the logical progression of an early 'course of things' into an all-encompassing moral order, a path and way of righteousness, an all-encompassing harmony of the universe, in the Vedic idea of Rta. (1)
Developing conceptions
An earlier and insightful demonstration of the continuity of thought from rta to dharma is a brief but "pregnant definition" ((3) of dharma given in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, a pre-Buddhist work dating back to between 1000 to 700 BCE. Founded upon the Hindu ideas of, as R. H. Hume's "intelligent monism," with Brahman the monad, the Upanishads saw dharma as the universal principle of law, order, harmony, all in all truth, that sprang first from Brahman. It acts as the regulatory moral principle of the universe. It is sat, truth, a major tenet of Hinduism. This hearkens back to the conception of the Rig Veda that "Ekam Sat," (Truth Is One), of the idea that Brahman is "Sacchidananda" (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss). Dharma has imbibed the highest principles of Truth, and as such is the central guiding principle in the Hindu conception of existence. Dharma is not just law, or harmony, it is pure Reality. In the Brihadaranyaka's own words:
- " Verily, that which is Dharma is truth.
- Therefore they say of a man who speaks truth, 'He speaks the Dharma,'
- or of a man who speaks the Dharma, 'He speaks the Truth.'
- Verily, both these things are the same."
- (Brh. Upanishad, 1.4.14) (2)
Kane's view
According to Dr.Pandurang Vaman Kane, the word "Dharma" acquired a sense of "the privileges, duties and obligations of a man, his standard of conduct as a member of the Aryan community, as a member of the caste and as a person in a particular state of life.
In Jainism
Dharma is natural. Jain Acharya Samantabhadra writes: "Vatthu sahavo dhammo" the dharma is the nature of an object. It is the nature of the soul to be free, thus for the soul, the dharma ia paralaukika, beyond worldly. However the nature of the body is to seek self-preservation and be engaged in pleasures.
Thus there are two dharmas.
The two Dharmas
Acharya Haribhadra (approx. 6-7th cent.) discusses dharma in Dharma-Bindu. he writes (Translation by Y. Malaiya):
soayam-anushhThaatRi-bhedat dvi-vidho
gRihastha-dharmo yati-dharmash-cha |
Because of the difference in practice, Dharma is of two kinds, for the householders and for the monks.
tatra gRihastha-dharmoapi dvi-vidhaH
saamanyato visheshhatash-cha |
Of the householder's dharma, there are two kind,"ordinary" and "special"
tatra saamnayato gRihastha-dharmaH kula-krama-agatam-anindyaM
vibhavady-apekshayaa nyaato.anushhThaanaM |
The ordinary gRihastha-dharma should be carried out according to tradition, such that it is not objectionable, according to ones abilities such as wealth, in accordance with nyaya (everyone treated fairly and according to laws).
Somadeva suri (10th c.) termss the "ordinary" and "special" dharmas laukika and the paralukika dharmas respectively:
dvau hi dharamau gRiahasthANam, laukikaH, paarlaukikaH |
lokaashrayo bhavedaadyah, parah syaad-aagama-AshrayaH ||
A householder follows both laukika and the paralukika dharmas at the same time.
In Buddhism
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The teachings of the Buddha
For practicing Buddhists, references to "dharma" or dhamma in the singular, particularly as "the" Dharma, is used to mean the teachings of the Buddha, and is sometimes referred to as the Buddha-Dharma. Dharma is the universal law of nature and to call it Buddha-Dhamma suggests that other kinds of Dharma may exist. But this is not so, there is only one Dharma. The term Buddha-Dharma merely refers to the fact that it was discovered by the Buddha, not created by him.
The status of the Dharma is regarded variably by different traditions. Some regard it as an ultimate and transcendent truth which is utterly beyond worldly things, somewhat like the Christian logos. Others, who regard the Buddha as simply an enlightened human being, see the Dharma more as a useful set of ideas and suggestions for how to live one's life, not requiring any special transmundane status.
"Dharma" usually refers inclusively not just to the sayings of the Buddha but to the later traditions of interpretation and addition that the various schools of Buddhism have developed to help explain and expand upon the Buddha's teachings.
The Dharma is one of the Three Jewels, and Buddhists are said to seek refuge in it as in the Buddha and the Sangha.
Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology
Other uses include, dharma, normally spelled with a small "d" (to differentiate), and refers to "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 Signs of Being / Three Seals of Existence. The three signs: 1. Dukkha - Suffering (Pali: Dukkha), 2. Anitya - Change/Impermanence (Pali: Anicca), 3. Anatman - No-I (Pali: Annatta). At the heart of Buddhism, is the denial of an "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. (ie Do they exist apart from anything else?) Rejecting any inherent reality to the dharmas, he asked (rhetorically):
śūnyeṣu sarvadharmeṣu kim anantaṁ kimantavat
kim anantam antavac ca nānantaṁ nāntavacca kiṁ
kiṁ tad eva kim anyat kiṁ śāśvataṁ kim aśāśvataṁ
aśāśvataṁ śāśvataṁ ca kiṁ vā nobhayam apyataḥ 'tha
sarvopalambhpaśamaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ śivaḥ
na kva cit kasyacit kaścid dharmo buddhena deśitaḥ|
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. --Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, nirvṇānaparīkṣā, 25:22-24
Dharma as righteousness
According to S. N. Goenka, teacher of Vipassana Meditation, the original meaning of dhamma is “dhareti ti dhamma’, or “that which is contained”. Dharma in the Buddhist scriptures has a variety of meanings, including “phenomenon”, and "nature" or "characteristic". Dharma also means ‘mental contents’, and is paired with citta, which means heart/mind. The pairing is paralleled with the pairing of kaya (body) and vedana (feelings or sensations, that which arise within the body but experienced through the mind), in major sutras such as the Mahasatipatthana sutra. 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”.
See also
- Hindu philosophy
- Buddhist philosophy
- Karma
- Dhammapada
- Dharmic religion
- Dharma transmission
- Wheel of Dharma
- The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
References
- Radhakrishnan, S. (1923): "Indian Philosophy Vol.1" (2nd Edition). New Delhi: Oxford India Paperbacks (Oxford University Press).
- Hume, R.E.: (1921): "The Thirteen Principal Upanishads" (2nd Edition, Revised). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Easwaran, E. (1987): "The Upanishads" (Seventh Printing). Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press.
External links
- Dharma-Karma-Samsara
- DailyOM Inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy & fulfilling day. Includes many articles about dharma.
- Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (log in with userID "guest")
- DharmaWeb Buddhist Wiki and portal
- E-Sangha Buddhism Portal
- Dr.Pandurang Vaman Kane's View
da:Dharma de:Dhamma es:Dharma eo:Dharmo fr:Dharma ko:법보 id:Dharma nl:Dharma ja:法 (仏教) no:Dharma pl:Dharma sv:Dharma