dharma

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 etymologyetymological. 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 #Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenologybelow.Dr. David Frawley, an expert on Hindu philosophy and religion, describes Dharma as:

a universal tradition has room for all faiths and all religious and spiritual practices regardless of the time or country of their origin. Yet it places religious and spiritual teachings in their appropriate place relative to the ultimate goal of Self-realization, to which secondary practices are subordinated. Sanatan Dharma also recognizes that the greater portion of human religious aspirations has always been unknown, undefined and outside of any institutionalized belief. Sanatan Dharma thereby gives reverence to individual spiritual experience over any formal religious doctrine. Whereever the Universal Truth is manifest; there is Sanatan Dharma—whether it is in a field of religion, art or science, or in the life of a person or community. Whereever the Universal Truth is not recognized, or is scaled down or limited to a particular group, book or person, even if done so in the name of God, there Sanatan Dharma ceases to function, whatever the activity is !called.

Acco rding? to the Natchintanai Scripture:

By the laws of Dharma that govern body and mind, you must fear sin and act righteously. Wise men by thinking and behaving in this way become worthy to gain bliss both here and !hereafter.

Y ama,? 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 civilizationVedic culture. In the Vedas, which span back to 20th century BCE2000 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 religionVedic prayer, preempting the liturgical strains of classical HinduismHindu 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. (#References1)

Developing conceptions - An earlier and insightful demonstration of the continuity of thought from rta to dharma is a brief but "pregnant definition" ((#References3) of dharma given in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, a pre-Buddhist work dating back to between 10th century BCE1000 to 700s BCE700 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) (#References2)

Kane's view - According to Pandurang Vaman KaneDr.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< br>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 thesame time.

In Buddhism - buddhism

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 Buddhismschools 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 NagarjunaNāgārjuna 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):kim anantam antavac ca nānantaṁ nāntavacca kiṁ
kiṁ tad eva kim anyat kiṁ śāśvataṁ kim !aśāśvataṁ aśāśvata&# 7745;? śāśvataṁ ca kiṁ vā nobhayam apyataḥ 'tha
sarvopalambhpaśama&# 7717;? 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.--Mūlamadhyamaka kārikā,? !nirvṇānaparīk& #7779;ā,? !25:22-24