Dharma Skt., lit. carrying, holding.
[Hinduism] a comprehensive term used to refer to that which determines our true essence; righteousness; the basis of human morality and ethics, the lawful order of the universe, and the foundation of all religion. Hindus call their tradition sanātana-dharma, the “eternal religion.”
For the individual, dharma is inseparable from one’s karma, since dharma can be realized by the individual only to the extent permitted by one’s karmic situation.
[Buddhism][Zen] (Pali, dhamma; Chin., fa; Jap., hō or datsuma); central notion of Buddhism, used in various meanings.
1. the cosmic law, the “great norm,” underlying our world; above all, the law of karmically determined rebirth.
2. The teaching of the Buddha, who recognized and formulated this “law”; thus the teaching that expresses the universal truth. The dharma in this sense existed already before the birth of the historical Buddha, who is no more than a manifestation of it. It is in the dharma in this sense that a Buddhist takes refuge (trisharana).
3. Norms of behavior and ethical rules (shīla, Vinaya-pitaka).
4. Manifestation of reality, of the general state of affairs; thing, phenomenon.
5. Mental content, object of thought, idea a reflection of a thing in the human mind.
6. Term for the so-called factors of existence, which the Hīnayāna considers as building blocks of the empirical personality and its world.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Books on Dharma
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