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What is dhamma?

Anonymous asked you:

what is dhamma

This one was too burning for me to leave for the next few weeks unanswered.

For those of you who read my posts via the Tumblr dashboard, you may not know the title of this little one is it's all dhamma. The heading looks like this:

Dhamma is an ancient Indian (Pāli) word which is most often heard in reference to the Buddha's teachings, i.e., Buddha-dhamma or Buddhadharma. Dharma is the Sanskrit equivalent and is the more often used term in English. The multiple definition I am using comes from Access to Insight. I think it's important to note that the word pre-existed the historical Buddha and he chose it to reference his own teachings, I would argue, precisely for its ambiguous meaning. One very quotidian (event, mental quality), the other transcendent (nibbana, ultimate truth). Nonduality is thereby embedded in this very choice of language.

Ajahn Chah, in "A Gift of Dhamma" says:

What is Dhamma? Dhamma is that which can cut through the problems and difficulties of mankind, gradually reducing them to nothing. That's what is called Dhamma and that's what should be studied throughout our daily lives so that when some mental impression arises in us, we'll be able to deal with it and go beyond it.

For me, Dhamma doesn't belong to the Buddha or to Buddhism, but rather reflects things as they actually are, that is, reality. Teachings which support our understanding of things as they actually are fall into the category of Dhamma (with a big "D") and everything that is happening and being experienced by the heart-mind, as they actually are, is also dhamma (with a little "d"). These teachings can come in many forms, languages, disciplines, religious frameworks, etc. I don't feel the need to distinguish much between Buddhist and nondual Advaita teachings for that reason, and I find there are similar (generally mystical) threads in all religious traditions. Note, a search for dharma and Islam actually brings up quite a few returns.

I will add one more thing which is that one of the main meditation teachings in the scriptures attributed to the historical Buddha is the Satipatthana Sutta, which details the four foundations of mindfulness. The first is mindfulness of sensations (kayanupassana), the second is mindfulness of feelings (vedananupassana), the third is mindfulness of mind (cittanupassana), and the fourth is mindfulness of dhamma (dhammanupassana). The fourth is often translated as mindfulness of "mental objects"; it might also be understood as "being aware of certain particularities such as attachment, hate, love or compassion."

And that's why I say "it's all dhamma." Thanks for the question!

Additional Resources

What is Dhamma? Part 1 (Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5) by Chris Kang

What is Dhamma, and what isn't it? by Jayarava

What is Dharma? Buddhist and Hindu Dharma

Dhamma is Duty, Duty is Dhamma an article transcribed from Life and Work of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, a Thai video about Ajahn Buddhadasa and Suan Mokkh.

I also noticed user zenlen answered this question recently, if you're curious about another Tumblr's perspective on it.

#buddhism #dhamma #dhammanupassana #language #pali #asks #it's all dhamma.