]> 2026-10-10T15:53:59-04:00 Recent Essays/Post-6 0 en ''Dharma'' is perhaps one of the most popular Indic Sanskrit terms that is used widely in religious philosophy and practice. There is no single word in the English language that renders ''dharma'' and its numerous meanings. It refers to existence and phenomena in its broadest sense, but in specific contexts it also designates objects of mental faculty, the law of nature, truth, virtue, duty, spiritual path, religion, and religious doctrine. In his work entitled [https://adarsha.dharma-treasure.org/kdbs/degetengyur?pbId=2923477 ''Vyākhyāyukti''], or ''Principles of Exegesis'', Vasubandhu states that the term ''dharma'' can mean ten different things in the Buddhist context alone. In its most common usage in Buddhism, ''dharma'' refers to the second object of refuge, the teachings of the Buddha. Again, Vasubandhu in his magnum opus, [https://adarsha.dharma-treasure.org/kdbs/degetengyur?pbId=2925443 ''Abhidharmakośa''], or the ''Treasury of Abhidharma'', explains that the dharma of the Buddha is twofold: the doctrinal scriptures and experiential understanding. The ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' presents a more abstruse and sophisticated Mahāyāna definition of ''dharma'' in the context of its explanation of the Three Jewels. The Dharma Jewel is said to be inconceivable, nondual, nonconceptual reality, which is pure, luminous, and remedial in nature. It comprises the third and fourth truths out of the four noble truths: the truth of cessation, which is free from attachment, and the truth of the path to cessation, which helps bring about the freedom from attachment. Learn more about this Mahāyāna definition of ''dharma'' by reading [[Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga_Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra/Root_Verses/Verse_I.10|Verse I.10.]] November 2020, Week 2 IMG 7709.JPG 2020-11-11T12:24:40Z 2459165.0171296 Topic of the Week: What is ''dharma''? Buddha-nature is taught to be the immutable reality that is unborn and unceasing like space. Asaṅga 2020-11-11T12:42:24Z 2459165.0294444 2022-04-29T16:06:34Z 2459699.1712269 false Recent Essays/Post-6 Topic of the week/Post-6 0 en Topic of the week/Post-6 REDI 102 en REDI