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2021: Creating a Lexicon of Future
D is for Dharma
Dharma is very important notion in Buddhisim. Dharma is that which bears (dhārana), the self-characteristics and common characteristics of a person. All four schools of Buddhism explain the dharma theory according to their philosophy that varies in their understanding of the concept of person. In a general sense dharma refers to the categories that constitute the physical world and the person. Thus, dharma is the means to achieve prajñā (supreme knowledge) and Nirvāna, the supreme dharma. But at the same time, extinguishing of the defilements is possible through the discernment of the dharmas. ~ Dharma Theory: A Critical Analysis in Four Schools of Buddhism
The Eternal Dharma: Dharma in this sense is the underlying, substratum of reality-of our lives and of our world. It is the ultimate and primordial fact of who and what we are.
Dharma as Phenomena: the basis of our ordinary existence-of the multitude of thoughts, perceptions, and occurrences that make up our experience as human beings.
Dharma as the Path: How we respond to the disruption and destabilization caused by the eternal dharma, as it shows up in the experiences of our lives, is a matter of choice. In the beginning, the path is difficult and painful: through meditation and the other Buddhist disciplines, we train by…
