What, exactly, is Dharma? (Buddhism, followers, worship, Buddhism)

[finalfrogo]

The term "Dharma" seems to be used multiple ways... What does it mean when referring to Buddhism?

[Engyo]

Originally Posted by finalfrogo

The term "Dharma" seems to be used multiple ways... What does it mean when referring to Buddhism?

It is definitely used in multiple ways, and it carries different meanings depending on context. It can mean "teaching"; it can mean "the Buddha's words", it can mean "reality", and it can mean other things. One learns to review the context, and sort of pick which of several english concepts is the closest for the particular usage you are examining.

An author I happen to like made a comment which applies here, although he was talking about english. He said that the bigger an english word is, the less confusion there is about it's meaning. The words that cause trouble are the small ones. Think of words like "love", or "god", or "sin" which can have such different meanings to different people, but a word like "television" means something very specific.

I hope this is helpful.

[finalfrogo]

Originally Posted by Engyo

It is definitely used in multiple ways, and it carries different meanings depending on context. It can mean "teaching"; it can mean "the Buddha's words", it can mean "reality", and it can mean other things. One learns to review the context, and sort of pick which of several english concepts is the closest for the particular usage you are examining.

An author I happen to like made a comment which applies here, although he was talking about english. He said that the bigger an english word is, the less confusion there is about it's meaning. The words that cause trouble are the small ones. Think of words like "love", or "god", or "sin" which can have such different meanings to different people, but a word like "television" means something very specific.

I hope this is helpful.

Well, it certainly verifies that it has multiple definitions--not a single definition that continually eludes me. Thanks.

[c0da]

I use the word dharma to mean the Buddha's teachings.

The Buddha stressed that when he died, his teachings would live on in the Dharma and that his followers should, rather than worship the Buddha, should respect him by drawing what we can from the Dharma and using it to improve ourselves.