8  dharma

dīrghā jāgarato rātrir dīrghaṃ śrāntasya yojanam / dīrgho bālasya saṃsāraḥ sad-dharmam a-vijānataḥ // [patna_dharmapada, 185dhp60]
“Long is the night for one who sleeps not, long is a league for one tired, long is the round of births and deaths for fools who know not True Dhamma.” [Bhikkhu 93]

8.0.1 overview

The word dharma pertains predominantly to the domain of Existence. Here, it typically expresses the sense of cosmic law, which comprises the fundamental principles governing the natural order of reality, or reality/truth,1 and, by extension, the Buddhist doctrine (Dharma),2 which purportedly explains such truth.3

Still within the domain of Existence, dharma also signify things/phenomena, a sense that spans general idea of phenomena 4 as well we the specialized application os dharmas, the constituents of reality5 that form the building blocks of experience in Abhidharma metaphysics.

Within the semantic domain Relationship, dharma displays further terminological applications within the general sense of quality. It denotes the buddha-qualities, typically presented in highly formalized lists,6 and, in logical argumentation, the quality/propertyof an object.7

In the domain Action/operation dharma finds less specialized applications and conveys the sense “rightness”, which appears both in doctrinal or secular contexts, usually with a reference to the appropriate moral conduct.8

Figure 8.1: semantic tree

8.0.2 frequency & register

Not surprisingly, dharma is among the very top-frequency words in our corpus. It is also among the most evenly dispersed across genres. Still, as is to be expected, dharma is most frequent sūtras. Because of its preminence in scriptures, it occurrences of the word dharma are also more concentrated in the foundational and classical period, when most sūtras were produced.

The relative under-representation of this word in narrative sources suggests that it was more closely associated with the homletic and scholastic register than to the general language.

Figure 8.2: frequency relative to other words in the corpus

Figure 8.3: genre dispersion

Figure 8.4: genre frequency

Figure 8.5: genre frequency

8.0.3 context

Several collocational patterns featuring dharma are noteworthy. Among them, dharma-deśanā (dharma-teaching) represents a crucial compound denoting the act of expounding Buddhist doctrine, frequently appearing in sūtra literature to describe the Buddha’s pedagogical activities.9 Closely related to this is the compound dharma-bhāṇaka, which denotes Buddhist preachers, and sad-dharma (true dharma), which emphasizes the authenticity of Buddhist teaching.10 Moving away from the verbal dimension of dharma and into more transcendental territory, dharma-dhātu indicates the realm of ultimate reality.11 and dharma-kāya (dharma-body) the embodiment of truth. In the sense of constinutent factors, an ubiquituous collocation in abhidharma contexts is caitasika-dharma, mental factor. Finally, buddha-dharma if a frequent compound whose meaning varies with contexts, referring in turn to to the qualities or teachings of buddhas.12

Figure 8.6: collocations wordcloud

8.0.4 connotation

In our annotated data, dharma has a predominantly neutral semantic prosody, with significant positive associations and occasional negative ones. Positive hues typically appear when dharma refers to Buddhist doctrine or beneficial qualities, as exemplified in the Bodhicaryāvatāra: buddhaṃ gacchāmi śaraṇaṃ yāvadā bodhi maṇḍataḥ / dharmaṃ gacchāmi śaraṇaṃ bodhisattva-gaṇaṃ tathā //.13 Negative semantic prosody occurs primarily in contexts discussing the absence or corruption of dharma, such as in the Ratnaguṇasaṃcayagāthā: “choritva dharma kariṣyanti a-dharma-kāryaṃ patha hitva utpatha-gatā ima māra-karma //”.14

This entry is based on version 6 of of the Visual Dictionary of Buddhist Sanskrit, see data at zenodo.org/records/13985112

  1. putravat pālito lokaḥ purataḥ pārthivaiḥ śubhaiḥ / mṛg-^āraṇyī-kṛtaḥ so adya kali-dharma-samāśritaiḥ // 90 // catuḥśatikā 4.15.
    “Previously, society was protected like a son by virtuous kings. Now it is made into a hunting ground by those who rely on the law of an age of discord.” [Lang 51]↩︎

  2. etat tu dharma-gāmbhīryaṃ yat tad guhyaṃ pṛthagjane / māy-^opamatvaṃ lokasya buddhānāṃ śāsan-^āmṛtaṃ // 02—09 // ratnāvalī 2.08
    “In this consists the very depth of our doctrine, viz. that it remains a secret for the ordinary people. The teaching that the world is to be compared with a magic play represents the essence of the doctrine of all Buddhas.” [Tucci 241]↩︎

  3. sa ev ^ān-asravo dhātur a-cintyaḥ kuśalo dhruvaḥ / sukho vimukti-kāyo asau dharm-^ākhyo ayaṃ mahāmuneḥ // 30 // triṃśikā 29
    “This is itself the untainted realm, Inconceivable, good, and eternal, Peaceful and blissful, the body of liberation, And what the great Muni called the Dharma.”↩︎

  4. a-vikalpa-dhātu-pratiṣṭhito hi bodhisattvo mahāsattvo jñeya-nir-viśiṣṭena nir-vikalpena jñānen ākāśa-sama-talān sarva-dharmān paśyati / nirvikalpapraveśadhāraṇī 10
    “Those bodhisattvas, great beings who are established in the nonconceptual realm see, with their nonconceptual knowing wisdom that is indistinguishable from what is known, that all phenomena are like the expanse of space.” [Damron & 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha 1.13]↩︎

  5. 25 aṣṭādaśa dhātavaḥ // cakṣuḥ-śrotra-ghrāṇa-jihvā-kāya-mano-rūpa-gandha-śabda-rasa-sparśa-dharma-dhātavaḥ cakṣur-vijñāna-śrotra-vijñāna-ghrāṇa-vijñāna-jihvā-vijñāna-kāya-vijñāna-mano-vijñāna-ghātavaś c ^eti // dharmasaṃgraha 330
    “There are eighteen elements, {1} eye, {2} ear, {3} nose, {4} tongue, {5} body, {6} mind, {7} form, {8} smell, {9} sound, {10} taste, {11} tangible, {12} and thought elements; {13} eye-consciousness, {14} ear-consciousness, {15} nose-consciousness, {16} tongue-consciousness, {17} body-consciousness, {18} and mind-consciousness elements.” [Bhikkhu 26-7]↩︎

  6. ca sva-kṛt-^ārthasya munes tathāgatasya bala-vaiśārady-^ādi-sarv-^āveṇika-buddha-dharma-saṃniśrayeṇā pramāṇeṣu sattveṣv a-pramāṇ-^ārtha-kriyā / bodhisattvabhūmi 16
    “and (4) the performance of immeasurable forms of beneficial activities for the sake of an immeasurable number of sentient beings by a muni and a tathāgata who has completed [the perfection of] his own aim and [who carries out those activities] on the basis of the [one hundred and forty] unique qualities of a buddha, which include the [ten] powers, the [four] forms of intrepid confidence, and so forth.”↩︎

  7. buddhau hi sādhana-dharmo a-mūrtatvam asti sādhya-dharmo nityatvaṃ n ^āsti / nyāyapraveśakasūtra 3.3.1
    “Here the mark, incorporeality, resides in the intellect, but the sadhya, permanence, does not, …”↩︎

  8. kāruṇiko mah-^ātmā dharma-kāmaḥ sat-vatsalas tena ca śāstrāṇy adhītāni / suvarṇavarṇāvadāna 14.3—17.3
    “… compassionate, magnanimous, loving righteousness and dear to beings. He studied all the treatises.” [Rajapatirana]↩︎

  9. ekaikayā dharma-deśanayā yāvanto gaṅgā-nadī-vālukā-samair buddhair bhagavadbhiḥ sattvā vinītāḥ / saptaśatikaprajñāpāramitā 341
    “… and if each single Tathagata by each single demonstration of Dharma were to discipline as many being as has been disciplined by each single demonstration of Dharma on the part of the Buddhas and Lords countless as the sands of the Ganges —” [Conze 81]↩︎

  10. prapūrau ca viśuddhau ca dharma-kāyasy ^eti daśamyāṃ bhūmau paripūrir buddhabhūmau viśuddhiḥ / mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra 93
    “In ‘for the fulfillment and purification of the body of truth,’ ‘fulfillment’ is the tenth bodhisattva stage, ‘purification’ the buddha stage.” [Thurman 180]↩︎

  11. sarva-dharmāṇāṃ niḥ-svabhāvatā śūnyatā tathatā bhūta-koṭiḥ dharma-dhātur ity ādi-paryāyāḥ / bodhicaryāvatārapañjikā 171
    “Absence of essential nature, emptiness, suchness, real limit, sphere of the real etc. are synonyms.” [Oldmeadow 354.3]↩︎

  12. yaḥ subhūte tathāgatena dharmo abhisaṃbuddhas tatra na satyaṃ na mṛṣāḥ tasmāt tathāgato bhāṣate / sarva-dharmā buddha-dharmā iti / vajracchedikā 0
    “In the dharma to which the Realized One has fully awakened, there is no truth and no falsehood. Therefore the Realized One preaches ‘All dharmas are Buddha-dharmas.’”↩︎

  13. buddhaṃ gacchāmi śaraṇaṃ yāvadā bodhi maṇḍataḥ / dharmaṃ gacchāmi śaraṇaṃ bodhisattva-gaṇaṃ tathā // bodhicaryāvatāra 2.25
    “I take refuge with the Enlightened One, awaiting the coming of the perfect Light; I take refuge in the Law and the Congregation of sons of Enlightenment.”↩︎

  14. “Having spurned what is right [Dharma], they will do what is wrong; having left the right path, they have gone to a wrong road. This also is Mara’s deed.” [Conze]↩︎