Dhamma
1. Dhamma-[teaching]
1a. The Buddha’s skillful teaching
1b. Other traditions’ teachings
2. Dhamma-[natural laws]
2a. kusala and a-kusala Dhamma
2b. Impermanence, dukkha, etc
3. dhamma-[mind object]
4. dhamma-[thing]
‘Dhamma’ is best left untranslated
Because Dhamma often straddles two or more senses of the word.
When a translator only translates one sense, the reader can not reverse engineer that the translated term matches the pali ‘Dhamma’, and also misses out on the other intended meanings.
For example the ‘dhamma’ in right effort, kusala and akusala dhamma, often is referring to a wrong teaching, or a right teaching, which also happens to be a natural law such as ‘killing results in very painful fruit ripening in myriad ways’.
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dhammā saṅkhatā vā a-saṅkhatā vā, |
things (that are) fabricated or un-fabricated **, |
vi-rāgo tesaṃ aggamakkhāyati, |
dis-passion (is) declared-supreme. |
1. Dhamma-[teaching]
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dhammā saṅkhatā vā a-saṅkhatā vā, |
things (that are) fabricated or un-fabricated **, |
vi-rāgo tesaṃ aggamakkhāyati, |
dis-passion (is) declared-supreme. |
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1a. The Buddha’s skillful teaching
The most important sense of the word, Dhamma is the Buddha’s skillful teaching.
The teachings are all classified somewhere under 4NT, 8aam, and 37bp.
1b. Other traditions’ teachings
Other teachers and religions, their teachings are also called “Dhamma’ with a capital ‘D’.
But they don’t lead to Nirvana.
They may have valid working teachings on non-ultimate topics, such as sila, samadhi.
2. Dhamma-[natural laws]
2a. kusala and a-kusala Dhamma
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2a. kusala and a-kusala Dhamma |
skillful and un-skillful Dhamma |
Here Dhamma has an ethical quality that when performed as a bodily, vocal, and mental action, would result in karmic fruit of kusala and akusala quality. This is a natural law that happens whether a Buddha teaches it or not, the Buddha’s teaching makes the natural law more clear and offers ways to observe it directly.
2b. Impermanence, dukkha, etc
3. dhamma-[mind object]
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dhammā saṅkhatā vā a-saṅkhatā vā, |
things (that are) fabricated or un-fabricated **, |
vi-rāgo tesaṃ aggamakkhāyati, |
dis-passion (is) declared-supreme. |
4. dhamma-[thing]
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dhammā saṅkhatā vā a-saṅkhatā vā, |
things (that are) fabricated or un-fabricated **, |
vi-rāgo tesaṃ aggamakkhāyati, |
dis-passion (is) declared-supreme. |
sati remembers ‘Dhamma’, always
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sati |
remembering |
Dhamma |
The Buddha’s teaching |
First and foremost:
The 4th aspect of 4sp, Dhamma-anu-passana, means one continuously sees the Buddha’s teaching.
Dhamma-vicaya-sambojjhanga means one investigates, scrutinizes, inspect the Buddha’s teaching.
In the process of doing the above, the instructions referring to ‘dhamma’ may refer to ethical qualities, natural laws, but they are subservient to the primary sense of Dhamma as the Buddha’s teaching.
sati, of sati-sambojjhanga, remembers Dhamma-[teachings], is mindful of Dhamma, constant bears Dhamma in mind.
Dhamma-vicaya-sambojjhanga investigates and scrutinizes the Dhamma-[teachings] that ‘sati’ remembers and brings to mind.
Dhamma is always about nirvana, ending of Dukkha, so if Dhamma-vicaya was instead, dhamma-vicaya (lower case ‘d’), investigation of ‘phenomena’, this breaks the chain of 7sb leading to nirvana. It loses the purpose of Dhamma. This is a widely misunderstood point due to late Theravada innovations such as the MN 10 and DN 22 satipatthana suttas.