The Dharma

The Dalai Lama states, “When we talk about Dharma in the context of Buddhist teachings, we are talking about nirvana, or freedom from suffering. Freedom from suffering, nirvana, or cessation is the true Dharma” (Link). However, the Dharma is beyond explanation. The Dharma is not one sentence, nor is it a single set of rules or sutra. Instead, it is the totality, the ‘om.’

To me, I have interpreted the Dharma as ‘truth,’ regardless of origin. To know that language is unstable is the Dharma, and to know that suffering is caused by attachment is the Dharma. To act in the 8 fold path in order to break the cycle of samsara is the Dharma, and so is the acknowledgement of Zen or Chan or Meditation as a powerful act of freedom. 

However, the Dharma exists universally regardless of the words (signifiers) used to describe it. Those beliefs and truths that I found in Paradise Lost are the Dharma to me, and so are other beliefs of Jesus. The scientific discoveries that help provide clarity, compassion, and unity to our world are the Dharma, and anything else that falls within the unity of mankind, compassion for all beings, and resonate with the ‘Om’ of existence.

As a result, I firmly believe in the beliefs of anyone, provided they are leading to understanding, compassion, and unity. If they are leading to understanding, compassion, and unity, they are also the Dharma to me, regardless of what umbrella term (signifier) they are using to express the idea (signified). 

To conclude this exploration, I would like to also emphasize that impermanence is key to the validity of this idea. Buddhism acknowledged impermanence, but also the permanence of the Dharma. In numerous Mahayanan texts, this idea is expressed:

Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra: “The Dharma is not born, does not perish, does not come, does not go… It is beyond name and form, yet it teaches all beings.”

Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra: “The Dharma is eternal. It is not something that is destroyed when the Tathāgata passes into Nirvāṇa.”

This falls in line strongly with my belief, that the Dharma is simple truth, it is compassion, it is the cessation of suffering, regardless of the signifier or name it is given.