Dear Dmytro, Nina and friends,

thanks for the reminder and the links. However, I do not see twenty-three
meanings of 'dhamma', only three. And I summarise as follows:

1. gu.na; virtue, good quality. In different commentaries, this is explained
as kusala kamma as opposed to akusala kamma. Kusala kamma is denoted as
dhamma, and akusala kamma is denoted as adhamma.

We read in the Atthasaalinii, 38:
"Na hi dhammo adhammo ca, ubho samavipaakino;
"Dhamma, adhamma bear no equal fruit;
adhammo niraya.m neti, dhammo paapeti suggatim"ti.
adhamma leads to inferno, dhamma causes one to reach heaven.
(theragaa. 304; jaa. 1.15.386)

2. pariyatti; the wording of the teachings as contained in the Tipitaka.
Pariyattidhamma includes the ninefold classification of the teachings
(sutta, geyya, etc.), which is a classification according to literary
styles.

3. nissatta, nijjiva; an entity without a living soul.

Dhammapada-Atthakata:
"Tasmi.m khopana samaye dhammaa honti, khandhaa hontii"ti (dha. sa. 121)
Then, at that time dhammas occur, aggregates occur.

aya.mnissattadhammo naama, nijjiivadhammotipi eso eva.
this is dhamma without living being (non-substantial), it is also truly
dhamma without life.

Tesu imasmi.m .thaane nissattanijjiivadhammo adhippeto.
As to these, dhamma without a living soul is meant in this case.

So atthato tayo aruupino khandhaa vedanaakkhandho sa~n~naakkhandho
sa'nkhaarakkhandhoti.
As to the meaning of this, there are the three mental aggregates of feeling,
remembrance and formations (all cetasikas apart from feeling and
remembrance).

-----------------------------------------------------

Ven. Buddhadatta has

Dhamma (m.) doctrine; nature; truth; the norm; morality; good conduct.

The PED gives two sets of meanings offered by Buddhaghosa.

(I)
1. gu.na; good conduct.
2. desanaa; preaching and moral instruction.
3. pariyatti; 9-fold collection of Buddhist scriptures.
4. nissatta(-nijjiivata); cosmic law.

(II)
1. pariyatti; doctrine as formulated.
2. hetu; condition, causal antecedent.
3. gu.na; moral quality or action.
4. nissatta-nijiivataa; phenomenal.

Accordingly, the second set is more adequate, hence dhamma has the following
meanings:

1. doctrine
2. right or righteousness
3. condition
4. phenomenon

The PED continues with the main applications of the words

(1a) Psychologically/Subjective: mental attitude, thought, idea, philosophy,
truth, Dhamma.

(1b) Psychologically/Objective: substratum (of cognition), piece,
constituent, constitution; phenomenon, thing, "world", cosmic order.

(2a) Ratio-ethically/Objective: "rationality".

(2b) Ratio-ethically/Subjective: "morality", right behaviour, righteousness,
practice, duty; maxim, tenets, convictions, moral habits.

Finally, dhamma may also be capitalised as Dhamma, meaning the Buddhist
doctrine, the Buddhist scriptures, and one of the Triple-Gem.

metta,
Yong Peng.

On 1/20/06, Dmytro O. Ivakhnenko wrote:

> We were speaking about how to translate dhamma. Do you remember
> I wrote post (inspired by the texts given by Jim and Dimitro) about
> twentythree meanings of dhamma?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pali/message/3121
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pali/message/3140
http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index.php?showtopic=20247


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