Dear friends,
Yong Peng asked me to repost The Meaning of Dhamma¹ I wrote a long time
ago. I shall repost this part by part, and I am open to corrections. As I go
along I shall also make some changes.
My sources are texts in the Tipi.taka, the Commentaries and the Saddaniti, a
grammar written by the Thera Aggava.msa of Pagan, in 1154.
Jim and Dmytro provided me with the Pali texts.
---------
The Meaning of Dhamma 1
One of the meanings of dhamma is gu.na, virtue or good quality. In different
commentaries this is explained as kusala kamma different from 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 suggatin"ti.
adhamma leads to hell, dhamma causes one to reach heaven.
(theragaa. 304; jaa. 1.15.386)-
The Saddaniti explains dhamma as gu.na, merit, virtue:
<Channa.m buddhadhammaanan"ti-aadiisu gu.ne.
In the passage such as ³ of the six special qualities of the Buddha², dhamma
means excellent quality, virtue.>