Difference between revisions of "chos"

From Rangjung Yeshe Wiki - Dharma Dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (Bot: Adding <noinclude>{{TermAdmin}}{{Term}}</noinclude>)
Line 1: Line 1:
<noinclude>{{TermAdmin}}{{Term}}</noinclude>
+
<noinclude>{{DRAFTTermAdmin}}{{DRAFTTerm}}</noinclude>
 
<wytotib>{{PAGENAME}}</wytotib><br>
 
<wytotib>{{PAGENAME}}</wytotib><br>
 
[[Image:Chos.png|left]] [[dharma]], elements of existence (general non-critical term), factors of reality, knowable factors, phenomena, mental objects, phenomenal existents, events and meanings, what is experienced, spiritual teachings, truth, message, teaching, doctrine, law, aspects of experience (the range of yid's activity), meaning, qualities, meaning of life, make, build, gnaw off, law, order, sustenance, manifestation, presentation, prepare, make ready, SA 'cha' ba, 'cho ba, 'chos pa, draw up, religious doctrine, religion, particular doctrine, tenet, precept, system of morality, ethics, manner, method, custom, usage, thing, substance, property, 1 of gnas pa dgu, grammatical predicate, topics [JV]
 
[[Image:Chos.png|left]] [[dharma]], elements of existence (general non-critical term), factors of reality, knowable factors, phenomena, mental objects, phenomenal existents, events and meanings, what is experienced, spiritual teachings, truth, message, teaching, doctrine, law, aspects of experience (the range of yid's activity), meaning, qualities, meaning of life, make, build, gnaw off, law, order, sustenance, manifestation, presentation, prepare, make ready, SA 'cha' ba, 'cho ba, 'chos pa, draw up, religious doctrine, religion, particular doctrine, tenet, precept, system of morality, ethics, manner, method, custom, usage, thing, substance, property, 1 of gnas pa dgu, grammatical predicate, topics [JV]

Revision as of 11:32, 24 June 2021

This is the RYI Dictionary content as presented on the site http://rywiki.tsadra.org/, which is being changed fundamentally and will become hard to use within the GoldenDict application. If you are using GoldenDict, please either download and import the rydic2003 file from DigitalTibetan (WayBack Machine version as the site was shut down in November 2021).

Or go directly to http://rywiki.tsadra.org/ for more upcoming features.

Action needed!
This page is a draft of a new term page. Check for content and click approve to create the same page in the main namespace if it does not already exist.
Status Conflict Actions
DRAFT chos already exists! EditDelete

Submitted page content


Welcome to a test page for the Lotsawa Workbench

This page is still in development. More changes coming soon!

If you'd like to review other pages that use this same new template, see these:

Lotsawa Workbench The Lotsawa Workbench is an initiative of the Tsadra Foundation research department. Currently, this is just a test and we welcome any comments and suggestions. We hope to invite collaboration from users and stakeholders from Dharma groups as well as academia. Please contact us if you are interested in developing this project with us: research AT tsadra DOT org.

Discussions Start discussion topic
{{#createpageifnotex:chos/editor|{{TermEditor}}}}{{#createpageifnotex:chos/eng|{{EngTerm}}}}{{#createpageifnotex:chos/tib|{{TibTerm}}}}{{#createpageifnotex:chos/skt|{{SktTerm}}}}{{#createpageifnotex:chos/chn|{{ChnTerm}}}}{{#createpageifnotex:chos/tm|{{TmTerm}}}}{{#createpageifnotex:chos/related|{{RelatedTerm}}}}{{#createpageifnotex:chos/moretools|{{MoreToolsTerm}}}}
chos


Tsadra Research Library Glossaries

    {{#arraymap: |; |@@@ |
  1. {{#arraymap: {{#arraymap:Error: no local variable "gloss-translator" has been set.;Error: no local variable "gloss-author" has been set. |;|@@@ |@@@ |;}} |; |@@@ |@@@ |,  }}. Error: no local variable "gloss-page" has been set. (Error: no local variable "gloss-pubdate" has been set.)
       |  Sanskrit: {{#arraymap: Error: no local variable "gloss-sanskrit" has been set.

    |, |@@@ |@@@ |,  }}   |  English: {{#arraymap: Error: no local variable "gloss-english" has been set. |, |@@@ |@@@ |,  }}   |  French: {{#arraymap: Error: no local variable "gloss-french" has been set. |, |@@@ |@@@ |, 

    }}   |  Definition: Error: no local variable "gloss-def" has been set.
  2. |

    }}

Click here (or the Glossaries tab) to see more results  


84000 Glossary

  1. 'bras bu chos sku
    Fruitional buddha body of reality
  2. 'dul ba 'di la mi skye ba'i chos can
    One who will not flourish in the Dharma and the Vinaya
  3. 'dus byas kyi chos
    Conditioned phenomena
  4. 'dus ma byas pa'i chos
    Unconditioned phenomena
  5. 'jig rten gyi chos brgyad
    Eight worldly concerns
  6. 'jig rten las 'das pa'i chos
    Supramundane phenomena
  7. 'jig rten pa'i chos
    Mundane phenomena, Worldly concerns
  8. 'jig rten pa'i chos kyi sbyin pa
    Mundane gift of the sacred doctrine
  9. bar chad kyi chos
    Impediments
  10. bden pa'i chos grags rgya chen
    Satyadharmavipulakīrti
  11. byang chub kyi chos sum cu rtsa bdun
    Thirty-seven branches of awakening, Thirty-seven factors of awakening
  12. byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos
    Aids to enlightenment, Factors of awakening
  13. byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos sum cu rtsa bdun
    Thirty-seven aspects of enlightenment
  14. byang chub kyi phyogs sum cu rtsa bdun gyi chos
    Thirty-seven aids to enlightenment
  15. byang chub phyogs kyi chos sum bcu rtsa bdun
    Thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment
  16. byang chub sems dpa'i chos ma 'dres pa bco brgyad
    Eighteen special qualities of a bodhisattva
  17. chos
    Dharma, Factor, Mental phenomena, Phenomena, Sacred doctrine, Tathāgata Dharma
  18. chos 'dod
    Dharmakāma, Dharmakāya
  19. chos 'dul ba
    Teachings of the vinaya
  20. chos 'dzin
    Dharmadhara
  21. chos bems pa nyid
    Inanimate nature of phenomena
  22. chos bkod pa
    Dharmavyūha
  23. chos bzang
    Sudharma
  24. chos bzang dpa' bo
    Sudharmaśūra
  25. chos chen
    Mahādharma
  26. chos dags
    Dharmarati
  27. chos dam pa'i phyag rgya
    Seal of the Sacred Doctrine
  28. chos dkon mchog
    Precious jewel of the Dharma
  29. chos gnas pa nyid
    Abiding nature of phenomena
  30. chos gos
    Dharma robe, Religious robe, Robes
  31. chos gos gsum
    Three Dharma robes
  32. chos gos kyi las gyis shig
    Ready your Dharma robes
  33. chos kyi 'khor lo
    Dharma wheel, Twelve wheels of the Dharma
  34. chos kyi 'khor lo bskor ba
    Turn the doctrinal wheel
  35. chos kyi 'khor lo bskor ba gnyis pa
    Second promulgation of the doctrinal wheel
  36. chos kyi 'od zer rab tu rgyas pa'i sku
    Whose Body is the Widely Spreading Light of the Dharma
  37. chos kyi bla ma
    Dharmottara
  38. chos kyi blo gros
    Dharmamati
  39. chos kyi bshes gnyen
    Dharmamitra
  40. chos kyi cho 'phrul rgyal mtshan shugs kyi dpal
    Dhārmavikurvaṇadhvajavegaśrī
  41. chos kyi dbang phyug
    Dharmeśvara
  42. chos kyi dbyings
    Dharmadhātu, Essence of phenomena, Expanse of reality, Realm of phenomena, Sphere of reality, Ultimate realm
  43. chos kyi dbyings kyi ye shes
    Wisdom of the sphere of phenomena
  44. chos kyi de bzhin nyid
    Real nature of phenomena
  45. chos kyi dpal
    Dharmaśrī
  46. chos kyi gaN dI
    Dharmagaṇḍī
  47. chos kyi khams
    Element of dharmas, Sensory element of mental phenomena
  48. chos kyi mdo bzhi
    Four aphorisms of the Dharma
  49. chos kyi mig
    Dharma-eye, Eye of the sacred doctrine
  50. chos kyi mnyam pa nyid
    Uniformity of all things... further results


English Glossaries

Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan-English Dharma Dictionary 3.0 <br> by Erik Pema Kunsang (2003)

1) Dharma, reality 2) dharmas, phenomena 3) Dharma, the teaching of the Buddha; 1) dharma, phenomenon, thing, existent, [a truly real predicate, event, entity, element or ultimate constituent of existence]. 2) Dharma, [the Precious Dharma with eight qualities]. Religion. 3) the Dharma, the Teachings, the Doctrine. 4) quality, attribute, property, characteristic, ability. 5) a teaching, doctrine, text, scripture, sacred text. 6) right, virtue, duty, moral law, tenet, precept. 7) truth, order, law. 8) practice, dharma -, religious. 9) mental object, dharma. 10) religion, religious system, way of belief. 11) topic, point, principle. 12) meaning, value, sense, meaning, worth; content. 13) ex. +'chad, +shod, +smra, to preach, give religious teaching, +nyan, to hear, listen to religious teaching, +byed, to practice religion, live a religious life, +zhu, to receive religious instruction, t seek, ask for religious teaching. imp. of 'chos, and 'cha', 14) mind objects, 5 of 16 aspects of the 4 holy truths. one of the phyag rgya bzhi, four mudras; phenomenon; factor/ element; property/ quality/ attribute; spiritual teaching/ Buddhadharma/ dharma; don chos go bar byed pa'i gzhi imp. of 'chos pa; events; can that which has [certain] qualities or attributes, subject [in logic context]. phenomenon, phenomena, Dharma, teachings

bsgrub bya'i chos conclusion [to be proven in logic]

phenomena, (snang ba). Anything that can be experienced, thought of, or known

phenomenon; factor/ element; property/ quality/ attribute/ aspect; spiritual teaching/ Buddhadharma/ dharma/ teaching of the Buddha; idea (mental phenomenon/ event); (spiritual) situation/ circumstances; isc. principle/ tenet

predicate of a subject chos can [in logic]; property [as in blo chos mental property and don chos real property] [ggd]

1583 total match(es)
Hopkins Glossary 2015 The Uma Institute for Tibetan Studies Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary (Version: June 2015) <br> Jeffrey Hopkins, Editor. <br> Paul Hackett, Contributor and Technical Editor. <br> Contributors: Nathaniel Garson, William Magee, Andres Montano, John Powers, Craig Preston, Joe Wilson, Jongbok Yi <br> A PDF version of this dictionary is available for download at: www.uma-tibet.org

attribute; quality; phenomenon; topic; doctrine; religion; practice; way

520 total match(es)
Hopkins Definitions 2015 The Uma Institute for Tibetan Studies Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary (Version: June 2015) <br> Jeffrey Hopkins, Editor. <br> Paul Hackett, Contributor and Technical Editor. <br> Contributors: Nathaniel Garson, William Magee, Andres Montano, John Powers, Craig Preston, Joe Wilson, Jongbok Yi <br> A PDF version of this dictionary is available for download at: www.uma-tibet.org

bearing its own entity

14 total match(es)
Hopkins Divisions 2015 The Uma Institute for Tibetan Studies Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary (Version: June 2015) <br> Jeffrey Hopkins, Editor. <br> Paul Hackett, Contributor and Technical Editor. <br> Contributors: Nathaniel Garson, William Magee, Andres Montano, John Powers, Craig Preston, Joe Wilson, Jongbok Yi <br> A PDF version of this dictionary is available for download at: www.uma-tibet.org

No direct match.

2 total match(es)
Hopkins Others' English 2015 The Uma Institute for Tibetan Studies Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary (Version: June 2015) <br> Jeffrey Hopkins, Editor. <br> Paul Hackett, Contributor and Technical Editor. <br> Contributors: Nathaniel Garson, William Magee, Andres Montano, John Powers, Craig Preston, Joe Wilson, Jongbok Yi <br> A PDF version of this dictionary is available for download at: www.uma-tibet.org

teaching; reality; true nature of things;

133 total match(es)
Hopkins Synonyms 1992 note No direct match. 1 total match(es)
Tsepak Rigdzin note Dharma. A. Teachings of Buddha. B. A phenomenon. 107 total match(es)
Richard Barron's glossary Richard Barron's glossary. <br> © Copyright 2002 by Turquoise Dragon Media Services. <br> Source: Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan-English Dharma Dictionary 3.0 (2003)

bsgrub bya'i chos conclusion [to be proven in logic]. phenomenon; factor/ element; property/ quality/ attribute/ aspect; spiritual teaching/ Buddhadharma/ dharma/ teaching of the Buddha; idea (mental phenomenon/ event); (spiritual) situation/ circumstances; isc. principle/ tenet

76 total match(es)


Tibetan-Tibetan dictionary

བོད་རྒྱ་ཚིག་མཛོད་ཆེན་མོ། Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo <br> 1985, Mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, Beijing.
ཆོས་
chos
༡.་འཆོས་པའི་སྐུལ་ཚིག་༢.་༡༽་ཤེས་བྱའམ་དངོས་པོ།་༢༽་ལུགས་སྲོལ།་ཡུལ་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་རྣམས་སྔར་རྒྱུན་རང་སོར་འཇགས་པ།་༣༽་༼དྷརྨ༽་རང་གི་ངོ་བོ་འཛིན་པའི་དོན་ནོ།་དྷརྨ་ཞེས་དོན་བཅུ་ལ་འཇུག་སྟེ།་འདུས་བྱས་དང་འདུས་མ་བྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་ཞེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་ཤེས་བྱ་ལ་འཇུག་པ་དང།་ལམ་བདེན་གྱི་ཆོས་ཞེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་ལམ་དང།་འགོག་བདེན་གྱི་ཆོས་ཞེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་མྱང་འདས་དང།ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐྱེ་མཆེད་ཅེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་ཡིད་ཀྱི་ཡུལ་དང།་བཙུན་མོའི་འཁོར་དང་གཞོན་ནུ་རྣམས་དང་ལྷན་ཅིག་ཏུ་ཆོས་སྤྱོད་ཅེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་བསོད་ནམས་དང།་བྱིས་པ་ནི་མཐོང་བའི་ཆོས་ལ་གཅེས་པར་འཛིན་པ་ཞེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་ཚེ་དང།་ཆོས་འདུལ་བ་ཞེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་གསུང་རབ་དང།་ལུས་འདི་རྒ་བའི་ཆོས་ཡིན་ནོ་ཞེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་འབྱུང་འགྱུར་དང།་དགེ་སྦྱོང་གི་ཆོས་བཞི་ཞེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་ངེས་པ་དང།་ལྷ་ཆོས་དང་མི་ཆོས་ཞེས་པ་ལྟ་བུ་ལུགས་ལ་འཇུག་པ་བཅས་བཅུ་ཡོད་པར་རྣམ་བཤད་རིག་པ་ལས་གསུངས་ཤིང།་ད་ལྟ་ཡོངས་གྲགས་སུ་ལུགས་དང་གསུང་རབ་དང།་ཤེས་བྱ་བཅས་གསུམ་ལ་འཇུག་པ་གཙོ་ཆེ་བའོ།

Click here (or the Tibetan tab) to see more Tibetan language resources  


Tibetan-Sanskrit dictionary

Negi (Tibetan-Sanskrit) Tibetan-Sanskrit dictionary <br> J.S. Negi <br> Dictionary Unit, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath (January 1993)
chos
  • saṃ. dharmaḥ (nirvacanam — svalakṣaṇadhāraṇād dharmaḥ abhi.bhā./12)
  1. = yod pa thams cad sattāmātre — sāsravā'nāsravā dharmāḥ abhi.ko.127-5/16; 'dus byas kyi chos saṃskṛtadharmaḥ da.bhū.251kha/49; 'dus ma byas kyi chos asaṃskṛtadharmaḥ da.bhū.251kha/49; chos thams cad rang bzhin med pa sarvadharmaniḥsvabhāvatā bo.pa. 1; sarvadharmā anātmānaḥ vi.va.151kha/1.40
  2. = gsung rab buddhavacanam — chos dkon mchog dharmaratnam a.sā.437kha/247; dvividho dharmaḥ deśanādharmo'dhigamadharmaśca ra.vi.84ka/18; chos kyi phung po brgyad khri bzhi stong caturaśītidharmaskandhasahasrāṇi a.sā.67kha/37
  3. = myang 'das nirvāṇam — de yis thugs su chud pa'i chos/ 'khor ba'i 'jigs pa sel ba dang taiścāpyadhigataṃ dharmaṃ saṃsārabhayanāśanam bo.a.2.49; tadvyākhyā — dharmaṃ nirvāṇam bo.pa./33
  4. (pu., napu.) = bsod nams puṇyam — syāddharmamastriyāṃ puṇyaśreyasī sukṛtaṃ vṛṣaḥ a.ko.1.4.24; rgyal po chos ni mdor bshad na/ sems can rnams la snying rje bskyed dayāṃ sattveṣu manye'haṃ dharmaṃ saṃkṣepato nṛpa jā.mā.310/180; vṛṣaḥ — nyams med yin yang chos gcod minbde byed yin yang lag 'gro med acyuto'pyavṛṣocchedī…śaṃkaro'pyabhujaṅgavān kā.ā.2.319
  5. kartavyam — rgyal rigs kyi chos kṣatradharmaḥ jā.mā.258/150; mi'i chos manuṣyadharmaḥ vi.sū.30ka/37
  6. = tshe janma — mthong ba'i chos la myong bar 'gyur ba'i las dṛṣṭadharmavedanīyaṃ karma abhi.sa.bhā.49kha/69
  • pā. dharmaḥ
  1. vastuno dharmaḥ — phyogs kyi chos bstan pa pakṣadharmopadarśanam ta.pa. 233kha/937; pakṣadharmastadaṃśena vyāpto hetuḥ pra.vā.
  2. 1; bsgrub par bya ba'i chos sādhyadharmaḥ ta.sa.70ka/657; sgrub par byed pa'i chos sādhanadharmaḥ vā.ṭī.58ka/14
  3. = yid yul manoviṣayaḥ — chos kyi skye mched dharmāyatanam śrā.bhū.97kha/246
  4. āvaraṇabhedaḥ — chos kyi sgrib pa dharmāvaraṇam la.a.151kha/98
  5. puruṣārthabhedaḥ — trivargo dharmakāmārthaiścaturvargaḥ samokṣakaiḥ a.ko.2.7.57
  • nā. dharmaḥ
  1. tathāgataḥ — evamadhastāyāṃ diśi siṃho nāma tathāgataḥ… dharmo nāma tathāgataḥ su.vyū.199ka/257
  2. ācāryaḥ — somagupteti nāmnāsau somavaṃśasamudbhavaḥ… parinirvāsye abhiṣicya mahāmatim matirdāsyati dharmāya dharmo dāsyati mekhalāya mekhalaḥ śiṣyo daurbalyāt kalpānte nāśayiṣyati la.a.188kha/160.

Click here (or the Sanskrit tab) to see more Sanskrit language resources  


(Related) Verb Forms

Verbinator 'Verbinator' Tibetan Verb Dictionary (Verbinator 2000) <br> Taken from: Hill, Nathan (2010) <br> A Lexicon of Tibetan Verb Stems as Reported by the Grammatical Tradition. Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften. (Studia Tibetica) <br> ISBN 978-3-7696-1004-8
chos

see 'cha'

see cha

see 'chos

ཆོས

Chos.png

dharma, elements of existence (general non-critical term), factors of reality, knowable factors, phenomena, mental objects, phenomenal existents, events and meanings, what is experienced, spiritual teachings, truth, message, teaching, doctrine, law, aspects of experience (the range of yid's activity), meaning, qualities, meaning of life, make, build, gnaw off, law, order, sustenance, manifestation, presentation, prepare, make ready, SA 'cha' ba, 'cho ba, 'chos pa, draw up, religious doctrine, religion, particular doctrine, tenet, precept, system of morality, ethics, manner, method, custom, usage, thing, substance, property, 1 of gnas pa dgu, grammatical predicate, topics [JV]

1) 'Chos pa!; 2) knowable, thing; 2) tradition; 3) Dharma [rang gi ngo bo 'dzin pa'i don, dharma w 19 meanings, like conditioned and unconditioned dharmas shes bya, like dharmas of the truth of the path lam, like the dharmas of the truth of cessation nirvana, like chos kyi skye mched mind objects, like btsun mo'i 'khor dang gzhon nu rnams dang lhan cig tu chos spyod ces pa lta bu merit, like byis pa ni mthong ba'i chos la gces par 'dzin pa time, like chos 'dul ba the teachings, like lus 'di rga ba'i chos yin no 'byung 'gyur, like dge sbyong gi chos bzhi nges pa, like lha chos dang mi chos lugs la 'jug pa as taught in rnam bshad rig pa, and well known: lugs dang gsung rab dang, shes bya dharma, phenomenon, thing, existent, truly real predicate, event, entity, element of existence, ultimate constituent of existence) [the] Dharma, religion, quality, attribute, property, characteristic, ability, a teaching, [the genuine awareness of] the doctrine, scripture, [sacred] text, right, virtue, duty, moral law, truth, order, law, practice, mental object, way of belief, topic, point, principle, meaning, value, content imp of 'chos make! create! correct! repair! reform! treat!, and 'cha' ; 5) of 16 aspects of the four holy truths 1 of the phyag rgya bzhi, = four mudras] [IW]

Dharma, phenomena, property [thd]

1) 'Chos pa!; 2) knowable, thing; 2) tradition; 3) Dharma [IW]

1) Dharma, reality 2) dharmas, phenomena 3) Dharma, the teaching of the Buddha; 1) dharma, phenomenon, thing, existent, [a truly real predicate, event, entity, element or ultimate constituent of existence]. 2) Dharma, [the Precious Dharma with eight qualities]. Religion. 3) the Dharma, the Teachings, the Doctrine. 4) quality, attribute, property, characteristic, ability. 5) a teaching, doctrine, text, scripture, sacred text. 6) right, virtue, duty, moral law, tenet, precept. 7) truth, order, law. 8) practice, dharma -, religious. 9) mental object, dharma. 10) religion, religious system, way of belief. 11) topic, point, principle. 12) meaning, value, sense, meaning, worth; content. 13) ex. +'chad, +shod, +smra, to preach, give religious teaching, +nyan, to hear, listen to religious teaching, +byed, to practice religion, live a religious life, +zhu, to receive religious instruction, t seek, ask for religious teaching. imp. of 'chos, and 'cha', 14) mind objects, 5 of 16 aspects of the 4 holy truths. one of the phyag rgya bzhi, four mudras; phenomenon; factor/ element; property/ quality/ attribute; spiritual teaching/ Buddhadharma/ dharma; don chos go bar byed pa'i gzhi]] imp. of 'chos pa; events; can that which has [certain] qualities or attributes, subject [in logic context]. phenomenon, phenomena, Dharma, teachings [RY]

phenomenon; factor/ element; property/ quality/ attribute/ aspect; spiritual teaching/ Buddhadharma/ dharma/ teaching of the Buddha; idea (mental phenomenon/ event); (spiritual) situation/ circumstances; isc. principle/ tenet [RB]

predicate of a subject chos can [in logic]; property [as in blo chos mental property and don chos real property] [ggd] [RY]

bsgrub bya'i chos conclusion [to be proven in logic] [RB]

phenomena, (snang ba). Anything that can be experienced, thought of, or known [RY]

Dharma (chos): this Sanskrit term is the normal word used to indicate the Doctrine of the Buddha. The Dharma of transmission refers to the corpus of verbal teachings, whether oral or written. The Dharma of realization refers to the spiritual qualities resulting from practising these teachings. [MR]

Discussion[edit]

dharma. Characterized as that which holds its own essence. The Sanskrit word dharma derives from the root dhar- meaning to hold; hence the common explanation of its etymology: "Because it holds its characteristics, it is called dharma."

Although in English usage, the word dharma generally refers to Buddhist or Hindu religion, the word has a much broader range of meanings in Buddhist philosophy. At its most basic level, it means phenomenon: anything that can be known with any of the six consciousnesses. In this meaning, it is equivalent to knowable, proven basis, and existent.

Dharma also refers to the Buddha dharma, both the path and cessation. In this context, it is often called the True Dharma of the Dharma Jewel.

Dharma also is commonly used to mean a property of a phenomenon. The phenomenon whose property it is, is called a dharma base or chos can. This is how the word is used in logic, where it is a shorthand for the phrase "dharma to prove," or bsgrub bya'i chos--another way to describe the predicate of a syllogism. Although this is the most common instance of such usage, the word dharma--and the related terms dharma base and dharma nature (dharmata)--are used in other contexts as well.

The Indian tradition distinguishes ten meanings of the word dharma. As explained in the Great Tibetan-Chinese Dictionary, 1) Knowables, as in compound and non-compound dharmas; 2) the path, as in the dharma of the truth of path; 3) nirvana, as in the dharma of the truth of cessation; 4) the object of the mind consciousness as in the sense base of dharmas; 5) merit, as in acting on dharmas together with a retinue of queens and youths; 6) life, as in childish beings cherishing the visible dharmas; 7) the scriptures, as in the dharma-vinaya; 8) the source-derived, as in ‘the body is an aging dharma;’ 9) realization, as in the four spiritual dharmas; and 10) tradition, as in divine dharma and human dharma. As the Great Dictionary notes, not all of these usages are common in Tibetan.

In translating the word dharma or chos, it seems reasonable to use the Sanskrit word dharma in all its usages, with phenomenon as an acceptable synonym when it means the knowable. However, care should be taken to use the word dharma in instances where the relationship between dharma, dharma base, dharma nature, and dharma expanse needs to be clearly maintained. In addition, the word phenomenon may have specific implications in Western philosophy which the word dharma does not have; using dharma avoids potential confusion in this arena.

Dharma is often translated as "law," particularly in texts from the East Asian traditions, but it seems unclear how that translation relates to the descriptions of the word dharma preserved in the Tibetan tradition. DKC