Adharma

“ In another place Vācaspati “the virtuous enjoys happiness” as an illustration of the cause of dharma and adharma as controlling the course of the development of prakṛti. We therefore see that the sphere of merit and demerit lies in the helping of the formation of the particular bodies and senses (from the gross elements and ahaṃkāra respectively) suited to all living beings according to their stages of evolution and their growth, decay, or other sorts of their modifications as pleasure, pain, and also as illness or health. ”

“ It exists, without ruler, only by the power of its elements, and is everlasting. The elements of the world are six substances--souls, Dharma or moral merit, Adharma or sin, space, time, particles of matter. ”

“ According to the Sāṃkhya-Pātañjala theory dharma, merit, can only be said to accrue from those actions which lead to a man’s salvation, and adharma from just the opposite course of conduct. When it is said that these can remove the barriers 86of the prakṛti and thus determine its modifications, it amounts almost to saying that the modifications of the prakṛti are being regulated by the moral conditions of man. ”

“ The whole of the sixth book is devoted to showing that gifts are made to proper persons not through sympathy but on account of the injunction of the scriptures, the enumeration of certain Vedic performances, which brings in ad@r@s@ta, purification and impurities of things, how passions are often generated by ad@r@s@ta, how dharma and adharma lead to birth and death and how mok@sa takes place as a result of the work of the soul. ”

“ These are the offspring of Dharma. Nanda bore unto Kama, Harsha [175] —grandson unto Dharma. Hinsā [176] was the wife of Adharma; [177] and from her were born Anrita, [178] and a daughter—Nikriti. [179] And from these came forth Bhaya [180] and Naraka; [181] and two daughters—Maya [182] and Vedana. [183] And Maya and Bhaya gave birth to Mrityu [184] —that allayer of the three kinds of heat, [185] And Vedana bore unto Rauraba, a son named Duhkha. [186] And from Mrityu sprang Vyadhi [187] Jwara, [188] Soka, [189] Trishnā, [190] and Krodha. [191] These ultimately lead to misery ”

“ In all rites of expiation, O Brahmana, the utterers of auspicious Mantras and benedictions fraught with peace hymn my praises who am the artificer, O foremost of regenerate ones, of the universe. Know, O best of regenerate person, that Dharma is my eldest-born offspring, sprung from my mind, O learned Brahmana, whose essence is compassion for all creatures. Constantly transforming myself, I take birth in diverse wombs, O best of men, for upholding that son of mine, with the aid of men now existing in or departed from the world. ”

“ It is the function of religion not to destroy our nature but to fulfil it.
The Sanskrit word dharma which is usually translated into English as religion has a deeper meaning in our language. Dharma is the innermost nature, the essence, the implicit truth, of all things. Dharma is the ultimate purpose that is working in our self. When any wrong is done we say that dharma is violated, meaning that the lie has been given to our true nature. ”

“ By the indwelling of Dharma in his mind, Yama in his wrath, Kuvera in his kindness, Agni in his splendour, Earth in his arm, Lakshmī in his glance, Sarasvatī in his eloquence, (10) the Moon in his face, the Wind in his might, Bṛihaspati in his knowledge, Love in his beauty, the Sun in his glory, he resembled holy Nārāyaṇa, whose nature manifests every form, and who is the very essence of deity. ”

“ If the minds of sentient beings grasp after appearances, then this is attachment to a self, a person, a being, and a life. If they grasp after notions of dharmas, that is certainly attachment to a self, a person, a being, and a life. Why? When one grasps at non-dharmas, then that is immediate attachment to a self, a person, a being, and a life. Therefore, you should neither grasp at dharmas, nor should you grasp at non-dharmas. Regarding this principle, the Tathāgata frequently says, ‘You bhikṣus should know that the dharma I speak is like a raft. ”

“ Hast purchased, by thy virtues and thy toils."
Then spoke the king: "Hear me! most holy gods!
Unbidden by my master, will I not
To heaven itself ascend." Then Dharma spoke:
"I am thy master. I assumed the form
Of a Cha.n.dâla. All thy pain and woe
Was brought upon thee by my magic power,
And thou wast made a slave! I have beheld
Thy truth, and thy uprightness. Saintly king!
The highest place that heaven accords to men,
Whose virtue has been tried and proved:—to that
Ascend!" ”

“ There, O foremost of warriors, dwelleth Dharma for aye. Drinking of the water of a well which is there, and purifying one's self by a bath, he that offereth oblations to the gods and the Pitris is cleansed of all his sins and ascendeth to heaven. There in that tirtha is the hermitage of the great Rishi Matanga of soul under complete control. By entering that beautiful asylum capable of soothing fatigue and sorrow, one earneth the merit of the Gacayana sacrifice, and by touching (the image of) Dharma which is there, one obtaineth the fruit of the horse-sacrifice. ”

“ Rather than truth they follow error, which is pleasant to look at in the beginning but in the end causes anxiety, tribulation, and misery."5
And the Bodhisatta began to expound the Dharma. The Dharma is the truth. The Dharma is the sacred law. The Dharma is religion. ”

“ The virtuous practice of a pure mind “Moreover, Subhūti, the equality of dharmas that has nothing that is better or worse, is called Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi, and by means of no self, no person, no being, and no life, all pure dharmas are cultivated and Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi is attained. ”

“ The self-born (Brahman) created Dharma for the advancement and growth of creatures. For this reason, a king should act according to the dictates of Dharma for benefiting his subjects. For this reason also, O tiger among kings, Dharma has been said to be the foremost of all things. That foremost of men who rules his subjects righteously is called a king. Disregarding lust and wrath, observe thou the dictates of righteousness. Among all things, O chief of Bharata's race, that conduce to the prosperity of kings, righteousness is the foremost. Dharma, again, has sprung from the Brahmana. ”

“ When the Tathāgata was with Dīpaṃkara Buddha there was truly no dharma obtained.” “Subhūti, what do you think? Do bodhisattvas adorn buddha-lands?” “No, Bhagavān. Why? The adornments of buddha-lands are not adornments, and are thus called adornments.” “Therefore, Subhūti, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should thusly give rise to a clear and pure mind — a mind not associated with abiding in form; a mind not associated with abiding in sounds, scents, tastes, sensations, or dharmas; a mind not abiding in life. Subhūti, suppose a person had a body like Mount Sumeru, King of Mountains. ”

“ Dharma is that which upholds or supports the Universe, as also the individual. Dharma is in mankind Right Conduct, the result of True Knowledge. Truth according to Brāhmanism is the Brāhman, is Liberation—Moksha, Nirvāṇa. ”

“ When doing so, they give birth to vision, wisdom, understanding, and Bodhi.
“ [5] Moreover, you should fully know the Noble Truth of Suffering, a dharma that has never been heard before, and which is to be contemplated. When doing so, it gives birth to vision, wisdom, understanding, and Bodhi. [6] When the Noble Truth of the Accumulation of Suffering has been known, then it should be severed. This is a dharma that has never been heard before, and which is to be contemplated. When doing so, it gives birth to vision, wisdom, understanding, and Bodhi. ”

“ Only in a harmonious development is to be found that permanent force of coherence which we call Dharma. If the harmony be destroyed, so is the dharma and — Dharma eva hato hanti — if the dharma be destroyed, it destroys in turn. ”

“ Thine own consciousness, not formed into anything, in reality void, and the intellect, shining and blissful,—these two,—are inseparable. The union of them is the Dharma-Kāya state of Perfect Enlightenment. [41]
Thine own consciousness, shining, void, and inseparable from the Great Body of Radiance, hath no birth, nor death, and is the Immutable Light—Buddha Amitābha. ”

“ To this Hui-k‘ê answered: “You have truly comprehended the Dharma as it is; the deepest truth lies in the principle of identity. It is due to one’s ignorance that the mani-jewel is taken for a piece of brick, but lo! when one is suddenly awakened to self-enlightenment, it is realised that one is in possession of the real jewel. The ignorant and the enlightened are of one essence, they are not really to be separated. ”

“ And the elevation of a sixth sense race unphilosophically supposes the raising up of that sense, which certainly has only to do with our physical nature, at most our astro-physical nature, to the sphere of God or Atman.
By merely training the psychical powers true progress is not gained, but only the enjoyment of those powers; a sort of alcohol on the astral plane, which results in unfavorable Karma. The true path to divine wisdom is in performing our duty unselfishly in the station in which we are placed, for thereby we convert lower nature into higher, following Dharma—our whole duty. ”

“ This merging of self and exterior world Bodhidharma calls pure mind or pure reason.
The Dharma is nothing else than Reason which is pure in its essence. This pure Reason is the formless Form of all Forms ”

“ Thou art the Glory of the Universe for thy form. Thou art the Lord of the Universe. O thou whose protection extendeth through the whole Universe, O thou that hath the Universe for thy work, O thou that hath thy soul under control, Thou art the Supreme Master of the Universe. Thou art Vasudeva. Therefore, I seek refuge in Thee that art the soul of Yoga and the highest Divinity. Victory to Thee that art the Supreme God of the Universe. Victory to Thee that art ever employed in the good of the worlds. Victory to Thee that art the Lord of Yoga. Thee that art all-powerful. ”

“ He who is acquainted with the true principles of this science pays regard to Dharma, Artha, Kama, and to his own experiences, as well as to the teachings of others, and does not act simply on the dictates of his own desire. ”

“ The earth we see here to be common to all these three stages which have come into being by its own activity and consequent changes. Earth here is the common quality which remains unchanged in all these stages, 74and so relatively constant among its changes as particles, lump and jug. This earth therefore is regarded as the dharmin, characterised one, the substance; and its stages as its dharma or qualities. When this dharmin, or substance, undergoes a change from a stage of lump to a stage of jug, it undergoes what is called dharma-pariṇāma or change of quality. ”

“ The Dharma is not empty in form, and 171the Dharma of non-emptiness is not to be put aside as non-entity. Why? The Dharma that is not non-entity is filled with virtues. It is neither mind nor shadows, it is pure in its suchness. ”

“ One who is developing the mind of Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi does not speak of a characteristic of the severence and annihilation of dharmas.
Section 28: Not receiving, not desiring “Subhūti, suppose a bodhisattva, in the practice of giving, filled as many world realms with the Seven Precious Jewels, as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River. If there is a person with the awareness that all dharmas are without self, and accomplishes their complete endurance, then this is superior, and the merits attained by this bodhisattva surpass those of the previous bodhisattva. ”

“ By degrees, a fuller system, adapted in an ascending scale to laymen, novices, monks, nuns, and Arhats, was developed—a system which had its abstruse doctrines suited to men of philosophical minds, as well as its plain practical side. This constituted the Buddhist Dharma, which was ultimately collected in certain sacred books to be next described. ”

“ We start with the Vedic synthesis of the psychological being of man in its highest flights and widest rangings of divine knowledge, power, joy, life and glory with the cosmic existence of the gods, pursued behind the symbols of the material universe into those superior planes which are hidden from the physical sense and the material mentality. The crown of this synthesis was in the experience of the Vedic Rishis something divine, transcendent and blissful in whose unity the increasing soul of man and the eternal divine fullness of the cosmic godheads meet perfectly and fulfil themselves. ”

“ Brahma that is supreme is produced of reflection, ignorance is utter darkness, in which knowledge, obtained through any sense, shines like a lamp; but the knowledge that is derived from reflection breaks upon the obscurity. What has been said by Manu, when appealing to the meaning of the Vedas with respect to this subject, I will repeat to you. There are two forms of spirit or god, the spirit, which is word, and spirit, which is supreme. He who is thoroughly imbued with the word of god obtains supreme spirit. ”

“ Contemplation of Hinayana is practised with an insight into the truth of Anatman (non-soul) ; Contemplation of Mahayana is practised with an insight of Unreality of Atman (soul) as well as of Dharma (thing) ; Contemplation of the highest perfection is practised with the view that Mind is pure in its nature, it is endowed with unpolluted wisdom, free from passion, and it is no other than Buddha himself."
2. Enlightenment implies an Insight into the Nature of Self. ”

“ By reason of its proximity alone the body, the organs, Manas and Buddhi apply themselves to their proper objects as if applied (by some one else) ." (The Crest Jewel of Wisdom) . By uniting these three moods, action, devotion and spiritual discernment, into one mood, and keeping it continuously alight, we are accompanying the movements of spirit to some extent. This harmonious action of all the qualities of our nature, for universal purposes without personal motive, is in synchronous vibration with that higher state spoken of at the beginning of the paper; therefore we are at one with it. ”