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''''Dharma'''' or '''Dharm''' is a [[Sanskrit]] word (Sanskrit: धर्म, Pali: ''dhamma''), from a root meaning "to hold up, to carry, to bear, to sustain",<ref>http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Sanskrit/sanskritterms.htm</ref> with a great variety of meanings in the [[Dharmic religion]]s of [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Sikhism]]. It generally means a "duty", the opposite of [[nihilism]].
'''''Dharma''''' ([[Sanskrit]]: धर्म, [[Pali]]: ''dhamma'', [[Hindi]]: ''Dharm'') is a word from a [[root]] meaning "to hold up, to carry, to bear, to sustain",<ref>http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Sanskrit/sanskritterms.htm</ref> with a great variety of meanings in the [[Dharmic religion]]s of [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Sikhism]]. It generally means a "duty", the opposite of [[nihilism]].
==''Dharma'' in Buddhism==
==''Dharma'' in Buddhism==
In [[Buddhism]], Dharma is used to refer to the [[teaching]]s ([[scripture]] as [[Sutra]] and [[Shastra]] ([[exegesis]] commentaries) of the [[Buddha]] ([[Sanskrit]] ''Buddhadharma''). It has many shades of meaning, including ‘the [[spiritual]] path’, or ‘[[spirituality]]’ in general. It also refers to [[phenomena]], meaning things and events. There are formally ten meanings of Dharma.
===Ten Meanings of Dharma===
There are ten meanings for the word [[Dharma]] according to the Buddhist [[monk]] Vasubandhu in his ''The Principles of Elucidation'' (Sanskrit ''Vyakhyayukti''):<br>
# An object of [[knowledge]] (Sanskrit ''jñeya''),<br>
# the [[path]] (''marga''),<br>
# [[Nirvana]],<br>
# A mental object (''manoviṣaya''),<br>
# [[Merit]],<br>
# Life (''āyu''),<br>
# [[Teaching]]s of the [[Buddha]], or its [[scripture]]s (''dharmapravacana''),<br>
# What is subject to [[age]] or [[change]], i.e. material objects,<br>
# [[Rule]]s, [[law]]s or [[religious]] [[vow]]s, and<br>
# Spiritual [[tradition]]s (''dharmanīti'').<br>
All ten of these meansing are connected with the sense of ‘holding’, which is the meaning of ''dhṛ'', the root of the word dharma.
The common English usage spelling of the word 'dharma' is to use uppercase when referring to Buddha's teachings, the path or the truth of cessation (meanings 2, 3 and 7 above).
===Other Teachings===
In [[Buddhism]], followers adhere to these five principles of the dharma:
In [[Buddhism]], followers adhere to these five principles of the dharma: