dharma

American  

[dahr-muh, duhr-] / ˈdɑr mə, ˈdʌr- /

noun

Hinduism, Buddhism.

1. essential quality or character, as of the cosmos or one's own nature.

2. conformity to religious law, custom, duty, or one's own quality or character.

3. virtue.

4. religion.

5. law, especially religious law.

6. the doctrine or teaching of the Buddha.

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dharma British  

/ ˈdɑːmə /

noun

1. Hinduism social custom regarded as a religious and moral duty

2. Hinduism

   1. the essential principle of the cosmos; natural law

   2. conduct that conforms with this

3. Buddhism ideal truth as set forth in the teaching of Buddha

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Other Word Forms

• dharmic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of dharma

1790–1800; < Sanskrit: custom, duty, akin to dhārayati holds, maintains

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dharma

He says he "had very mixed feelings…given what had happened" but was driven by Hindu belief in dharma which he says involves "doing your duty".

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2025

It affects the text’s treatment of dharma, or the right way to act.

From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2023

It is the dharma of fire to be hot, and of water to cool.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2023

Sala differentiates between mindfulness, which she calls secular meditation, and dharma, which she teaches.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2022

But those bodhisattvas whose perfuming is already in unison with suchness attain to the state of non-particularization and allow themselves to be influenced only by the power of the dharma.

From A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1 by Surendranath Dasgupta