The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
12 October 224Question: What does Dhamma really mean?
Than Ajahn: Dhamma has many different meanings. It depends on where you read about it. Did you read it in the Satipaṭṭhāna?
Layperson: No. I read it in the recollection of the Dhamma – sandhiṭṭhiko akāliko ehipassiko.
Than Ajahn: This Dhamma that you refer to means the teachings of the Lord Buddha. The Dhamma has many different meanings. The Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha. The quality of the Dhamma is akāliko. It means it doesn't change with time. The Dhamma always remains the same. His teachings are the same whether it's during his time or during our time. The ability of the Dhamma to bring us to nibbāna is still the same. It doesn’t change with time. The ability of the teaching to help us to get to nibbāna is the same, regardless of time. ‘Sandhiṭṭhiko’ means you have to experience the Dhamma yourself. By just listening to Dhamma, you haven't yet completed the appreciation of the true meaning or the true value of the Dhamma. You have to practice it yourself. Then, you will come to understand the meaning of ‘akāliko, ehipassiko’ and so forth. This is what the Dhamma means. It’s the teachings of the Lord Buddha.
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Question: Does it mean that the Dhamma is something that has been realized by oneself?
Than Ajahn: Yes, it’s what you will experience when you practice following the teachings. It’s the realization of nibbana which arise from you following the teachings of the Buddha. So, the Dhamma has many different meanings.
(i) Dhamma can be the teachings of the Lord Buddha;
(ii) It can be the Dhamma experience – the result that you get by following the teachings which is the attainment of the different level of enlightenment: Sotāpanna, Sakadāgāmi, Anāgāmī and Arahant.
This is another meaning of Dhamma, the different stage of realization of the Dhamma.
“Dhamma in English, Jul 4, 2018.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com
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