Is the dhamma impermanent?

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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bpallister
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Is the dhamma impermanent?

Post by bpallister »

This came up in my book club tonight and I’m not sure
sunnat
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Post by sunnat »

Yes and no.

The teaching as a law of nature, (usually capitalised : The Dhamma), is unchanging. It IS irrespective of whether a Buddha has found and taught it.

Mental formations, dhammas, are continually changing.
bpallister
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Re: Is the dhamma impermanent?

Post by bpallister »

So Dhamma---that's really what i was referring to---does not change. but worldly dhammas do. that makes sense to me.
SarathW
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Re: Is the dhamma impermanent?

Post by SarathW »

Buddha said that all conditioned things are impermanent.
What do you call Dhamma?
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DooDoot
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Post by DooDoot »

sunnat wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 12:03 am Yes and no.

The teaching as a law of nature, (usually capitalised : The Dhamma), is unchanging. It IS irrespective of whether a Buddha has found and taught it.

Mental formations, dhammas, are continually changing.
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Cause_and_Effect
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Re: Is the dhamma impermanent?

Post by Cause_and_Effect »

bpallister wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 11:55 pm This came up in my book club tonight and I’m not sure
The regularity of the Dhamma, as universal cosmic law, is permanent.

But the appearance and disappearance of the Buddha Dhamma as a teaching occurs when the Buddha's arise, and then is gradually lost over millennia until the advent of the next Buddha.
"Therein monks, that Dimension should be known wherein the eye ceases and the perception of forms fades away...the ear... the nose...the tongue... the body ceases and the perception of touch fades away...

That Dimension should be known wherein mentality ceases and the perception of mind-objects fades away.
That Dimension should be known; that Dimension should be known."


(S. IV. 98) - The Dimension beyond the All
Bundokji
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Re: Is the dhamma impermanent?

Post by Bundokji »

I would say no. Whether the dhamma is permanent or impermanent is not an issue, but i am wondering if impermanence can be a criteria to anything.
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

This was the last word of the Tathagata.
TRobinson465
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Post by TRobinson465 »

sunnat wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 12:03 am Yes and no.

The teaching as a law of nature, (usually capitalised : The Dhamma), is unchanging. It IS irrespective of whether a Buddha has found and taught it.

Mental formations, dhammas, are continually changing.
Actually. The Buddha says all sankharas are impermanent. All dhammas (lowercase) are non self. Wouldn't that imply dhammas r permanent?
"Do not have blind faith, but also no blind criticism" - the 14th Dalai Lama

"The Blessed One has set in motion the unexcelled Wheel of Dhamma that cannot be stopped by brahmins, devas, Maras, Brahmas or anyone in the cosmos." -Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
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ddeck
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Re: Is the dhamma impermanent?

Post by ddeck »

The teachings of the buddha that we call the dhamma are impermanent in that over time they can become obscured, corrupted, and eventually lost until the next buddha rediscovers it. The dhamma in the world is impermanent.
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