Bill!,<br/><br/>Just looked up a definition of 'dharma', too.
Buddhism.about.com<br/><br/><br/>Definition:<br/>Dharma in both Hinduism and
Buddhism refers to the principle or law that orders the universe. In Buddhism,
the word in particular points to the law of karma and rebirth.<br/><br/>Because
this law was recognized and formulated by the historical Buddha, dharma is most
commonly used in Buddhism to mean "the teachings of the
Buddha."<br/><br/>Dharma is also used in Mahayana Buddhism to mean
"manifestation of reality." This sense can be found in the Heart Sutra, which
refers to the voidness or emptiness (shunyata) of all dharmas.<br/><br/>In
Theravada Buddhism, dharma is a term for the factors of existence, or the
transitory conditions that cause phenomena to come into being.<br/><br/>Dharma
is also sometimes used to refer to ethical rules and to mental objects or
thoughts.<br/><br/><br/>
<br/><br/>So now I think anyone following this thread can see that a thought
can be a manifestation of reality I.e, a dharma. Note the word
'reality'!<br/><br/>You're right about the OBJECT not being the problem and I
never said it was (which is why I'm not overly concerned about this topic). The
answer to the problem is an experiential understanding that the OBJECT is empty
of inherent existence and so is impermanent - and grasping at it will lead to
suffering. Likewise, the self is an illusion, but the belief it is substantial
is a real belief. So the thought of desiring something is still real even
though empty (Buddha Nature itself is empty. In fact, emptiness itself is
empty!). <br/><br/>For example, if I see a coil of rope in the night and
believe it to be a snake, the thought of fear is still real even though the
snake itself was an illusion. Saying the thought is an illusion won't do me
much good the next time I see a snake and it *is* real!
Unless of course you argue that both the snake and the fear are illusory, in
which case you probably wont be around very long to continue this illusory
conversation! <br/><br/>Mike<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Sent from
Yahoo! Mail for iPad
