Dharmadhatu may be defined as the 'dimension', 'realm' or 'sphere' (dhatu) of Dharma

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

 and denotes the collective 'one-taste' (Sanskrit: ekarasa) dimension of Dharmata.

Nomenclature, orthography and etymology

In Mahayana Buddhism

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

, dharmadhātu means "realm of phenomena", "realm of Truth" and of the noumenon, where Tathata

Tathata

Tathata is variously translated as "thusness" or "suchness". It is a central concept in Buddhism, and is of particular significance in Zen Buddhism...

 (Reality "as-it-is"), emptiness

Shunyata

Śūnyatā, शून्यता , Suññatā , stong-pa nyid , Kòng/Kū, 空 , Gong-seong, 공성 , qoγusun is frequently translated into English as emptiness...

, dependent co-arising

Pratitya-samutpada

Dependent origination or dependent arising is a cardinal doctrine of Buddhism, and arguably the only thing that holds every Buddhist teaching together from Theravada to Dzogchen to the extinct schools. As a concept and a doctrine it has a general and a specific application, both being integral to...

 and the unconditioned, uncreated, perfect and eternal Buddha

Eternal Buddha

The idea of an eternal Buddha is a notion popularly associated with the Mahayana scripture, the Lotus Sutra, and is also found in other Mahayana sutras.- The Eternal Buddha in the Lotus Sutra and Other Mahayana Sutras :...

 are one.

Historical origin

Kang-nam Oh (2000: pp. 280–281) charts the origin of dharmadhatu and mentions pratityasamutpada, Avatamsaka Sutra

Avatamsaka Sutra

The is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture....

, Tsung-mi and Fa-tsang:

This idea of dharmadhātu-pratītyasamutpāda which was originally found in the Avataṁsaka-sūtra or Hua-yen ching, was fully developed by the Hua-yen school into a systematic doctrine palatable to the Chinese intellectual taste. The dharmadhātu doctrine can be said to have been, by and large, set forth by Tu-shun (557~640 C.E.), formulated by Chih-yen (602~668), systematized by Fa-tsang (643~712), and elucidated by Ch’eng-kuan (ca. 737~838) and Tsung-mi (780~841).

Various views of dharmadhatu

In the glossary to The Lotus-Born, dharmadhātu is defined as: "The ‘realm of phenomena;’ the suchness in which emptiness and dependent origination are inseparable. The nature of mind and phenomena which lies beyond arising, dwelling and ceasing." On the Friends of the Heart website dharmadhātu is defined as: "Literally, the root of dharma, i.e., emptiness."

Scott (1998) translates Nāgārjuna

Nagarjuna

Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

 who links the dharmadhātu with nirvana

Nirvana

Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...

:

The dharmadhatu is the ground

For buddhahood, nirvana, purity, and permanence

Therefore, dharmadhātu is the purified mind in its natural state, free of the obscuration rendered by dualism

Dualism

Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, Dualism (from...

; as well as the essence-quality or nature of mind, indeed the fundamental ground of consciousness of the trikaya

Trikaya

The Trikāya doctrine is an important Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of a Buddha. By the 4th century CE the Trikāya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know...

 accessed via the mindstream

Mindstream

Mindstream in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment "continuum" of awareness. There are a number of terms in the Buddhist literature that may well be rendered "mindstream"...

.

Yutang Lin (2001) qualifies the dharma in dharmadhātu, it:

...refer[s] to spiritual states that transcend senses and consciousness, and are unspeakable or unimaginable. Under this meaning of "dharma" all dharmas are mutually dependent causes and conditions of their coexistence. Whatever the ordinary worldly view may be, in this sense of "dharma," all dharmas are equal as one of the dharmas and this equality transcends considerations of their differences in being real/unreal, superior/inferior, or abundant/deficient. In this sense of "dharma" the word "Dharmadhatu," literally "realm of dharmas," refers to the collection of all dharmas (Ch: fa chieh, fa jie). "Attaining Buddhahood" or "Attaining Dhammakaya" means having transcended all and any limitations that are due to artificial concepts, subconscious activities, desires and feelings, will and attachment, time and space, etc., and having regained the original state of Dharmadhatu in harmonious oneness.

To an entity that has realised their buddha-dhatu or essential buddha-nature, dharmadhātu is also referred to as the dharmakaya

Dharmakaya

The Dharmakāya is a central idea in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñā-pāramitā , composed in the 1st century BCE...

/dhammakaya

Dhammakaya

Dhammakāya is a Pāli word meaning "body of dharma" or the body of enlightenment. It can refer to:*Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a Thai Buddhist temple;*The Dhammakaya Movement and the Dhammakaya Foundation, which originated at that temple;...

, literally "body of Dharma [Truth]," of that entity.

Yutang Lin (2001) affirms the nonlinear, holistic essence-quality of dharmadhātu, unbounded by space and time:

According to the correct view of Dharmadhatu all dharmas in the past, all dharmas at present and all dharmas in the future are all together in the Dharmadhatu. Dharmadhatu is neither limited by space nor by time.

Scott (1998) translates Nāgārjuna

Nagarjuna

Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

 praising dharmadhātu:

As butter, though inherent in the milk,

Is mixed with it and hence does not appear,

Just so the dharmadhatu is not seen

As long as it is mixed together with afflictions.



And just as the inherent butter essence

When the milk is purified is no more disguised,

When afflictions have been completely purified,

The dharmadhatu will be without any stain at all.

In this poem, "afflictions" may be understood as dukkha

Dukkha

Dukkha is a Pali term roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, discontent, unsatisfactoriness, unhappiness, sorrow, affliction, social alienation, anxiety,...

, illusionment (compare Maya

Maya (illusion)

Maya , in Indian religions, has multiple meanings, usually quoted as "illusion", centered on the fact that we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it, created by us. Maya is the principal deity that manifests, perpetuates and governs the illusion and dream of duality...

) or the non-awareness of rigpa

Rigpa

Rigpa is the knowledge that ensues from recognizing one's nature i.e. one knows that there is a primordial freedom from grasping his or her mind . The opposite of rigpa is marigpa ....

, the primordial

Primordial

Primordial may refer to:* Primordial sea . See abiogenesis* Primordial nuclide, nuclides, a few radioactive, that formed before the Earth existed and are stable enough to still occur on Earth...

 and constitutional essence

Essence

In philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Essence is contrasted with accident: a property that the object or substance has contingently, without...

-quality

Quality (philosophy)

A quality is an attribute or a property. Attributes are ascribable, by a subject, whereas properties are possessible. In contemporary philosophy, the idea of qualities and especially how to distinguish certain kinds of qualities from one another remains controversial.-Background:Aristotle analyzed...

.

Scott (1998) translates Nāgārjuna

Nagarjuna

Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

 defining bodhicitta

Bodhicitta

In Buddhism, bodhicitta jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings...

 (or heartmind) as the medium through which dharmadhātu is perceived and realised:

Sentient beings’ essence free of substance

Is the sphere that is encountered on this plane.

Seeing this is the royal bodhicitta,

The dharmakaya free of every flaw.

Scott (1998) translates Nāgārjuna

Nagarjuna

Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

 who established a relationship between the bhumi

Bhumi (Buddhism)

The bodhisattva's path of awakening in the Mahayana tradition progresses through ten hierarchically arranged stages, referred to as the "bodhisattva bhūmis"...

 and dharmadhātu:

Just as the moon when it is new

Visibly grows larger bit by bit,

Those who have reached the bhumis

See the dharmakaya more and more.

It is one of the Five Wisdoms

Five Wisdoms

The Five Wisdoms is an upāya or 'skillful means' doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism. The Five Wisdoms may be understood as the indivisible 'continuüm of bodhi ' , especially according to Yogācarā based Mahāyāna doctrines, ultimately derived from the Buddhabhūmi Sūtra.Capriles in...

 (dharmadhātu wisdom, mirror-like wisdom, equality wisdom, discriminating wisdom and all-accomplishing wisdom). It is the antidote to the poison of delusion

Avidya

Avidyā is a Sanskrit word that means "ignorance", "delusion", "unlearned", "unwise" and that which is not, or runs counter to, vidya. It is used extensively in Hindu texts, including the Upanishads and as well in Buddhist thought...

. It is associated with Vairocana

Vairocana

Vairocana is a celestial Buddha who is often interpreted as the Bliss Body of the historical Gautama Buddha; he can also be referred to as the dharmakaya Buddha and the great solar Buddha. In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of shunyata or...

.

In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra

Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra

The Nirvana Sutra or ' ; ; ).) is one of the major sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. It shares its title with another well-known Buddhist scripture, the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali Canon but is quite different in form and content...

, the Buddha states of himself that he is the "boundless Dharmadhatu" - the Totality itself.

In Dzogchen

Dzogchen

According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...

 text Gold refined from ore the term Dharmadhatu is translated as 'total field of events and meanings' or 'field of all events and meanings.' Such translation seems to be paralleling a modern Western philosophical approach to Philosophy of time: Eternalism.