*Dharma* and dharma.

The Dharma is the teachings of the Buddha.

There is a difference between *Dharma* practitioners and Dharma practitioners –  and it’s a very delicate matter. There is theory, and there is experience. Some western Buddhists think of themselves as Dharma practitioners rather than Buddhists: they see Buddhists as vegetarian, tai-chi practising, incense sniffing wannabes! I’ve heard the term ‘Californian spirituality’ being used to describe this group, and this is not the Dharma.

*Dharma* practitioners know the six of this, and the five of that – they know the names of every thing. On forums and retreats, you will see them discussing/arguing about unimaginably precise terminology. Basically, they are into the bells and whistles of the Dharma theatre, and this is not the Dharma.

I attend two retreats a year, and this the state of play. If I talk to any Dharma student about a concern I may have, they begin to feel uncomfortable, and quickly reel off a piece of learned doctrine in response. This also is not Dharma. Dharma isn’t prayers, pujas, chanting, or reading about the nature of mind (although this discipline is beneficial).

Dharma is about what is happening in the mind at this very moment, recognising it, and dropping any elaborations. This is ‘ordinary’ inner peace, but it does not stop there. If it does stops there, we are holding onto it and it becomes *Dharma*. We have to let go.

Once the nature of mind is known, compassion naturally arises. *Dharma* practitioners have compassion for all sentient beings: Dharma practitioners’ compassion includes the person actually in front of them! It is not ‘my’ compassion: it’s just compassion. Dealing with others in an ‘ordinary’ way is of utmost importance, and does not entail a prerequisite that they conform to our standards.

That is love. Love is caring about others more than we care for ourselves. Giving others time and space to express their concerns in life is dharma activity. This is real teaching! To ignore this is a lack of compassion.

A lama once told me, “You do not have to be educated to ‘know’ the Dharma. Knowing the nature of mind is very simple.”  Thank goodness !

You don’t have to be Buddhist to care. It is just one method.