ewk confused again: Buddha Dharma and Bodhidharma

Wait, aren't they both "dharma"? Turns out not so much:

.

Bodhidharma

菩提达摩

Pútí dá mó

.

Buddha Dharma

佛法

fó fǎ

.

Hmmmm... I stumbled this because when I'm around Chinese speakers, I open with da mo. Which isn't I've been told repeatedly mow-your-grass, but more like mo'-please + oowah. Imagine three people standing around me saying it correctly while I say it wrong, and you've got the picture.

.

So 法 fǎ law; method; way; Buddhist teaching; Legalist;

is not

达 dá to attain; to reach; to amount to; to communicate; eminent; (Chinese surname)

摩 mó to rub, scour, grind, massage

even though

达摩 dámó Dharma, the teaching of Buddha; Bodhidharma

I hope we've all learned something.

Submitted January 07, 2020 at 12:22PM by ewk https://ift.tt/35tmjUv