Dharma is ...

Dancing Dakini, 18th Century, Tibet (Musée Guimet à Paris)

There are different definitions of what Dharma means, but the reality behind the term is inherently indefinable. Dharma is Dharma. The truth of it is rooted in the Meaninglessness from which all meaning flows. Dharma is synonymous with Tao. It simply is, and it is all and nothing at once.
 
Likewise, in the deepest sense, there is no "Buddhism," there is no "Hinduism," there is only Dharma.  Yes, two great social religions have taken on their odd shapes by coalescing around various concepts, traditions, legends, technologies , etc. related to the Dharma and its realization in human life. And yes, there are distinctions and differences between these two great social religions. But there are also many distinctions and differences between various sects and systems within each one. 

Meanwhile, Dharma is simply Dharma. Synonymous with Tao. 

Someone who tells you that there is any genuine distinction between realization of NO SELF and realization of SELF has not arrived at either.

-- Richard Power

My new (ninth) book User's Guide to Human Incarnation, The Yoga of Primal Reality is available now from Amazon.com.