Dhamma (Sanskrit: Dharma) is the second jewel of Buddhism, offering a map out of suffering through ethical conduct, meditation, and wisdom. In poetry, Dhamma appears as light in darkness, a raft across flood, or a mirror showing reality as it is. Poets—especially in Theravada traditions—evoke it as the ultimate refuge, the truth that, when realized, ends all craving and delusion.

Dhamma (Pali; Sanskrit: Dharma) encompasses the Buddha’s teachings, natural law, and righteous conduct. It is “ehipassiko”—inviting verification, not blind faith. In Ashoka’s edicts, dhamma meant ethical governance. In poetry, dhamma appears as cosmic balance or the path walked—Thai forest monks compose verses on dhamma as immediate experience. For scholars, dhamma’s breadth shows Buddhism’s adaptability: it can be doctrine, practice, or reality itself, depending on context—a flexibility mirrored in literary treatments from sutras to modern fiction.