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dhammasamādānaṁ

dhammasamādāna

accusative singular neuter of dhammasamādāna (noun); or nominative/accusative singular neuter in compounds

1. taking up the dharma
2. undertaking of the teachings
3. receptiveness to the Dhamma

Built from

• dhamma — root · doctrine, law
  From √dhṛ 'to hold, support'; Sanskrit dharma. The thing held or established as law.
• sam — prefix · together, with
  Unites elements into a single whole; works like Latin con- or English same.
• ā — prefix · toward the speaker
  Reverses motion toward oneself; here directing the taking inward.
• dā — root · give, place
  Cognate with Latin dare, English do. Root of giving and placing.
• na — ending · agent noun suffix
  Forms an abstract noun of action or the thing acted upon; samādāna = 'taking, receiving, reception'.

Analysis. dhamma (doctrine, law, phenomenon) + samādāna (taking together, receiving). The compound denotes the act of receiving or adopting the teachings with full engagement. Sam- (together) + ā- (toward) + dā (to give) yields samādāna as 'taking in' or 'undertaking'; dhamma-samādāna is the specific taking-up of the Dhamma.

Etymology. dhamma: Sanskrit dharma, from √dhṛ (to hold, support); cognate with English derm, German Darm. samādāna: sam (together) + ā (toward) + dā (to give/place); related to Latin dare, English do. The prefix sam- brings things into unity; ā- reverses the direction toward the speaker; dā is the root 'to give', so samādāna is literally 'taking together toward oneself'.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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