Qualites of the Dhamma

From the Gotami Sutta (Anguttara 8.53):

I have heard that at one time the Blessed One was staying at Vesali, in the Peaked Roof Hall in the Great Forest.

Then Mahapajapati Gotami went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, stood to one side. As she was standing there she said to him: "It would be good, lord, if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief such that, having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, secluded, heedful, ardent, & resolute."

"Gotami, the qualities of which you may know, 'These qualities lead to passion, not to dispassion; to being fettered, not to being unfettered; to accumulating, not to shedding; to self-aggrandizement, not to modesty; to discontent, not to contentment; to entanglement, not to seclusion; to laziness, not to aroused persistence; to being burdensome, not to being unburdensome': You may definitely hold, 'This is not the Dhamma, this is not the Vinaya, this is not the Teacher's instruction.'

"As for the qualities of which you may know, 'These qualities lead to dispassion, not to passion; to being unfettered, not to being fettered; to shedding, not to accumulating; to modesty, not to self-aggrandizement; to contentment, not to discontent; to seclusion, not to entanglement; to aroused persistence, not to laziness; to being unburdensome, not to being burdensome': You may definitely hold, 'This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher's instruction.'"

That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, Mahapajapati Gotami delighted at his words.

In this sutta, the Blessed One, Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha, outlined the qualities that arise in the presence of the true teaching (Dhamma) of the Buddha and the true discipline (Vinaya) of the Buddha. If these qualities arise within oneself, know that you are in the presence of the true teaching and true discipline. Really, though, these are qualities that arise in the presence of the true teaching and discipline of all the Buddhas, including the Christ, the Avatar, and the Rasul. Some clarifications should be made, though, for the sake of the house-holder spiritual practice. "Passion" refers to an addictive grasping. "Accumulating" refers to unnecessary intellectual curiosity. "Entanglement" refers to excessive dependence upon others.

N.B. "Dhamma" is Pali. The Sanskrit form is "Dharma".