Within the Tattvartha Sutra, the terms dharma and adharma operate on two interconnected levels, one metaphysical and one ethical. On the technical level, dharma-dravya and adharma-dravya are described as the cosmic media that enable motion and rest for souls and matter. They are not “virtue” and “sin” in themselves, but they form the subtle background that makes all activity and stillness in the universe possible. This cosmological vision quietly undergirds daily life, reminding the practitioner that every step, every pause, every action and inaction unfolds within a finely structured reality.

On the ethical and practical level, the text associates dharma with right conduct grounded in right faith and right knowledge, the well-known triad of samyak-darshana, samyak-jnana, and samyak-charitra. In ordinary life this takes shape through vows, restraints, and carefulness: non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, sexual restraint, and non-possessiveness, supported by disciplined control of mind, speech, and body. Daily activities such as walking, speaking, earning a livelihood, handling objects, and even disposing of waste become fields for the practice of vigilance and harmlessness. In this way, dharma in conduct is less about external duty and more about a refined inner and outer carefulness that prevents fresh karmic bondage and assists in the wearing away of existing karma.

Adharma, correspondingly, is not merely a metaphysical principle of rest but also the name for patterns of behavior and mental states that obstruct right conduct and intensify bondage. Violations of vows, indulgence in anger, pride, deceit, and greed, and a general carelessness in thought, word, and deed are seen as adharma in the ethical sense. Such states are understood as active processes that attract and bind karma to the soul, entangling it further in the cycle of birth and death. Thus, what appears outwardly as a simple lapse—an unguarded word, a careless step, a grasping desire—takes on profound significance as a movement either toward or away from liberation.

Seen together, these two layers of meaning invite a contemplative stance toward everyday existence. The cosmic dharma and adharma that silently sustain motion and rest provide the stage upon which ethical dharma and adharma are enacted through each moment of awareness or negligence. Ordinary life is thereby reinterpreted as a continuous opportunity: every movement can be guided by non-violence and restraint, and every pause can become a space for clarity and detachment. In this perspective, spiritual progress does not depend on dramatic renunciations alone, but on a steady refinement of conduct that aligns daily living with the deeper structure of reality.