[paratayoma]

I always make a distinction between Dharma, or Dhamma, being that which was spoken by the Buddha, and "Buddhism" being the institutionalizing of centuries of traditions of different countries and various accumulations of cultural baggage. A friend from Nepal says that where he comes from, the common term for a Buddhist is a "Dharma Person", meaning someone who tries to follow the Dharma (Dhamma). Likewise, when the question "What do Buddhists believe about....?" comes up, I prefer to say that "What the Buddha taught was...." , or "What some schools of Buddhism teach is...." because frankly, there is no telling what people believe!