open the dharma door!
Dharma is the Buddha's teaching. Dharma also means 'the way things really are' or 'the truth'.
Dharma is whatever leads you towards freedom from emotional, energetic, perceptual and ideological restriction; freedom to live authentically, compassionately and wisely. There are no fixed dogmas: 'whatever works' is Buddhism.
Dharma is a box of tools for changing unhelpful response habits, distracted, dissipated and stagnant energy patterns, wrong perceptions, and unhelpful views.
The essential tool is mindfulness: awareness of the emotions, energies, perceptions and views that dominate how you live.
The 'Path' is your unfolding development. For example 'The Eightfold Path' is about transforming your (1) views, (2) emotions, (3) communication, (4) behaviour, (5) livelihood, (6) energy, (7) mindfulness and (8) mental integration.
- 6, 7 & 8 mostly mature through using meditation techniques.
- 3, 4 & 5 mature through ethics training with mindfulness.
- 1 & 2 mature through acquiring wisdom through deep reflection.
You can explore this site for these tools and discuss how to get them working. There is more in the talks and in the submenus here. For example, take a look at the Way of Mindfulness.
Where it gets you
But an important issue here is where the path leads - what is the developed state. Buddhism calls this Awakening or Enlightenment. The traditional Pali/Sanskrit term is Bodhi, Awakening. 'Buddha' comes from the same root and means the Awakened One.