The Four Preparatory Practices: Usmagata, Murdhana, Kṣānti, and Laukikāgradharma

Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya, Volume Twenty-Three (1)

Original Text: Verse states: Abiding in the mindfulness of dharmas (dharmasmṛtyupasthāna), he contemplates the four objects of observation in their totality. He cultivates the aspects of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self. Exposition: That practitioner, while abiding in the mindfulness of dharmas, which has a mixed and general object, contemplates the four objects of observation—body, feeling, mind, and dharmas—in their totality. He cultivates the four aspects: namely, impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self. After cultivating this contemplation, what wholesome root arises?

Explanation: The practitioner who is currently cultivating the four establishments of mindfulness, specifically the mindfulness of dharmas, should contemplate the four objects of observation—body, feeling, mind, and dharmas—in their totality, cultivating the aspects of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self related to body, feeling, mind, and dharmas. The Exposition states: The practitioner cultivating the four establishments of mindfulness, having the aggregate (skandha) as the general object while also incorporating the other three objects (body, feeling, mind), contemplates them in sequence. When cultivating the mindfulness of dharmas, he contemplates the four objects of observation—body, feeling, mind, and dharmas—in the totality of the five aggregates, cultivating the four aspects of the four establishments of mindfulness: suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. After cultivating these four contemplations, what wholesome root arises?

Original Text: Verse states: From this arises the warmth (uṣmagata), which fully contemplates the Four Noble Truths, cultivating the sixteen aspects. Then arises the peak (mūrdhan) likewise. These two wholesome roots (uṣmagata and mūrdhan) are both initially from the mindfulness of dharmas and later incorporate the four (body, feeling, mind, dharmas). Next, the forbearance (kṣānti) arises solely from the mindfulness of dharmas. The lower and middle grades of forbearance are similar to the peak in their object. The upper grade contemplates only the suffering of the desire realm, one factor (of the five aggregates) per moment. The supreme worldly dharma (laukikāgradharma) is likewise. All are wisdom (prajñā) as their essence, excluding acquisition (prāpti).

Explanation: A verse states: After cultivating the aspects of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self of the four establishments of mindfulness, the warmth (uṣmagata) arises, enabling the full contemplation of the Four Noble Truths and the cultivation of the sixteen aspects. After cultivating the Four Noble Truths, the peak (mūrdhan) arises likewise, also fully contemplating the Four Noble Truths and cultivating the sixteen aspects. Both the warmth and the peak, these two wholesome roots, are initially cultivated through the mindfulness of dharmas and later incorporate the contemplation of the four establishments of mindfulness: body, feeling, mind, and dharmas. The subsequent wholesome root, forbearance (kṣānti), arises solely from cultivating the mindfulness of dharmas. The lower and middle grades of forbearance have the same object of contemplation as the peak. The upper grade of forbearance contemplates only the suffering of the desire realm, observing the truth of suffering for each of the five aggregates, one aggregate per moment.

The supreme worldly dharma (laukikāgradharma), this wholesome root, is likewise. It also arises solely while cultivating the mindfulness of dharmas. The lower and middle grades have the same object of contemplation as the peak, and the upper grade contemplates only the suffering of the desire realm. All four wholesome roots have wisdom (prajñā) as their intrinsic nature; they are characterized by wisdom, cultivated by relying on the five aggregates, excluding acquisition (prāpti).

The sixteen aspects mean that each of the four establishments of mindfulness observes the aspects of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self, thus each has four aspects, making sixteen in total for the four establishments. They are respectively: for mindfulness of body—suffering, emptiness, impermanence, non-self; for mindfulness of feeling—suffering, emptiness, impermanence, non-self; for mindfulness of mind—suffering, emptiness, impermanence, non-self; for mindfulness of dharmas—suffering, emptiness, impermanence, non-self. In the cultivation of the warmth and peak wholesome roots, all sixteen aspects are cultivated. The wisdom of contemplation gradually becomes more profound and subtle, and concentration (samādhi) gradually deepens, with different levels of concentration and wisdom. Only after the fourth wholesome root, the supreme worldly dharma, is perfected, with concentration and wisdom fully developed, can the path of seeing (darśanamārga) be attained.

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