The Characteristics and Cultivation of the Warmth of Wholesome Roots

Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya, Volume 23 (Part 2)

Original Text: It is stated: By cultivating the mindfulness establishment on dharmas (dharmasmṛtyupasthāna) focused on the general characteristic (sāmānyalakṣaṇa) [of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self] common to all sentient beings' five aggregates, [wisdom] gradually matures up to the supreme grade. After this mindfulness establishment, the conducive factor for decisive selection (nirvedhabhāgīya) arises. The first wholesome root (kuśalamūla) is born, called the warmth (uṣmagata). This dharma is like warmth, hence the name 'warmth.' It is able to burn the firewood of afflictions (kleśa) and is the precursor to the fire of the noble path (āryamārga), just as [warmth is] the state before fire. Therefore, it is called warmth.

Explanation: Some treatises state: By cultivating the mindfulness establishment on dharmas focused on the general characteristic common to all sentient beings' five aggregates—[namely] suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self—the wisdom is able to gradually mature up to the supreme grade. After cultivating this mindfulness establishment on dharmas, the conducive factor for decisive selection arises, which accords with the truth of the Four Noble Truths (catvāri āryasatyāni). The first wholesome root is born, called the warmth (uṣmagata). This wisdom is like a state of warmth; the mind is perfumed by the Four Noble Truths and inclines towards them, hence it is named the warmth dharma. The warmth is likened to that which can burn the firewood of deluded afflictions (kliṣṭa-moha) and is the precursor to the fire of the noble path, just like the state before a fire ignites, thus called warmth.

The path of seeing (darśanamārga) is metaphorically described as the manifestation of the fire, signifying the burning of firewood. Before the fire appears, the initial change is a rise in temperature, the appearance of warmth—this corresponds to the wholesome root of warmth. As the temperature continuously rises and the heat reaches a certain degree, the firewood ignites and fire appears. In between, [the practitioner] sequentially passes through the wholesome roots of the peak (mūrdhan), forbearance (kṣānti), and the supreme worldly dharma (laukikāgradharma), after which the path of seeing is attained. The emergence of warmth indicates that the practitioner, through cultivating the four establishments of mindfulness (smṛtyupasthāna) and the Four Noble Truths, has undergone a change of heart, enabling the arising of the factor conducive to decisive selection in accordance with the principle of the Four Noble Truths. [The mind] no longer resists or contradicts the principle of the Four Noble Truths, which is equivalent to a preliminary acceptance of them.

Original Text: Because the stage (avasthā) of this wholesome root of warmth is extensive, it is capable of fully observing the objects of the Four Noble Truths and fully cultivating the sixteen aspects (ṣoḍaśākārāḥ). Observing the Noble Truth of Suffering (duḥkhasatya), one cultivates four aspects: 1) impermanence (anitya), 2) suffering (duḥkha), 3) emptiness (śūnya), 4) non-self (anātman). Observing the Noble Truth of the Origin [of Suffering] (samudayasatya), one cultivates four aspects: 1) cause (hetu), 2) origination (samudaya), 3) production (prabhava), 4) condition (pratyaya). Observing the Noble Truth of Cessation (nirodhasatya), one cultivates four aspects: 1) cessation (nirodha), 2) peace (śānta), 3) excellence (praṇīta), 4) release (niḥsaraṇa). Observing the Noble Truth of the Path (mārgasatya), one cultivates four aspects: 1) path (mārga), 2) fitness (nyāya), 3) progression (pratipad), 4) deliverance (nairyāṇika). The distinctions of these aspects will be explained later.

Explanation: This wholesome root of warmth encompasses a broad and comprehensive set of practices, meaning its stage is extensive. During the manifestation of warmth, one is capable of fully observing the true reality of the Four Noble Truths and fully cultivating the sixteen aspects. Observing the Noble Truth of Suffering regarding the five aggregates, one cultivates four aspects: impermanence, suffering, emptiness, non-self. Observing the Noble Truth of the Origin regarding the five aggregates, one cultivates four aspects: the cause of the arising of the five aggregates, how the five aggregates originate, how the five aggregates are produced, and the conditions for the production of the five aggregates. Observing the Noble Truth of Cessation regarding the five aggregates, one cultivates four aspects: how the five aggregates cease, the quiescence of Nirvāṇa, the excellent state of Nirvāṇa, and liberation from suffering. Observing the Noble Truth of the Path, one cultivates four aspects: the path cultivated to cease the five aggregates, that which accords with the true principle, how to depart from rebirth and proceed towards Nirvāṇa, and how to transcend the three realms and attain liberation. All the practices involved here have distinctions; these distinctions will be debated later.

Dedication Verse: We dedicate all the merit from the Dharma propagation and group practice on our online platform to all beings in the Dharma Realm, and to the people of the world. We pray for world peace and the absence of war; may conflict cease and weapons be forever laid down; may all calamities completely subside! We pray that the people of all nations unite in mutual aid and treat each other with compassion; may the weather be favorable and the nations prosperous and the people at peace! May all sentient beings deeply believe in cause and effect, harbor compassionate hearts and abstain from killing; may they widely form wholesome connections and cultivate wholesome karma; may they believe in the Buddha, learn the Buddha-Dharma, and increase their wholesome roots; may they understand suffering, abandon its origin, aspire to cessation, and cultivate the path; may the door to the evil destinies be closed and the path to Nirvāṇa opened! We pray that Buddhism may flourish eternally and the true Dharma abide forever; may the burning house of the three realms be transformed into the lotus land of Ultimate Bliss!