Excerpted from the transcript of " The Four Foundations Of Mindfulness" (Vermont 1996)
Originally published in Bodhi Issue 3
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Basic prajna includes the three principal prajnas, which are the prajna of listening, the prajna of contemplating and the prajna of meditation. In the Mahayana tradition, mindfulness is regarded as wisdom, as transcendental knowledge, which is known as prajna in Sanskrit. The mindfulness practices we are about to discuss are the basic method of developing these three principal prajnas. A more clear and detailed expression of the three prajnas is found in the practices of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, in the tradition of the Mahayana path, are explained in five basic points. These are the five basic stages we go through as we study, cultivate the wisdom of prajna, integrate that into our experience, and develop that experience into the full state of realization or prajna. We begin by looking at this mindfulness practice at the most fundamental starting point of hearing, or learning, and contemplating. There are five points to contemplate in order to understand this notion of mindfulness, the Foundations of Mindfulness practice.

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The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche