Satipatthana (; ) is a central practice in the Buddha's teachings, meaning "the establishment of mindfulness" or "presence of mindfulness", or alternatively "foundations of mindfulness", aiding the development of a wholesome state of mind. In Theravada Buddhism, applying mindful attention to four domains, the body, feelings, the mind, and key principles or categories of the Buddha's teaching (dhammās), is thought to aid the elimination of the five hindrances and the development of the seven aspects of awakening.
The Satipatthana Sutta is probably the most influential meditation text in modern Theravada Buddhism,Sujato (2012), pp. 1–2. on which the teachings of the Vipassana movement are based. While these teachings are found in all Buddhist traditions, modern Theravada Buddhism and the Vipassana Movement are known especially for promoting the practice of satipaṭṭhāna as developing mindfulness to gain insight into impermanence, thereby reaching a first state of liberation. In the popular understanding, mindfulness has developed into a practice of bare awareness to calm the mind.
Etymology
is a compound term that has been parsed (and thus translated) in two ways, namely and . The separate terms can be translated as follows: Sati – Pali; Sanskrit smṛti. Smṛti originally meant "to remember", "to recollect", "to bear in mind", as in the Vedic tradition of remembering the sacred text; the term sati also means "to remember". According to Sharf, in the Satipațțhāna-sutta the term sati means to remember the wholesome dhammās, whereby the true nature of phenomena can be seen, such as the five faculties, the five powers, the seven awakening-factors, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the attainment of insight. Usually, sati is interpreted as observing and watching various phenomena or domains of experience, being aware and attentive of them in the present moment. (Sanskrit: upasthāna) – "attendance, waiting on, looking after, service, care, ministering" – "setting forth, putting forward"; in later Buddhist literature also "origin", "starting point", "cause".
The compound terms have been translated as follows: – "presence of mindfulness" or "establishment of mindfulness" or "arousing of mindfulness", underscoring the mental qualities co-existent with or antecedent to mindfulness. – "foundation of mindfulness", underscoring the object used to gain mindfulness.
While the latter parsing and translation is more traditional, the former has been given etymological and contextual authority by contemporary Buddhist scholars such as Bhikkhu Analayo and Bhikkhu Bodhi.
Anālayo argues from an etymological standpoint that, while "foundation [] of mindfulness" is supported by the Pāli commentary, the term (foundation) was otherwise unused in the Pāli nikayas and is only first used in the Abhidhamma. In contrast, the term (presence or establishment) can in fact be found throughout the nikayas and is readily visible in the Sanskrit equivalents of the compound Pāli phrase (Skt., or ). Thus Anālayo states that "presence of mindfulness" (as opposed to "foundation of mindfulness") is more likely to be etymologically correct.Anālayo (2006), pp. 29–30
Like Anālayo, Bodhi assesses that "establishment [] of mindfulness" is the preferred translation. However, Bodhi's analysis is more contextual than Anālayo's. According to Bodhi, while "establishment of mindfulness" is normally supported by the textual context, there are exceptions to this rule, such as with SN 47.42 where a translation of "foundation of mindfulness" is best supported.Bodhi (2000), p. 1504 Soma uses both "foundations of mindfulness" and "arousing of mindfulness."Soma (1941/2003)
The term sati (Sanskrit: smṛti), which is often translated as mindfulness, also means memory and recollection, and it is often used in that sense in the early discourses, which sometimes define sati as "the ability of calling to mind what has been done or said long ago."Anālayo (2006), pp. 46–47. According to Sharf, in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the term sati means to remember the dharmas, which allows one to see the true nature of phenomena.
According to Anālayo, sati does not literally mean memory, but "that which facilitates and enables memory." This is particularly applicable in the context of satipaṭṭhāna, in which sati does not refer to remembering past events, but an "awareness of the present moment", and to remember to stay in that awareness (especially if one's attention wanders away). Anālayo states that it is this clear and awake state of presence that allows one to easily remember whatever is experienced. He also states that sati is a detached, uninvolved and non-reactive observation which does not interfere with what it is observing (such an active function is instead associated with right effort, not mindfulness). This allows one to clearly attend to things in a more sober, objective and impartial manner. Regarding upaṭṭhāna, Anālayo writes that it means "being present" and "attending" in this context. He further states: "Understood in this way, "satipaṭṭhāna" means that sati "stands by", in the sense of being present; sati is "ready at hand", in the sense of attending to the current situation. Satipaṭṭhāna can then be translated as "presence of mindfulness" or as "attending with mindfulness."
Paul Williams (referring to Frauwallner) states that satipaṭṭhāna practice refers to "constantly watching sensory experience in order to prevent the arising of cravings which would power future experience into rebirths."
Rupert Gethin, who argues that satipaṭṭhāna is derived from sati+upaṭṭhāna, sees satipaṭṭhāna as "the activity of observing or watching the body, feelings, mind and dhammas," as well as "a quality of mind that 'stands near'" (the literal meaning of upaṭṭhāna) or "serves' the mind," and even "presence of mind".Gethin (2001), pp. 30–32. Gethin further notes that sati ('mindfulness') refers to "remembering" or "having in mind" something. It is keeping something in mind without wavering or losing it.Gethin (2001), pp. 36 – 40.
Bhikkhu Bodhi writes that sati is "a presence of mind, attentiveness or awareness" as well as "bare attention, a detached observation of what is happening within us and around us in the present moment [...] the mind is trained to remain in the present, open, quiet, alert, contemplating the present event."Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2010). The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering. pp. 79–80. Buddhist Publication Society. He also states that sati is "what brings the field of experience into focus and makes it accessible to insight." According to Bodhi, to be mindful, "all judgements and interpretations have to be suspended, or if they occur, just registered and dropped."
Bhante Gunaratana explains satipaṭṭhāna practice as bringing full awareness to our present moment bodily and mental activities.Gunaratana, Bhante Henepola (2012) The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English, pp. 1–2.
According to Sujato, mindfulness is "the quality of mind which recollects and focuses awareness within an appropriate frame of reference, bearing in mind the what, why, and how of the task at hand."Sujato (2012), A Swift Pair of Messengers, p. 35. INWARD PATH, Penang – Malaysia.
Textual accounts
Early Buddhist texts In the Pāli Tipitaka, the four satipaṭṭhānas are found throughout the (SN, Chapter 47) which contains 104 of the Buddha's discourses on the .Samyutta Nikaya, Ch. 47. See Bodhi (2000), pp. 1627ff. Other saṁyuttas in SN also deal with satipaṭṭhāna extensively, such as the Anuruddha-saṁyutta.Sujato (2012), p. 244. They can also be found in the (MN 10), as well as in DN 22 which is mostly the same with the addition of the four noble truths.Kuan (2008), p. 104.
The Mūlasarvāstivāda Saṃyukta Āgama (SĀ, Taisho Tripitaka #99) contains an entire section devoted to smṛtyupasthāna, which parallels the Pali Satipaṭṭhāna-samyutta.Choong Mun-keat (2010) "Problems and Prospects of the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama" According to Sujato, the Sarvāstivāda Smṛtyupasthāna Sūtra seems to emphasize samatha or calm abiding, while the Theravadin version emphasizes vipassana or insight.Sujato, A History of Mindfulness, 2005.
The Chinese Tripitaka also contains two parallels to the Satipaṭṭhāna sutta; Madhyama Āgama (MĀ) No. 98 (belonging to the Sarvāstivāda) and the Ekottara Āgama 12.1, Ekāyana Sūtra (possibly from the Mahāsaṅghika school).Sujato (2012), pp. 278, 288–289. Their presentation of the satipaṭṭhāna formula has some significant differences with the Theravada version. For example, MĀ 98 lists the four jhanas and the 'perception of light' under mindfulness of the body as well as listing six elements instead of four. However they generally share the same structure and several basic practices.Sujato (2012), p. 280.
Scholastic and Abhidhamma texts The four satipaṭṭhāna are analyzed and systematized in the scholastic and Abhidharma works of the various Buddhist schools. In these later texts, various doctrinal developments can be seen. The satipaṭṭhānas can be found in the Vibhaṅga (a book of the Theravada Abhidhamma Pitaka) in a form which differs from that in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. According to Johannes Bronkhorst and Bhikkhu Sujato, the satipaṭṭhāna formulation in the Vibhaṅga is actually an earlier version of the formula (it includes fewer elements than the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta).Sujato (2012), p. 148. The Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma text called the Dharmaskandha also contains a passage with the smṛtyupasthāna schema. According to Sujato, this is very similar to the passage from the Vibhaṅga.Sujato (2012), p. 260 The Śāriputrābhidharma, an Abhidharma text of the Dharmaguptaka school, also contains a passage with the smṛtyupasthānas.
In his history of satipaṭṭhāna, Bhikkhu Sujato writes that: In the early teachings satipaṭṭhāna was primarily associated not with vipassanā but with samatha. Since for the Suttas, samatha and vipassanā cannot be divided, a few passages show how this samatha practice evolves into vipassanā. In later literature the vipassanā element grew to predominate, almost entirely usurping the place of samatha in satipaṭṭhāna.Sujato (2012), p. 133.
Tse-fu Kuan agrees, noting that "the tendency to dissociate satipaṭṭhāna from samatha is apparently a rather late development." According to Sujato, various canonical texts which show sectarian Theravada elements consistently depict satipaṭṭhāna as more closely aligned with vipassanā practice. However, in the canonical Abhidhamma, satipaṭṭhāna is still said to be associated with jhana as well.Sujato (2012), pp. 320–321 For example, according to Kuan, the Vibhanga "says that when a monk attains the first jhāna and contemplates the body (feelings, etc.) as a body (feelings, etc.), at that time sati, anussati, etc. are called 'satipaṭṭhāna.'" Meanwhile, the canonical Abhidharma texts of the Sarvāstivāda tradition consistently interpreted the smṛtyupasthānas as being a practice that was associated with samadhi and dhyana.Sujato (2012), pp. 320–326 This can be seen in the Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra, which contains a section on how to practice the smṛtyupasthānas in the context of the four dhyanas and the formless attainments.
In the later texts of the Theravada tradition, like the Visuddhimagga, the focus on vipassanā is taken even further. Some of these works claim that one may reach awakening by practicing dry insight meditation (vipassanā without jhana) based on satipaṭṭhāna. Through this practice, one is said to be able to reach a "transcendental jhana" which lasts for one mind moment prior to realization. According to Sujato this is a "grave distortion of the suttas".Sujato (2012), p. 332