Satipatthana (Pali: Satipaṭṭhāna|italic=yes; Sanskrit: smṛtyupasthāna|italic=yes) 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 wakefulness.
The Satipatthana Sutta is probably the most influential meditation text in modern Theravada Buddhism,[1] 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.
is a compound term that has been parsed (and thus translated) in two ways, namely and . The separate terms can be translated as follows:
The compound terms have been translated as follows:
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 [''{{IAST|paṭṭhāna}}''] 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.[4]
Like Anālayo, Bodhi assesses that "establishment [{{IAST|upaṭṭhāna}}] 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.[5] Soma uses both "foundations of mindfulness" and "arousing of mindfulness."[6]
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."[7] 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".[8] 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.[9]
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."[10] 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.[11]
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."[12]
In the Pāli Tipitaka, the four satipaṭṭhānas are found throughout the (SN, Chapter 47) which contains 104 of the Buddha's discourses on the .[13] Other saṁyuttas in SN also deal with satipaṭṭhāna extensively, such as the Anuruddha-saṁyutta.[14] 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.[15]
The Sarvāstivāda Saṃyukta Āgama (SĀ, Taisho Tripitaka #99) contains an entire section devoted to smṛtyupasthāna, which parallels the Pali Satipaṭṭhāna-samyutta.[16] According to Sujato, the Sarvāstivāda Smṛtyupasthāna Sūtra seems to emphasize samatha or calm abiding, while the Theravadin version emphasizes vipassana or insight.[17]
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).[18] 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.[19]
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 less elements than the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta).[20] 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.[21] 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.[22]
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.[23] 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.[24] 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".[25]
The same kind of trend can be seen in some later, post-canonical Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma works, such as the Abhidharmasāra of Dharmaśrī. This text, unlike the canonical Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma, treats the four smṛtyupasthānas as mainly vipassanā practices. This presentation influenced later works like the Abhidharmakośa (4th century CE), which "defines satipaṭṭhāna not as ‘mindfulness’, but as ‘understanding’ (paññā)." However, this practice is only undertaken after having practiced samādhi based on ānāpānasati or contemplation of the body and so is not equivalent to the dry insight approach of the later Theravada.[26]
Mahayana Buddhist texts also contain teachings on the four smṛtyupasthānas. These include the Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sūtra, Asanga's Abhidharmasamuccaya, the Yogācārabhūmi, Vasubandhu's Madhyāntavibhāgabhāṣya, the Avataṁsaka Sūtra, and Santideva's Śikṣāsamuccaya.[27] Furthermore, Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend contains a passage which affirms the early Buddhist understanding of the four smṛtyupasthānas as closely connected with samādhi: "he persevering practice (of smṛtyupasthāna) is called ‘samādhi’."[28] Another parallel passage of the satipaṭṭhāna schema can be found in the Pañcavimsatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā sutra.[29] [30] Another passage is found in the Śrāvakabhūmi.[30]
The various early sources for satipaṭṭhāna provide an array of practices for each domain of mindfulness. Some of these sources are more elaborate and contain more practices than others. The table below contains the main elements found in the various early Buddhist sources on the satipaṭṭhānas.
Various scholars have attempted to use the numerous early sources to trace an "ur-text" i.e. the original satipaṭṭhāna formula or the earliest sutta. Bronkhorst (1985) argues that the earliest form of the satipaṭṭhāna sutta only contained the observation of the impure body parts under mindfulness of the body, and that mindfulness of dhammas was originally just the observation of the seven awakening factors. Sujato's reconstruction similarly only retains the contemplation of the impure under mindfulness of the body, while including only the five hindrances and the seven awakening factors under mindfulness of dhammas. According to Analayo, mindfulness of breathing was probably absent from the original scheme, noting that one can easily contemplate the body's decay taking an external object, that is, someone else's body, but not be externally mindfull of the breath, that is, someone else's breath.