| Translations of Satipaṭṭhāna | |
|---|---|
| Pali | सतिपट्ठान (satipaṭṭhāna) |
| Sanskrit | स्मृत्युपस्थान (smṛtyupasthāna) |
| Chinese | 念處 |
| Japanese | 念処 (nenjo) |
| Khmer | សតិបដ្ឋាន (Satepadthan) |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Satipaṭṭhāna is the establishment or arousing of mindfulness, as part of the Buddhist practices leading to detachment and liberation.
Traditionally, mindfulness is thought to be applied to four domains, "constantly watching sensory experience in order to prevent the arising of cravings which would power future experience into rebirths," namely mindfulness of the body, feelings/sensations, mind/consciousness, and dhammās.
The modern Theravadan Buddhism and the Vipassana or Insight Meditation Movement promote satipatthana as key techniques for achieving mindfulness, promoting "mindfulness" as meaning careful attention instead of the recollection of the dhamma.
Etymology
Satipaṭṭhāna is a compound term that has been parsed (and thus translated) in two ways, namely Sati-paṭṭhāna and Sati-upaṭṭhāna. 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 texts. The term sati also means "to remember." 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.
- Upaṭṭhāna (Sanskrit: upasthāna) - "attendance, waiting on, looking after, service, care, ministering"
- Paṭṭhāna - "setting forth, putting forward;" in later Buddhist literature also "origin," "starting point," "cause."
The compound terms have been translated as follows:
- Sati-upaṭṭhāna - "presence of mindfulness" or "establishment of mindfulness" or "arousing of mindfulness," underscoring the mental qualities co-existent with or antecedent to mindfulness.
- Sati-paṭṭhāna - "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 [paṭṭhāna] of mindfulness" is supported by the Pāli commentary, the term paṭṭhāna (foundation) was otherwise unused in the Pāli nikayas and is only first used in the Abhidhamma. In contrast, the term upaṭṭhāna
(presence or establishment) can in fact be found throughout the nikayas
and is readily visible in the Sanskrit equivalents of the compound Pāli
phrase satipaṭṭhāna (Skt., smṛtyupasthāna or smṛti-upasthāna).
Thus Anālayo states that "presence of mindfulness" (as opposed to
"foundation of mindfulness") is more likely to be etymologically
correct.
Like Anālayo, Bodhi assesses that "establishment [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. Soma uses both "foundations of mindfulness" and "arousing of mindfulness."
Four domains or aspects
Traditionally,
mindfulness is thought to be applied to four domains, "constantly
watching sensory experience in order to prevent the arising of cravings
which would power future experience into rebirths." The four domains are
- mindfulness of the body (kaya);
- mindfulness of feelings or sensations (vedanā);
- mindfulness of mind or consciousness (citta); and
- mindfulness of dhammās.
Mindfulness of dhammas
"Dhammā" is often translated as "mental objects". According to Anālayo translating dhamma as "mental object" is problematic for multiple reasons. The three prior satipatthāna
(body, sensations, mind) can become mental objects in themselves, and
those objects, such as the hindrances, aggregates and sense bases,
identified under the term dhamma are far from an exhaustive list of all possible mental objects. Anālayo translates dhammā
as "mental factors and categories," "classificatory schemes," and
"frameworks or points of reference to be applied during contemplation".
Anālayo quotes Gyori as stating that contemplation of these dhammā "are specifically intended to invest the mind with a soteriological orientation." He further quotes Gombrich as writing that contemplating these dhammā teaches one "to see the world through Buddhist spectacles."
Within Buddhist teachings
In the Satipatthana Sutta the term sati means to remember the dharmas, whereby the true nature of phenomena can be seen.
According to Paul Williams, referring to Erich Frauwallner, mindfulness
provided the way to liberation, "constantly watching sensory experience
in order to prevent the arising of cravings which would power future
experience into rebirths." According to Vetter, dhyāna may have been the original core practice of the Buddha, which aided the maintenance of mindfulness.
The four foundations of mindfulness are one of the seven sets of "states conducive to enlightenment" (Pāli bodhipakkhiyādhammā) identified in many schools of Buddhism as means for progressing toward bodhi (awakening). In the Noble Eightfold Path, they are included in sammā-sati and, less directly, sammā-samādhi. Sati is recommended as a "one-way path" for the purification from unwholesome factors, and the realization of Nibbana.
In the Pāli Canon, this framework for systematically cultivating mindful awareness can be found in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta ("Greater Discourse on the Foundation of Mindfulness," DN 22); the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta ("Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness," MN 10), and throughout the Satipaṭṭhāna-samyutta (SN, Chapter 47). The Satipaṭṭhāna-samyutta itself contains 104 of the Buddha's discourses on the satipaṭṭhānas including two popular discourses delivered to the townspeople of Sedaka, "the Acrobat" and "the Beauty Queen".
The Sutta Pitaka contains texts in which The Buddha is said to refer to the fourfold establishment of mindfulness as a "direct" or "one-way path" for purification and the realisation of nirvana.
The Chinese Tripitaka also contains two parallels to the
Satipatthana sutta; Madhyama Āgama No. 26 and Ekottara Agama 12.1. The
four foundations of mindfulness are also treated in various Abhidharma works in the major Buddhist traditions such as the Abhidharmakosha, the Yogacarabhumi-sastra and the Visuddhimagga.
Contemporary exegesis
The four establishments of mindfulness are regarded as fundamental in modern Theravadan Buddhism and the Vipassana or Insight Meditation Movement.
In this approach the emphasis is on mindfulness itself, as bare
attention, instead of on the objects, mental states to be guarded, and
the teachings to be remembered. The four establishments (Satipaṭṭhāna) meditation practices gradually develop the mental factors of samatha ("calm") and vipassana ("insight"). Thanissaro Bhikkhu
notes that "satipatthana practice is often said to be separate from the
practice of jhana," but argues that mindfulness is also an aid in the
development of concentration.
Buddhadasa rejected the reliance on the Satipatthana sutta as being "vague and muddled," instead relying on the Anapanasati Sutta.
According to Buddhadasa, the aim of mindfulness is to stop the arising
of disturbing thoughts and emotions, which arise from sense-contact. According to Grzegorz Polak, the four upassanā
have been misunderstood by the developing Buddhist tradition, including
Theravada, to refer to four different foundations. According to Polak,
the four upassanā do not refer to four different foundations of which one should be aware, but are an alternate description of the jhanas, describing how the samskharas are tranquilized:
- the six sense-bases which one needs to be aware of (kāyānupassanā);
- contemplation on vedanās, which arise with the contact between the senses and their objects (vedanānupassanā);
- the altered states of mind to which this practice leads (cittānupassanā);
- the development from the five hindrances to the seven factors of enlightenment (dhammānupassanā).
