The four satipaṭṭhānasThe four foundations of mindfulness — Pāli original, German translation, explanation and practice.

The four in overview (MN 10) Katame cattāro? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṃ; vedanāsu vedanānupassī viharati …; citte cittānupassī viharati …; dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṃ. Which four? Here a monk dwells contemplating the body as body — ardent, clearly understanding, mindful, having set aside desire and discontent regarding the world; contemplating feelings as feelings …; contemplating mind as mind …; contemplating phenomena as phenomena … The repetition "the body as body" (kāye kāyānupassī) is deliberate: the body is contemplated as what it is — not as "my body", not as "beautiful/ugly", but as bare body. This turn of phrase cuts off projection. The threefold quality: ātāpī, sampajāno, satimā Ātāpī — ardent, glowing, from the word ātāpa (the heat of exertion). It denotes the energy (viriya) that carries the continuity — no passive drifting, but wakeful effort. Sampajāno — clearly understanding. The commentary divides sampajañña into four aspects (see 5.c). Satimā — mindful, endowed with sati: not letting the object slide away. The three interlock: energy keeps awake, mindfulness keeps present, clear understanding penetrates. If one is missing, the practice tips over (too much energy → restlessness; too little → torpor). vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṃ The precondition: "having set aside desire (abhijjhā) and discontent (domanassa) regarding the world." The coarse hindrances — above all sensual longing and ill will — must have receded so that the contemplation stays pure. This points to samādhi (concentration) as the platform of insight.

After each single exercise MN 10 repeats the same formula. It is the actual heart of the matter and determines what makes satipaṭṭhāna a liberating practice. Pali original text (MN 10) Iti ajjhattaṃ vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati, bahiddhā vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati, ajjhattabahiddhā vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati; samudayadhammānupassī vā kāyasmiṃ viharati, vayadhammānupassī vā kāyasmiṃ viharati, samudayavayadhammānupassī vā kāyasmiṃ viharati; 'atthi kāyo'ti vā panassa sati paccupaṭṭhitā hoti yāvadeva ñāṇamattāya paṭissatimattāya, anissito ca viharati, na ca kiñci loke upādiyati. (For vedanā, citta, dhammā only the point of reference changes: kāye → vedanāsu / citte / dhammesu.) English translation Thus he dwells contemplating the body as body — internally, or externally, or internally and externally; contemplating in the body the arising of phenomena, or the passing away, or the arising and passing away; or his mindfulness is present as "There is a body" — only so far as is needed for knowledge and remembrance — and he dwells independent and clings to nothing in the world. Explanation — the four movements of the formula 1. Internally — externally — both (ajjhattaṃ / bahiddhā / ajjhattabahiddhā). The field widens: from one's own body/mind to that of other beings and to the alternation without fixation. In practice "externally" often does not mean observing others, but the recognition that the processes are non-personal — the same nature everywhere. 2. Arising — passing away — both (samudaya / vaya / samudayavaya). The gaze directs itself to the process nature: under what conditions does the phenomenon arise, under what conditions does it pass? To see arising and passing away at once = to experience anicca directly. Here vipassanā in the narrow sense begins. 3. Atthi kāyo — only so far as knowledge and remembrance require. Mindfulness makes available only as much knowledge as the contemplation needs — no edifice of concepts, no proliferation (papañca). The object is present, but the cognising does not spread out into the conceptual.

4. Independent, without grasping (anissito, na upādiyati). The aim: the practitioner dwells anissito — unattached, without a support (leaning neither on view nor on desire) — and grasps nothing in the world. That is the direct reference to non-grasping (anupādāna). Satipaṭṭhāna is not self-observation for its own sake, but has letting go as its direction.

The four Satipaṭṭhānas at a glance — as an orientation for study and practice: Satipaṭṭhāna Object Exercises (MN 10) Works especially against Reveals above all Kāyānupassanā body (kāya) breath, postures, clear understanding, 32 parts, 4 elements, stages of the corpse coarse identification with the body, sensual longing anicca, asubha Vedanānupassanā feeling (vedanā) the 9 kinds (pleasant/painful/neutral × worldly/unworldly) reactivity at the seam vedanā → taṇhā dukkha Cittānupassanā consciousness (citta) 8 pairs (with/without greed, hate, delusion … liberated/not liberated) identification with states of mind anicca, anattā Dhammānupassanā phenomena (dhammā) 5 hindrances, 5 khandhas, 6 āyatanas, 7 bojjhaṅgas, 4 truths delusion about the structure of existence anattā The four are not four stages one after another, but four focal points of the same mindfulness. In every moment all four are present; what varies is the emphasis. A ripe practice moves freely among them.

The first and most detailed satipaṭṭhāna comprises six fields of exercise in MN 10.

(MN 118) The Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118) unfolds the contemplation of the breath in four tetrads of four steps each — and assigns them to the four satipaṭṭhānas. The breath thus becomes the bearer of the whole practice. Every step is a training (sikkhati, "he trains himself"). First tetrad — body (kāyānupassanā) Breathing in and out long and knowing it (dīghaṃ) Breathing in and out short and knowing it (rassaṃ) Training while experiencing the whole (breath-)body (sabbakāya-paṭisaṃvedī) Training while calming the bodily formation (passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ) Second tetrad — feeling (vedanānupassanā) Experiencing rapture (pīti-paṭisaṃvedī) Experiencing happiness (sukha-paṭisaṃvedī) Experiencing the mental formation (cittasaṅkhāra-paṭisaṃvedī — cittasaṅkhāra = feeling and perception) Calming the mental formation (passambhayaṃ cittasaṅkhāraṃ) Third tetrad — mind (cittānupassanā) Experiencing the mind (citta-paṭisaṃvedī) Gladdening the mind (abhippamodayaṃ cittaṃ) Concentrating the mind (samādahaṃ cittaṃ) Liberating the mind (vimocayaṃ cittaṃ) Fourth tetrad — phenomena (dhammānupassanā) Contemplating impermanence (aniccānupassī) Contemplating fading / dispassion (virāgānupassī) Contemplating cessation (nirodhānupassī) Contemplating letting go / relinquishment (paṭinissaggānupassī) Explanation: the order is organic. Tetrad 1 calms the body by way of the breath; tetrad 2 opens up the dimension of feeling (including the jhāna factors pīti and sukha); tetrad 3 works directly with the mind (gladdening, concentrating, liberating); tetrad 4 turns the gathered attention towards insight (anicca → virāga → nirodha →

paṭinissagga) — and thus issues exactly into the movement of the closing formula (Part 3) and into the change of object towards the unconditioned. Important for practice: MN 118 says expressly that fully developed ānāpānasati fulfils the four satipaṭṭhānas, these the seven factors of enlightenment, and these knowledge and liberation (vijjā-vimutti). The 16 steps are thus no compulsory programme in a rigid sequence, but a map: wherever one begins, the breath carries all four foundations. (Source: MN 118 Ānāpānasati Sutta; the tetrad structure is canonical. The assignment cittasaṅkhāra = feeling + perception follows the commentary and MN 44.)

Pali original text (MN 10) Kathañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu vedanāsu vedanānupassī viharati? Idha bhikkhu sukhaṃ vā vedanaṃ vediyamāno 'sukhaṃ vedanaṃ vediyāmī'ti pajānāti; dukkhaṃ vā … adukkhamasukhaṃ vā … sāmisaṃ vā sukhaṃ … nirāmisaṃ vā sukhaṃ vedanaṃ vediyamāno 'nirāmisaṃ sukhaṃ vedanaṃ vediyāmī'ti pajānāti … He recognises a pleasant feeling as pleasant, a painful one as painful, a neutral one as neutral; and whether it is worldly (sāmisa) or unworldly (nirāmisa). The kinds of vedanā MN 10 names three basic kinds, each in a worldly and an unworldly form. The Abhidhamma differentiates further: Vedanā Meaning sāmisa (worldly) nirāmisa (supramundane) sukha pleasant (bodily) sensual pleasure the happiness of pīti/samādhi somanassa joy (mental) worldly joy the joy of the path dukkha painful (bodily) bodily pain — domanassa dejection (mental) worldly discontent (mental striving) upekkhā neutral / equanimous dull indifference the equanimity of samādhi Sāmisa (with "bait") = feelings from sense objects. Nirāmisa = feelings from the process of training itself (thus the pīti of the first jhāna is nirāmisa sukha). This distinction teaches that not every happiness produces bondage — the happiness of concentration carries one further. Why vedanānupassanā is the switching point Phassa → Vedanā → Taṇhā

Contact produces feeling; out of feeling arises — if one is unmindful — thirst (taṇhā). Exactly this seam is the breaking point of the chain of arising (cf. the Citta-Cetasika document, the part on the teaching of fire). Vedanānupassanā takes hold here: the feeling is recognised as bare feeling — not as an invitation to grasp or to flee. Technically: vedanā is one of the seven universal cetasikas — present in every citta. Vedanānupassanā is thereby the most direct contemplation of the running stream of consciousness: whoever recognises the feeling clearly, without reacting at once, grasps the heart of every moment.

Pali original text (MN 10) Kathañca bhikkhu citte cittānupassī viharati? Idha bhikkhu sarāgaṃ vā cittaṃ 'sarāgaṃ cittan'ti pajānāti; vītarāgaṃ vā … sadosaṃ vā … vītadosaṃ vā … samohaṃ vā … vītamohaṃ vā cittaṃ 'vītamohaṃ cittan'ti pajānāti … The 16 cittas (eight pairs) Pair Pāḷi English 1 sarāga / vītarāga with / without greed 2 sadosa / vītadosa with / without hate 3 samoha / vītamoha with / without delusion 4 saṅkhitta / vikkhitta contracted / scattered 5 mahaggata / amahaggata exalted (jhāna) / not exalted 6 sauttara / anuttara surpassable / unsurpassable 7 samāhita / asamāhita concentrated / unconcentrated 8 vimutta / avimutta (temporarily) liberated / not liberated Explanation: what is observed is not an abiding "I", but the momentary quality of the mind. The mind observes the state of mind just past or the one running. The first three pairs (rāga/dosa/moha) correspond directly to the three unwholesome roots (akusala-mūla). The 8th pair (vimutta/avimutta) is especially deep: it concerns the (temporary) liberation of the mind — and points to what happens in the path moment, when nibbāna becomes the object. Important: pajānāti means to recognise directly, not to label mechanically. In the process of consciousness this recognition is itself a wholesome citta with sati (a sobhana javana) that takes the previous state as object — no moment observes itself simultaneously.

phenomena The most analytical foundation. Five groups (MN 10), extended by the four truths (DN 22). Each group is contemplated according to a fourfold scheme: present / not present / how does the unarisen arise / how is the arisen dissolved.

What happens in every moment of satipaṭṭhāna When an object is cognised, a mind-door process (manodvāra-vīthi) runs. The seven javana moments are karmically effective. In practice these javanas carry sati and the remaining wholesome cetasikas; the threefold quality (ātāpī, sampajāno, satimā) names exactly their constitution. Practical consequence (cf. document 1, 1.d): mindfulness sensibly takes hold at votthapana — before the javanas run off into wholesome or unwholesome tracks. Sati — the four commentarial marks (Visuddhimagga

ñāṇa) Satipaṭṭhāna is the vehicle; the knowledges of insight are the waymarks. The following sequence (after Visuddhimagga XVIII–XXII and Mahasi Sayadaw's The Progress of Insight) shows how ripe contemplation of body/feeling/mind/phenomena issues into the path moment. It connects this document directly with Citta, Cetasika and the way to Nibbāna (there: gotrabhū → magga → phala). # Ñāṇa English 1 nāmarūpa-pariccheda distinguishing mind and matter 2 paccaya-pariggaha grasping conditionality (cause–effect) 3 sammasana grasping the three marks (by groups) 4 udayabbaya arising and passing away — here the ten vipassanupakkilesa appear 5 bhaṅga dissolution — only the passing away still stands out 6 bhaya appearance as fearful 7 ādīnava knowledge of the danger / the drawback 8 nibbidā disenchantment, turning away 9 muñcitukamyatā the wish for deliverance 10 paṭisaṅkhā renewed, thorough contemplation 11 saṅkhārupekkhā equanimity towards all formations 12 anuloma conformity — the transition 13 gotrabhū change of lineage (the first object of Nibbāna) 14 magga path knowledge (cuts the fetters) 15 phala fruition knowledge 16 paccavekkhaṇa review of what has been penetrated Key places for practice: stage 4 (udayabbaya): as it ripens, the ten "defilements of insight" appear (vipassanupakkilesa, Visuddhimagga XX) — light (obhāsa),

rapture (pīti), stillness (passaddhi), happiness (sukha), strong devotion, energy, clear mindfulness, equanimity, subtle attachment (nikanti). They are regularly taken for realisation. The turning point of the "purification by knowledge of path and not-path" (maggāmagga-ñāṇadassana-visuddhi) is to recognise them as bare phenomena and not to cling to them. Stages 6–9 (bhaya to muñcitukamyatā): the phase often experienced as hard (the "dukkha-ñāṇas") — anicca becomes so penetrating that everything conditioned appears fearful and unsatisfying. That is progress, not regress. Stage 11 (saṅkhārupekkhā): the mind rests equanimously among the formations — the threshold of the change of object. This also explains the "confusion" named in document 1 (Part 4): whoever expects that the insight into anicca must always grow stronger is surprised when at saṅkhārupekkhā it tips into stillness and at the path moment ceases entirely — because the object is no longer a formation, but nibbāna. (Source: Visuddhimagga XVIII–XXII; Mahasi Sayadaw, The Progress of Insight. The counting and grouping vary from source to source — see KNOWLEDGE / CONJECTURE.)

This part is application — it summarises current Theravāda practice (especially the Mahasi and the breath tradition), not individual scriptural texts. It replaces no living instruction by an experienced teacher.

Primary sources (the Pāḷi canon) MN 10 (Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta) — the main source of all four satipaṭṭhānas DN 22 (Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta) — the extended version with the four truths in full MN 118 (Ānāpānasati Sutta) — the 16 steps of the breath in four tetrads MN 44 (Cūḷavedalla Sutta) — cittasaṅkhāra = saññā + vedanā; the definition of the kinds of vedanā SN 47 (Satipaṭṭhāna Saṃyutta) — many short presentations; SN 47.1–10 fundamental SN 46 (Bojjhaṅga Saṃyutta) — the seven factors of enlightenment; SN 46.51 (nutriment/hindrances), SN 46.53 (balance) AN 4.41 — the four developments of samādhi (the reference is to be checked) Commentaries and handbooks Visuddhimagga VIII (parts of the body, breath), XIV (sati as cetasika), XVIII–XXII (the knowledges of insight, gotrabhū, path, fruition), XX (vipassanupakkilesa) — Buddhaghosa Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha ch. II (cetasikas, sobhana/akusala), IV (the process of consciousness) — Nārada / Bhikkhu Bodhi Mahasi Sayadaw, The Progress of Insight (Visuddhiñāṇakathā) — the sequence of the ñāṇas Bhikkhu Anālayo, Satipaṭṭhāna — The Direct Path to Realization (Windhorse, 2003) — analysis Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.), The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (MN 10, MN 118) Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary (sati, sampajañña, bojjhaṅga, nīvaraṇa, vipassanā-ñāṇa)

KNOWLEDGE / CONJECTURE KNOWLEDGE — canonically attested The ekāyano opening formula and the fourfold basic definition with ātāpī/sampajāno/satimā (MN 10) The recurring closing formula (ajjhattaṃ/bahiddhā … atthi kāyo … anissito) — MN 10 The six kāya exercises, the kinds of vedanā, the 16 cittas, the five dhamma groups (MN 10/DN 22) The 16 steps of the breath in four tetrads (MN 118); that developed ānāpānasati fulfils the four satipaṭṭhānas, these the bojjhaṅgas and these vijjā-vimutti (MN 118) The five hindrances and seven factors of enlightenment (among others SN 46); the four truths (DN 22) KNOWLEDGE — of commentarial origin The four aspects of sampajañña (sātthaka, sappāya, gocara, asammoha) — Visuddhimagga The four marks of sati (lakkhaṇa, rasa, paccupaṭṭhāna, padaṭṭhāna) — Visuddhimagga XIV Sati as a sobhana-cetasika (not universal) — Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha The cetasika assignment of the hindrances and bojjhaṅgas — Abhidhamma The interpretation of parimukhaṃ as the area of the nose / upper lip; cittasaṅkhāra = feeling + perception — commentary The sequence of the vipassanā-ñāṇa and the ten vipassanupakkilesa — Visuddhimagga XVIII–XXII / Mahasi CONJECTURE / interpretation / application Ekāyano as "the only way" vs. "the direct way" — both defensible The exact counting and grouping of the vipassanā-ñāṇa (here 16 after Mahasi) varies; the "ten knowledges of insight" in the narrow sense are a subset The whole practice part (Part 12) is method/application, no literal scriptural passage — it bundles current practice (the breath and Mahasi traditions) and replaces no personal instruction The traditional antidotes to the hindrances (12.f) follow the commentaries; the selection is not exhaustive

To be checked oneself if literal quotation is intended All the Pali passages are given from memory — for literal quotations consult the PTS edition or Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations (MN 10, MN 118) The list of bodily parts: MN 10 counts 31 parts; the brain (matthaluṅga) comes in only with the Visuddhimagga/Paṭisambhidā version (= 32). Check the order and individual terms in the edition AN 4.41 — check the content and the number (the four samādhi-bhāvanā) Chapter and paragraph numbers in the Visuddhimagga and the Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha vary from edition to edition

Glossary The central Pali terms of this document (alphabetically): anattā — non-self; without an abiding, controllable core anicca — impermanence; arising and passing away anupassanā — continued contemplation, "looking after" ānāpānasati — mindfulness of the in- and out-breath anissita — independent, unattached (the aim of the closing formula) ātāpī — ardent, with zeal/energy (= viriya) āyatana — sense base (six internal, six external) bojjhaṅga — factor of enlightenment (seven) citta — consciousness; a single moment of consciousness dhammā (here) — phenomena/factors of existence as objects of contemplation dukkha — suffering, unsatisfactoriness gotrabhū — change of lineage; the first citta with Nibbāna as object javana — the karmically effective "swift-running" moments in the process jhāna — meditative absorption (a level of concentration) kāya — body khaṇika-samādhi — momentary concentration khandha — aggregate (rūpa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, viññāṇa) magga / phala — path / fruition (supramundane) manasikāra — attention (a universal cetasika) mettā — loving kindness nibbāna — the unconditioned; the going out of the fuel nīvaraṇa — hindrance (five) pajānāti — to recognise directly, to know clearly papañca — conceptual overgrowth, proliferation paṭinissagga — letting go, relinquishment (the 16th step of the breath) sampajañña / sampajāno — clear understanding saṃyojana — fetter (ten; cut through by the paths) saṅkhāra — formation; a conditioned formative force saṅkhārupekkhā — equanimity towards the formations (a stage of insight) sati — mindfulness, presence (a sobhana-cetasika)

satipaṭṭhāna — foundation/setting-up of mindfulness sobhana — "beautiful"; the wholesome cetasikas taṇhā — thirst, craving (the origin of suffering) vedanā — feeling/sensation (a universal cetasika) vipassanā — insight; the seeing through of the three marks viriya — energy, vigour votthapana — the determining of the object (the moment in the process before the javanas)