The Satipatṭhāna Sutta (MN 10: The Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness) and the Mahāsatipatṭhāna Sutta (DN 22: The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness) are two of the most important and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism, acting as the foundation for mindfulness meditational practice. These suttas (discourses) stress the practice of sati (mindfulness) "for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the extinguishing of suffering and grief, for walking on the path of truth, for the realization of nibbāna."
Contents
Title translation and related literature
English translations of the title, "Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta," include:
According to Anālayo (2006, pp. 29–30), Thanissaro (2000) and Nyanaponika (1996, pp. 9–10), part of the reason for the variety in this title's translation has to do with how the compound Pāli word "satipaṭṭhāna" is analyzed. It can be interpreted as "sati-paṭṭhāna" ("foundation of mindfulness") or "sati-upaṭṭhāna" ("presence of mindfulness").
In regard to the prefix "Maha-" in the Pāli title of DN 22, this simply means "great," or "larger" and likely refers to DN 22's expanded section on mindfulness of the Fourth Noble Truths.
Two suttas that focus on practice are the Anapanasati (Mindfulness of Breathing) and the Satipatthana (Four Foundations of Mindfulness).
The Anapanasati Sutta translations and commentaries include one by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Buddhadasa’s Mindfulness with Breathing for Serious Beginners, Larry Rosenberg’s book Breath by Breath, and Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Breathe! You Are Alive.
Satipatthana Sutta translations and commentaries include the Thanissaro’s, Soma Thera’s The Way of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Transformation and Healing, and Goenka’s Satipatthana Sutta Discourses.
Various Recensions & Canonical placement
In the Chinese Canon, the Nian Chu Jing (念處經, Smṛtyupasthāna Sūtra), based on a Sarvastivadin source, is found on page 582 of the Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 1, Madhyama Āgama No. 26. Another similar sutra is in the Ekottara Agama (EA 12.1) and it is called the Ekayāna sutra, Direct Path sūtra.
Partial passages of an early Satipatthana sutta version also survive inside of some of the Prajñāpāramitā sutras. These passages on mindfulness are treated as the first element in the 37 wings to awakening. There does exist in Tibetan translation a "Saddharma Smṛtyupasthāna Sūtra" (dam pa'i chos dran pa nye bar bzhag pa'i mdo//dampé chödren panyé barzhak pé do) but this is a very large early Mahayana sutra and is an entirely different text. Bhikkhu Sujato completed an extensive comparative survey of the various recensions of Sutta, entitled A History of Mindfulness.
In the Pali Canon, the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta is the tenth discourse in the Majjhima Nikaya (MN) and is thus often designated by "MN 10"; in the Pali Text Society (PTS) edition of the Canon, this text begins on the 55th page of the first volume of its three-volume Majjhima Nikaya (M), and is thus alternately represented as "M i 55."
As for the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, this is the 22nd discourse in the Digha Nikaya (DN) and is thus often designated by "DN 22"; in the PTS edition of the Canon, the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta begins on the 289th page of the second volume of the PTS' three-volume Digha Nikaya (D), and is thus alternately represented as "D ii 289."
In post-canonical Pali literature, the classic commentary on the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (as well as for the entire Majjhima Nikaya) is found in Buddhaghosa's Papañcasudani (Bullitt, 2002; Soma, 2003).
Contents of the Pali version
In this sutta, the Buddha identifies four domains to be mindful of (satipatthana): body (kāyā), sensations/feelings(vedanā), mind/consciousness (cittā)) and elements of the Buddhist teachings (dhammas). These are then further broken down into the following sections and subsections:
Contents of the Chinese Sarvastivadin version
The Sarvāstivāda Smṛtyupasthāna Sūtra differs in some ways from the Theravada version, including postures as the first contemplation instead of breathing for example. According to Bhikkhu Sujato, it seems to emphasize samatha or calm abiding, while the Theravadin version emphasizes Vipassana or insight. The text also often refers to 'bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs' instead of just male bhikkhus.
Personality-based typography
According to Analāyo and Soma the Papañcasudani recommends a different satipaṭṭhāna depending on whether a person:
Based on these two dimensions the commentary's recommended personality-based satipaṭṭhāna is reflected in the grid shown at right.
Soma (2003, p. xxiv) adds that all practitioners (regardless of their character and temperament) should also practice mindfulness of Postures (moving, standing, sitting, lying down) and Clear Understanding, about which he writes: "The whole practice of mindfulness depends on the correct grasp of the exercises included in the two parts referred to here."
Single-focused, successive and simultaneous practices
There are a variety of ways that one could use the methods described in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta including:
- Focus on a single method. The method most written about in the English language is that of mindfulness of breath.
- Practice the various methods individually in succession.
- Maintain breath mindfulness as a primary object while using other methods to address non-breath stimuli.
- Practice multiple methods either in tandem or in a context-driven manner.