Overview
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna) constitute the Buddha’s comprehensive system for establishing continuous, liberating awareness. The Buddha unequivocally declared this framework as the “direct path” for the purification of beings, the overcoming of sorrow, and the realization of Nibbāna.
The List
- Kāyānupassanā - Contemplation of the Body: Mindfulness focused on physical phenomena. This includes mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati), postures, clear comprehension of actions, the 32 parts of the body, the four elements, and cemetery contemplations.
- Vedanānupassanā - Contemplation of Feelings: Mindfulness focused on affective tone. This involves clearly knowing whether a feeling is pleasant, painful, or neutral, and whether it is worldly or spiritual, without reacting with craving or aversion.
- Cittānupassanā - Contemplation of the Mind: Mindfulness focused on the state of consciousness itself. This involves knowing if the mind contains lust, hatred, delusion, distraction, concentration, or liberation at any given moment.
- Dhammānupassanā - Contemplation of Phenomena: Mindfulness focused on specific doctrinal categories. This involves contemplating the five hindrances, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the seven factors of awakening, and the Four Noble Truths.
Textual References
- Canonical: Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (DN 22) / Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10) – The primary discourses where the Buddha details every practice within these four domains.