Satipatthana

Meaning

Satipaṭṭhāna is often translated as “foundations of mindfulness” or “establishments of awareness.” It is a method of training the mind taught by the Buddha for developing clarity and understanding of impermanence, purifying the mind of defilements, and ending suffering.

Doctrinal context

The four foundations:

• Contemplation of the body: breathing, postures, movements, elements.
• Contemplation of feeling tones: pleasant, unpleasant, neutral. Without involvement.
• Contemplation of mind: states of consciousness - craving, anger, aversion, concentration, distraction, etc.
• Contemplation of mental phenomena (dhammas): hindrances, factors of awakening, the Four Noble Truths.

The key principle: this is active recognition of phenomena and their impermanence within the chosen foundation, not passive observation.

Practical significance

Satipaṭṭhāna is a unified process. One can begin with body awareness (e.g., the changing nature of the breath), then notice the range of feeling tones, recognize the state of the mind, and finally see the principle of impermanence behind it all.

It is a “laboratory” for investigating mind and body.