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The Discourse on the Bases of Mindfulness

Thus have I heard.

At one time the Fortunate One was living at Kammasadamma, a market-town of the Kuru people.

Then the Fortunate One addressed the bhikkhus as follows: “Bhikkhus, there is this straight way that leads to the purification of beings, the overcoming of sorrow and regret, the ending of dukkha and discontent, that keeps one heading in the right direction, that ends in realizing Nibbana, namely, the Four Bases of Mindfulness, the Four Satipaṭṭhānas.”

“What are the four?

“Here, bhikkhus, a meditator sits experiencing body in body, diligent, with clear comprehension and mindfulness, neither wanting nor rejecting the things of this world; he sits experiencing feelings in feelings, diligent, with clear comprehension and mindfulness, neither wanting nor rejecting the things of this world; he sits experiencing mind in mind, diligent, with clear comprehension and mindfulness, neither wanting nor rejecting the things of this world; he sits experiencing the dhammas in the dhammas, diligent, with clear comprehension and mindfulness, neither wanting nor rejecting the things of this world.”

“And how, bhikkhus, does a meditator sit experiencing body in body?

“Here, bhikkhus, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty room, he sits down with legs crossed, keeps his body erect, and, embracing mindfulness, he breathes in; he breathes out.

“Breathing in long, he holds the thought: ‘I breathe in long.’ Breathing out long, he holds the thought: ‘I breathe out long.’ Breathing in short, he holds the thought: ‘I breathe in short.’ Breathing out short, he holds the thought: ‘I breathe out short.’

“Thus he trains himself: ‘Experiencing the whole body, I breathe in. Experiencing the whole body, I breathe out.’ He trains himself further: ‘Calm, without effort, I breathe in. Calm, without effort, I breathe out.’ Thus he trains himself.

“Just as a clever lathe worker or lathe worker’s apprentice, making a long turn, understands: ‘I turn long;’ or making a short turn, understands: ‘I turn short’; just so, when a meditator breathes in long, he understands: ‘I breathe in long’; when he breathes out long, he understands: ‘I breathe out long’. Breathing in short, he understands: ‘I breathe in short’; breathing out short, he understands: ‘I breathe out short.’ He establishes himself in the knowledge: ‘Experiencing the whole body, I breathe in; experiencing the whole body, I breathe out. Calm, without effort, I breathe in. Calm, without effort, I breathe out.’ Thus he trains himself.

“Thus he sits experiencing body in body internally, or he sits experiencing body in body externally, or he sits experiencing body in body internally and externally. He sits experiencing the arising of bodily states, or he sits experiencing the dissolution of those states, or he sits experiencing the continual arising and dissolution of body states. Or it may be that he establishes mindfulness with the awareness: ‘Body exists,’ just to the extent necessary to know and remember, and he sits independent, clinging to nothing in the world. Thus, bhikkhus, a meditator sits experiencing body in body.”

The Buddha goes on to show how an accomplished meditator maintains mindfulness of the body as she goes through her daily course of action, going and coming, sitting, standing and lying down. Even the subtlest activities are performed mindfully—bending and stretching, looking at something and looking away, speaking and maintaining silence, eating and drinking, defecating and urinating. In all those activities, the mindful meditator remains clearly aware, experiencing body in body internally and externally, with its constantly changing state, just as it is, and so “sits independent, clinging to nothing in the world”. The Buddha then gives the bhikkhus advice about how to maintain their clear comprehension of body, by experiencing its physical makeup, reviewing the contents of this “bag of skin” from the soles of the feet to the top of the hair and back down again and taking an exhaustive inventory—head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, muscle fibers, veins, nerves, sinews, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, sitr, lungs, spleen, intestines, stomach content, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, sweat, fat, saliva, mucus, tears, vitreous humor, urine.

And if that isn’t enough to establish a dispassionate understanding of body, he goes on to recommend an extensive series of charnel ground and cemetary contemplations, imagining body one day dead, two days dead, a week dead, a month dead, a year dead, many years dead. The descriptions are vivid—the body drained of life and decomposing, swelling, discolored, rotting, eaten by jackals and worms, becoming a skeleton, the bones eventually bleached and scattered. experiencing body through all those states of death and decomposition, the meditator establishes her awareness: “This body of mine is of the same nature as that body; it’s going to suffer the same fate; it can’t get past its essential condition of being body.”

“Thus she sits experiencing body in body internally, or she sits experiencing body in body externally, or she sits experiencing body in body internally and externally. She sits experiencing the arising of bodily states, or she sits experiencing the dissolution of those states, or she sits experiencing the continual arising and dissolution of body states. Or it may be that she establishes mindfulness with the awareness: ‘Body exists,’ just to the extent necessary to know and remember, and she sits independent, clinging to nothing in the world. Thus also, bhikkhus, a meditator sits experiencing body in body.”

“And how, bhikkhus, does a meditator sit experiencing feeling in feelings?

“Here, bhikkhus, experiencing a pleasant feeling, the meditator understands: ‘I experience a pleasant feeling’; when experiencing a painful feeling, he understands: ‘I experience a painful feeling’; when experiencing a neutral feeling, he understands: ‘I experience a neutral feeling’. (Whether the feeling is physical or mental, pleasant, unpleasant or neutral—in every case, the meditator remains aware that he is experiencing just that feeling.)

“Thus he sits experiencing feelings in feelings internally, or he sits experiencing feeling in feelings externally, or he sits experiencing feeling in feelings internally and externally. He contemplates the arising of feelings, he contemplates their dissolution, he contemplates the continual arising and dissolution of feelings. Or he establishes mindfulness with the awareness: ‘Feelings exist,’ just to the extent necessary to know and remember, and he sits independent, clinging to nothing in the world.

“Thus, bhikkhus, a meditator sits experiencing feeling in feelings.”

“And how, bhikkhus, does a meditator sit experiencing mind in mind?

“Here, bhikkhus, a meditator understands the lustful mind as mind with lust; the mind without lust as mind without lust; the hateful mind as mind with hatred; the hate-free mind as mind without hatred; the deluded mind, as mind with ignorance; the understanding mind as mind without ignorance; the timid mind as mind grown fearful; the distracted mind as mind with distractions; the great mind as mind full of possibility; the small mind as mind constrained by limits; the broad mind as mind with generosity; the narrow mind as mind without generosity; the calm mind as mind that is still; the agitated mind as mind full of turbulence; the liberated mind as mind that is free; and the fettered mind as mind unfree.

“Thus he sits experiencing mind in mind internally, or he sits experiencing mind in mind externally, or he sits experiencing mind in mind internally and externally. He contemplates the arising of mind, he contemplates mind’s dissolving, he contemplates the continual arising and dissolving of mind. Or he establishes mindfulness with the awareness: ‘mind exists,’ just to the extent necessary to know and remember, and he sits independent, clinging to nothing in the world.

“Thus, bhikkhus, a meditator sits experiencing mind in mind.”

“And how, bhikkhus, does a meditator sit experiencing dhammas in dhammas?

“First, bhikkhus, a meditator sits experiencing dhammas in dhammas with reference to the five hindrances.

“How, bhikkhus, does a meditator sit experiencing dhammas in dhammas with reference to the five hindrances?

“When sensual desire is present, a meditator is aware, understanding, ‘I experience sensual desires.’ When no sensual desire is present, the meditator is aware, understanding, ‘I am not experiencing sensual desire.’ She understands how sensual desires arise spontanteously; she understands how they fade; she understands how to let go of sensual desires that have arisen, and she understands how to prevent them returning in the future. When anger is present, the meditator is aware, understanding, ‘I experience anger.’ When no anger is present, she is aware, understanding, ‘I am not experiencing anger.’ she understands how anger arises spontaneously, and how anger fades; she understands how to release anger that has arisen, and how to prevent that from arising again in time. (Similarly with the other three hindrances: sloth and weariness, distress and worry, and doubt.) When doubt invades the meditator’s mind, she is aware, understanding, ‘I experience doubt.’ When there is no doubt, she is aware, understanding, ‘I am not in doubt.’ she understands how doubt arises spontaneously, and how it dissipates; she knows how to overcome doubt that has arisen, and how to prevent that doubt from arising again in the future.”

“Thus she sits experiencing dhammas in dhammas internally, or she sits experiencing dhammas in dhammas, externally, or she sits experiencing dhammas in dhammas, internally and externally. she experiences the arising of dhammas, she experiences the dissolving of dhammas, she experiences the continual arising and dissolving of dhammas. Or she establishes mindfulness with the awareness: ‘Dhammas exists,’ just to the extent necessary to know and remember, and she sits independent, clinging to nothing in the world.

“Thus, bhikkhus, with regard to the Five Hindrances, a meditator sits experiencing dhammas in dhammas.”

“Further, bhikkhus, a meditator sits experiencing dhammas in dhammas with reference to the five aggregates of clinging.

“The meditator maintains awareness, clearly seeing: ‘Here is material form; material form arises thus, and material form dissolves. Here are feelings; feelings arise thus, and thus they vanish. Here is perception; perception arises thus, and thus perception ceases. And here are ideas and notions of the mind; thus these mental formations arise, and thus they dissipate. And here is consciousness itself (inseparable from the thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and imagined forms that fill it). Consciousness arises thus; thus consciousness subsides.’

Thus the meditator sits, experiencing dhammas in dhammas, internally, externally, and both internally and externally. She experiences the arising of the dhammas and their cessation; she establishes herself mindfully aware: ‘dhammas exist.’ And so she sits, independent, clinging to nothing in the world.

The Buddha continues to explain the base of mindfulness (the Satipaṭṭhāna) of the dhammas as that is understood with regard to the six sense bases. He explains how the meditator develops understanding of how the fetters (ten of them, in classic Buddhist doctrine: sensual desire, resentment, pride, metaphysical speculation, cynical doubt, belief in rites and ceremonies, the desire to go on existing, envy, avarice and ignorance) all arise from the conjunction of our sense organs with their appropriate objects in the world—the eye and visible forms, the ear and sounds, the nose and odors, etc., down to the mind (which in Buddhism is considered one of the sense bases) and its conjoined thoughts and ideas. The meditator understands how the fetters arise from those conjunctions, how they can be abandoned, and how, once abandoned, their re-arising can be blocked. Then she goes on to further establish her base of mindfulness of the dhammas with regard to the seven factors of enlightenment: mindfulness itself, investigation (of phenomena), energy, joy, calm, concentration, and equanimity. In each case, the meditator is aware when each factor is present, and aware when it is not present; she understands how each factor arises, how it subsides, and how it can be positively maintained once it has arisen.

Once again, in a refrain, the meditator experiences the arising of those dhammas arise, their subsiding, their continual arising and subsiding; she establishes her mindful awareness, “dhammas exist”, just to the extent necessary to know and remember, and she sits independent, clinging to nothing in the world.

Finally, at the very end of the consideration of the mindfulness of dhammas, we reach the highest dhammas of all.

“Further, bhikkhus, a meditator sits experiencing dhammas in the dhammas of the Four Ennobling Truths.

“Here, bhikkhus, the meditator experiences, as inescapable reality, ‘Here is dukkha.’ He experiences, as inescapable reality, ‘Here is the origin of dukkha.’ He experiences, as inescapable reality, ‘Here is the cessation of dukkha.’ He experiences, as inescapable reality, ‘Here is the Path that leads to cessation of dukkha.’

“Thus the meditator sits, experiencing dhammas in dhammas, internally, externally, and both internally and externally. He experiences the arising of the dhammas and their cessation; He establishes himself mindfully aware: ‘dhammas exist.’ And so he sits, independent, clinging to nothing in the world.”

“Thus, indeed, bhikkhus, a meditator sits experiencing dhammas in dhammas in respect to the Four Ennobling Truths.”

“Bhikkhus, if anyone were to maintain the Four Satipaṭṭhānas in this manner for seven years, then she could expect to attain one of two states: she might become an arahant (a fully enlightened one), here and now; or, if some vestige of clinging remains, she would still attain the state of Non-Returning (rebirth in a realm where enlightenment was assured; she would never to return to a lower realm).

“Bhikkhus, it needn’t take seven years. Should someone maintain these Four Bases of Mindfulness, in the manner I’ve described, for six years, or for five years, or four or three or two or just one year, then he could expect to attain one of two states: he might become an arahant (a fully enlightened one), here and now; or, if some vestige of clinging remains, he would still attain the state of Non-Returning.

“Bhikkhus, it needn’t even take a year. Should anyone maintain these Four Bases of Mindfulness in this manner for six months, five months, four months, three months, two months, one month, half a month—if someone would maintain the Four Satipaṭṭhānas in the proper manner for a single week, she could expect to attain one of two states: she might become an arahant, here and now; or, if some vestige of clinging remains, she would still attain the state of Non-Returning.

“This is the reason that it was said: ‘This is the straight way that leads to the purification of beings, the overcoming of sorrow and regret, the ending of dukkha and discontent, that keeps one heading in the right direction, that ends in realizing Nibbana, namely, the Four Bases of Mindfulness, the Satipaṭṭhānas.’”

That is what the Fortunate One said. Satisfied, the bhikkhus approved of his words.

“The Discourse on the Bases of Mindfulness”
The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, Majjima Nikaya 10 and Digha Nikaya 22 (the latter with a few added sections), is one of the most important suttas in the Tipitaka—it is widely studied, and the teaching it offers on how to establish a meditative program aimed at the development of mindfulness forms the basis for the practice of meditators in virtually every Buddhist culture.

The meaning of Satipaṭṭhāna. The term is a compound, of which the first component is sati. The original meaning of sati was “memory”; it is almost always translated as “mindfulness”. There is some dispute about the second part of the compound. Ven. Anālayo, along with Maurice Walshe, reads it as the term upaṭṭhāna, which means “placing near”. Most of the classical commentaries derive the second term from paṭṭhāna, meaning “foundation” or “cause”, and a very frequent translation of the compound phrase is “the foundations of mindfulness”. I’ve used the term “bases of mindfulness” in this rendering; it seems to me to have aspects of both derivations.

I am grateful to Mary Ellen Landolina, an ardent meditator and meditation teacher, for suggesting that I substitute the word “experience” for “contemplate”; the latter is the word I’d used in the first version of this rendering.

“a meditator sits”
The original uses the term bhikkhu, and it’s usually translated “the bhikkhu abides”, or “the bhikkhu lives”. I feel that the term I’ve used is close enough in meaning, conveying the same sense of keeping still, in one place, alone; using the term “meditator” reflects the situation in which the sutta is commonly read today. All bhikkhus are meditators in the sense of this discourse, but others may be meditators in the same sense without taking ordination.
“experiencing body in body”
This terminology (and the corresponding terminology in the following three satipaṭṭhānas) has challenged commentators. I read it to mean that the meditator both experiences the abstract concept of “body”, i.e. body as a phenomenon, in this particular instance of body, or, reversing that, experiences this particular body in the general phenomenon of body. Either way of looking at it points one toward an illuminating understanding of this body thing, and, if one progresses to the point where she can hold both modes of experience in mind simultaneously, perhaps she will have arrived at a turning point in her meditation practice.
“the dhammas“
The term Dhamma refers, of course, to the essential law of cause and effect, of action and reaction, that governs everything that happens. It is also used (often in the compound term Buddhadhamma) to refer to the Buddha’s teachings. The term is also used, as it is used here, to refer to the essential, irreducible components of experience. In the Buddha’s teachings, all that we are and all that we experience is composite in nature—the term samsara refers to such composite existence. When we begin to analyse samsara, we can analyze it into finer and finer, more and more subtle components; when we reach the point at which further analysis does not get us anywhere, we have reached the dhammas. The various schools of early Buddhism, and the various commentators, give different lists of dhammas. But all those lists include the five aggregates subject to clinging—material form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness; all include the six sense bases, the five hindrances, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the Four Ennobling Truths themselves. Those are the dhammas discussed in this sutta; cultivating mindfulness of those dhammas, experiencing them just as they are, in their irreducible reality, each devoid of self, is an essential part of the process of insight meditation that leads the meditator toward (and possibly, all of the way to) enlightenment.
“internally and externally”
Again, there is some dispute among the commentators, ancient and modern, as to what it means to contemplate the body internally and externally. The classical commentators are pretty much agreed that “internally” refers to the meditator’s own body, while “externally” refers to the body of others. That interpretation runs into obvious problems, especially when it comes to the demand upon the meditator to experience the body, to maintain awareness of its subtle states: how can one do that with regard to another’s body without being psychic? Many modern commentators make the distinction between experiencing the sensations that create one’s awareness of body (internal), and knowledge that a physical body is the locus of that experience (external); that seems to me to be moving in the right direction. As I’ve come to understand it (and this is provisional—my understanding has changed over time and will, perforce, continue to do so), experiencing the body internally refers to my concurrent awareness of the bodily sensations I experience and the knowledge they give me of the current state of my physical body, while experiencing the body externally refers to my developing understanding that my experience and my understanding of my own body is also the basis for a compassionate understanding of what others experience in their bodies, and at the same time the basis for my dispassionate awareness that this is how it is with this thing we name “body”. So my experience as a meditator can lead to a growth in my capacity for compassion, a relinquishment of my desire that my body be something other than it is, and a certain equanimity with regard to the processes that generate my experience of body and that have produced the body that I currently have and am.
“doubt”
In our society, the term “doubt” gets mixed up with the concept of dogmatic belief, a concept that had no place in the Buddha’s teachings. What is meant by “doubt” here, in the context of the hindrances that prevent one’s progress on the Path, is more akin to what we would label “cynicism”, or just suspicion that the Buddha’s experience is false, that he was not what he claimed to be—the Tathagata, the Pathfinder—and that the Path he taught would lead one nowhere.