Satipatthana

Satipatthana (Pali: Satipaṭṭhāna; Sanskrit: smṛtyupasthāna) is a central practice in the Buddha's teachings, meaning "the establishment of mindfulness" or "presence of mindfulness", or alternatively "foundations of mindfulness", aiding the development of a wholesome state of mind. In Theravada Buddhism, applying mindful attention to four domains, the body, feelings, the mind, and key principles or categories of the Buddha's teaching (dhammās), is thought to aid the elimination of the five hindrances and the development of the seven aspects of awakening.

The Satipatthana Sutta is probably the most influential meditation text in modern Theravada Buddhism, on which the teachings of the Vipassana movement are based. While these teachings are found in all Buddhist traditions, modern Theravada Buddhism and the Vipassana Movement are known especially for promoting the practice of satipaṭṭhāna as developing mindfulness to gain insight into impermanence, thereby reaching a first state of liberation. In the popular understanding, mindfulness has developed into a practice of bare awareness to calm the mind.

Etymology

Satipaṭṭhāna

Satipaṭṭhāna is a compound term that has been parsed (and thus translated) in two ways, namely Sati-paṭṭhāna and Sati-upaṭṭhāna. The separate terms can be translated as follows:

Sati – Pali; Sanskrit smṛti. Smṛti originally meant "to remember", "to recollect", "to bear in mind", as in the Vedic tradition of remembering the sacred text; the term sati also means "to remember". According to Sharf, in the Satipațțhāna-sutta the term sati means to remember the wholesome dhammās, whereby the true nature of phenomena can be seen, such as the five faculties, the five powers, the seven awakening-factors, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the attainment of insight. Usually, sati is interpreted as observing and watching various phenomena or domains of experience, being aware and attentive of them in the present moment.