Sathipatthana Sutta was delivered to a group of Bhikkhus, or monks, living in the province of Kuru in India. The main theme of Sathipatthana Sutta is mindfulness. The key objectives are to describe in detail the various modalities of mindfulness and to present the correct methodology to cultivate them. Kayanupassana, or mindfulness of the body, teaches us that practicing skillful observation of one’s natural breath can effectively be used to develop mindfulness. Choosing a suitable location free of noise and other disturbances and maintaining an appropriate posture in the body are considered favorable to the practice. Preparations also include sitting upright, locating the area near the nostrils and upper lip where the flow of breath is felt the most, and enabling one to be mindful of that breath. Meditation on the breath can be considered somewhat unique as it mandates the specific posture and details. Other types of meditations only require we simply stay mindful about the actions of the whole body and mind.
We typically remain busy in various activities throughout the day. We may do homework, housework, volunteer at our temple, do social work, etc. We entertain various thoughts while we are busy doing these things. Although the body is doing the actual work, the mind remains completely lost in a tangle of thoughts unrelated to the task at hand. Oftentimes we end up with no clear recollection of what we have been doing or thinking. We do not normally pay much attention to what we are thinking. In other words, we are being unmindful about our thoughts. Trains of thought are in essence like the deep sky, infinite and limitless; or a vast ocean, chaotic and deep. We stay immersed in thoughts but fail to know of what we are thinking at any given moment. We are also oblivious to the flow of thoughts, we simply drift along in them mindlessly. In the meditation on mindfulness of breathing, or Anapanasathi, we do things differently. There we remain focused, or mindful, on the inhale and exhale of the breath. We willfully reject any other thoughts arising in our minds. We fully retain our focus on the activity of the breath and restrict the propensity of the mind to proliferate and wander. However, during an actual sitting we face the difficulty of not being able to stay focused on the breath even for a few moments. The mind wanders away, completely oblivious. To our dismay, we suddenly realize after a long pause that we are just sitting there day dreaming rather that meditating on the breath. This is a rather common experience and simply points to our lack of mindfulness as yet, which is by no means something for which we blame ourselves. The only recourse is simply to bring our awareness back to a focus on the breath without judging ourselves. We repeatedly do the same at every instance when the mind has wandered away. The effort we make to stay mindful is an exercise unto itself. It will sharpen the mindfulness and improve our ability to stay focused on the breath for longer durations. This process will be aided tremendously if we are under the tutelage of a competent teacher.
Sathipattahana Sutta describes four ways of establishing mindfulness. They are:
- Kayanupassana: Contemplation of the body
- Vedanupassana: Contemplation of feelings
- Chittanupassana: Contemplation of mind
- Dhamupassana: Contemplation of mind contents
The Sutta describes six ways to contemplate the body. Breath happens to be the first and most significant. Vedanupassana focuses attention on the feelings associated with the sensory experience.
Chittanupassana deals with the nature of the mind when it works in conjunction with the sensory experience. We are either attached to sensory input because it makes us happy, or averse because it happens to oppose our inclinations, habits or interests. Chittanupassana also deals with the contemplation of exalted states of the mind. Cultivation of Dammanupassana allows one to know and understand the state of the mind. Progress in Dhammanupassana typically involves identifying how to strengthen weak states of the mind. Dhammanupassana teaches us to identify and abandon restraints arising from the interaction of internal and external sense media so that we can finally awaken to a realization of the four noble truths. The Dhammanupassna describes five mental hindrances that impede one’s progress in taming the discursive mind through meditation. These five clinging conditions articulate how a being or personality (I.mine.ness) is formed when adhering to sensory experience. Cultivation of Dhammanupassana culminates in the development of seven factors of enlightenment that lead to the realization of the four noble truths.