The present work, which is the combined outcome of my Ph.D. research at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka and my own practical experience as a meditating monk, attempts a detailed exploration of the significance and the practice of mindfulness meditation according to its exposition in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, and placed within its early Buddhist canonical and philosophical context.
Mindfulness and the proper way of putting it into practice are certainly topics of central relevance for anyone keen to tread the Buddha’s path to liberation. Yet for a proper understanding and implementation of mindfulness meditation the original instructions by the Buddha on satipaṭṭhāna need to be taken into consideration. In view of this, my inquiry is in particular concerned with the discourses recorded in the four main Nikāyas and the historically early parts of the fifth Nikāya as centrally important source material.
Satipaṭṭhāna is a matter of practice. In order to ensure that my exploration has practical relevance, I have consulted a selection of modern meditation manuals and related publications. The nature of this selection has been mainly a matter of availability, yet I hope to have included a fairly representative number of meditation teachers. Apart from these, I have also relied on various academic monographs and articles on early Buddhism in order to illustrate the philosophical framework and historical context within which the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta is to be understood. These provide the background information for understanding particular passages or expressions in the discourse.
To help maintain text flow and readability, I have kept the main body of the text as free as possible from direct quotations and tangential observations. Instead, I have made extensive use of footnotes, which provide references of interest and discussions of additional information. The general reader may prefer to focus on the body of the text during a first reading, and only turn to the information in the footnotes during a second reading.
My exposition follows the sequence of the passages in the discourse as closely as possible. At the same time, however, my treatment is not restricted to simple comments, but allows for minor digressions in order to explore relevant points and to provide a background for better understanding the section under discussion.
The first chapter deals with general aspects and terminology in relation to satipaṭṭhāna. The next three chapters are concerned with the second paragraph of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the “definition”, especially with the implications of sati and the role of concentration. In the fifth chapter I turn to a set of general instructions repeated throughout the discourse after each meditation exercise, the “refrain”. With the sixth chapter I begin to examine the actual exercises of the “direct path” of mindfulness meditation, concerned with contemplating the body, feelings, mind, and dhammas. At the end of this examination of the individual meditation practices I turn to the final paragraph of the discourse and to the implications of Nibbāna. By way of conclusion, I try to highlight some key aspects of satipaṭṭhāna and to evaluate its importance.
In general, my purpose in the present inquiry is less to prove and establish a particular point of view than to provide suggestions and reflections in the hope of opening up new perspectives in regard to satipaṭṭhāna, and in the hope of inspiring the reader to engage in its actual practice.