- There are three solid translations of the sutta at Access to Insight, one by Nyanasatta Thera, another by Soma Thera, and a third by Thannisaro Bhikkhu.
- There is also an excellent expansion of Soma Thera’s translation, with prefatory essays by Bhikkhu Bodhi and Dr. Cassius A. Pereira, a cogent introduction by the translator, and translations of classical commentaries by Buddhaghosa and others.
- At the Sutta Readings website, there is a wonderful reading of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta by Sally Clough.
- Maurice Walshe’s version of the sutta (Sutta 22) in his translation of the Digha Nikaya, The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya, is graceful and illuminating in his choice of English terms, and he offers some exceptionally helpful notes.
- Bhikkhu Bodhi offers an excellent translation (Sutta 10), also well-annotated, in his book, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya.
- Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation is based on the pioneering work of the Venerable Ñanamoli; in his book-length analysis of the sutta, Sattipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization, the Venerable Anālayo has used the same source as the basis of his own translation. Anālayo’s book is based on his Ph.D. dissertation; it is extremely thorough, convincing, and much more gracefully written and approachable than one would expect, given its provenance.
- There is a new, very good translation of a selection of suttas from the nikayas by the historian Rupert Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha. Gethin’s selection of discourses includes both the Satippatthana Sutta and another sutta on the topic of meditation, the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, which deals with techniques for preventing distracting thoughts from interfering with a meditation session.
- By far the best translation of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta—graceful, colloquial, in a contemporary idiom, and faithful to the Pali text—is in a new anthology, Basic Teachings of the Buddha, by the very interesting and impressive Glenn Wallis; Wallis is one of a new breed of Buddhist teachers, emerging from, of all sources, punk rock (in addition to his Harvard Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies, Wallis is the founder of a punk rock band, Riot, with a large and loyal cult following). Wallis’s translation, which he titles “The Application of Present-Moment Awareness”, is accompanied by a beautifully written and illuminating Guide to the Text. If you don’t have a book of the teachings from the Pali Canon, this is the one to get.
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.
The following is more of a prècis than a translation. I’ve summarized some fairly long sections of the sutta; those are Italicized and in grey type.
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.
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 one way that leads directly 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 simply knows: ‘I breathe in long.’ Breathing out long, he simply knows: ‘I breathe out long.’ Breathing in short, he simply knows: ‘I breathe in short.’ Breathing out short, he simply knows: ‘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, is aware: ‘I turn long;’ or making a short turn, is aware: ‘I turn short’; just so, when a meditator breathes in long, he is aware: ‘I breathe in long’; when he breathes out long, he is aware: ‘I breathe out long’. Breathing in short, he is aware: ‘I breathe in short’; breathing out short, he is aware: ‘I breathe out short.’ He establishes himself in the awareness: ‘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.”
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 cemetery 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 simply knows: ‘I experience a pleasant feeling’; when experiencing a painful feeling, he simply knows: ‘I experience a painful feeling’; when experiencing a neutral feeling, he simply knows: ‘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, simply knowing, ‘I experience sensual desires.’ When no sensual desire is present, the meditator is aware, simply knowing, ‘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, simply knowing, ‘I experience anger.’ When no anger is present, she is aware, simply knowing, ‘I am not experiencing anger.’ She knows how anger arises spontaneously, and how anger fades; she knows 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, simply knowing, ‘I experience doubt.’ When there is no doubt, she is aware, simply knowing, ‘I am not in doubt.’ she knows 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 exist,’ 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.
Once again, in a refrain, the meditator experiences the arising of those dhammas, 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 way that leads directly 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.
