Retelling: Vova Pyatsky and Smadar Pyatsky (based on the translations of the suttas published on Theravada.ru and SuttaCentral.net)
Russian Version: Сатипаттхана сутта, Памятование Основ, Мадджхима Никая 10 | Три Ваджры
Translation to English: Roni Sherman and Marina Sherman
Introduction
Satipathana Sutta virtually repeats Mahasatipathana Sutta, Digha Nikaya 22 word for word. The difference between them is very small. Therefore, the retelling of this sutta, in effect, is repetitive. We offer the reader another way of reading Satipatthana.
The Buddha suggests that four awarenesses lead to the cessation of the extremes of craving and aversion to the world: 1) awareness of the body 2) awareness of the senses 3) awareness of thought 4) awareness of pure consciousness. With these four awarenesses, the disciple is liberated from grief and pain, delusions, purifies their mind and attains nibbana. Therefore these four awarenesses are the foundations of the Path of the cessation of suffering.
Awareness of the Body
Observation of Breath
The foundation in observing breath — is awareness of the relationship between breath and the body. The characteristics of breath are given by describing bodily sensations — inhalation and exhalation occur with strain of the body or with relaxation, breath enters the body deeply or shallowly, it is observed outside or inside the body, or outside and inside.
Practitioners direct their volition on relaxing the body during inhalation and exhalation. Subsequently, aware of the alternation of inhalation and exhalation in the body as the turning of the pottery wheel, they give round, soft and laid-back form both to shallow breathing and deep breathing. Seeing how breath turns the awareness of the body, practitioners perceive the body as a thing, as a pot in the hands of potter-breath. Practitioners are aware of the rise of the corporeal state of awareness, its change, and its disappearance.
The Four Positions of the Body
Observing: “I’m walking”, “I’m standing”, “I’m sitting”, “I’m lying down”, seeing how the internal state changes with the position of the body, relaxing and being vigilant at the same time, meditators cease to be attached to the position of the body (identifying with some position).
Observing the Actions of the Body
Meditators develop attention to the actions of the body — where the eye is focused, whether the limbs are squeezed or extended, whether food is tasted, chewed, or swallowed, whether they are going forward or backwards, defecating, urinating, wearing clothes or taking them off. Meditators are attentive to the actions of the body when they speak or remain silent, fall asleep or wake up. Thus, seeing the changeability of every action of the body, meditators discard preoccupation with the thought “I’m — a body”, acting for the sake of accumulating virtue and nothing more.
The metaphor of the sack of different grain
Meditators look at the body as a sack of skin covered with hairs, nails, and skin fat. Inside this sack — are impurities: the internal organs and their secretions. Seeing the different kinds of internal organs and their secretions, meditators see the contents of the body like a person with good eyesight sees the contents of a sack of different kinds of seed and grain. Thus meditators realize the composite, impure, and devoid of any permanent support nature of the body.
Separation of the awareness of the body into elements
Having learned that the body is like a vessel, impermanent, having renounced the thought “I’m — a body”, seeing the hazy composite content of the body, meditators give rise to the idea of acquiring awareness of the body as composed of pure, great elements. Thus meditators separate all kinds of qualities of the body into manifestations of the elements of earth, water, fire, and air. By separating the qualities of the body in this manner, meditators feel like a butcher separating dead meat into four heaps and sitting between them at the crossroads. Seeing the rise, residence and disappearance of the great elements, meditators learn a straightforward attitude towards the body which is not based on attachment.
Discarding all attachment to the body through cemetery meditation
Meditators reflect on the bodies left by the mind. They think of bodies which became food for predators, birds and worms, decomposed, decayed, turned into dust. “Those bodies are the same as mine, and my body will likewise disappear” — meditators reflect.
Practitioners reflect on scattered bones and do not find any part of the skeleton where there would be an “I”; they reflect on bones collected in a pile, seeing them as a constructed image of “I”. Meditators see bones covered in blood stains, meat, tendons as the stains of the excitement of the mind, sensual thirst, and belief in an “I”. Thus they acquire the knowledge of leaving the body, using the living body with a purified mind for wholesome action.
Awareness of the Senses
Meditators observe two bases and three manifestations in the senses. The two bases of sensation — are gross (the body) and subtle (the mind). The three manifestations — are pleasant, unpleasant, and indefinite. Knowing that the three manifestations of the senses are impermanent, replace one another, arise and disappear, meditators dispose of sensual thirst. Knowing that the body and mind — are the supports of sensual thirst, meditators dispose of craving for existence, gross and subtle. By using the senses without attachment to them, in a convenient manner which leads to the accumulation of virtue, meditators end the thirst for non-existence.
Awareness of thought
Passion, anger and delusion make a thought unwholesome. Freedom from them — is wholesome. Stagnation and absent-mindedness of thought — are unwholesome states of thought, while freedom from them — is wholesome. A thought seated in the four dhyanas — focused on examining one's own state, on the heart, on curbing passion, on equanimity — is wholesome. A thought which can distinguish between wholesome and unwholesome, liberated and unliberated — is wholesome. Thus meditators acquire awareness of thought and guide it skilfully.
Awareness of Pure Consciousness
Pure consciousness is present in the awareness of the body, in the awareness of the senses and in the awareness of thought. Developing awareness of itself, pure consciousness develops remembrance and comprehension of the perfect Teachings transmitted by the Tathagatha. Remembrance and comprehension of these teachings (Dhammas) leads to the awareness of pure consciousness in which suffering is extinguished, to a state beyond which there is nothing more perfect.
The Five Hindrances
Pure consciousness discerns that ill-will and malevolence, narrow-mindedness and indifference, restlessness and anguish, greed and lust, doubts about the absolute value of virtue and the Teaching are hindrances. Realizing the unsatisfactoriness of these qualities, the mind of practitioners is vigilant to their rise, is liberated from following them, and is set on developing the opposite wholesome qualities: goodwill, compassion, peace, giving and taking Refuge in the Triple Gem.
The Five Complexes
Pure consciousness discerns that form, perception, notions, impulses and consciousness — are complexes of particles of ignorance. Meditators discern attachment to these complexes which gives rise to the thought of “I”.
The Six Realms of Sensation
Meditators differentiate between six realms of sensation: the eye with the forms perceived by it, the ear with the sounds perceived by it, the skin with the sensations perceived by it, the nose with the smells perceived by it, the tongue with the tastes perceived by it, the mind with the thoughts perceived by it.
Pure consciousness sees the paths of those realms and becomes liberated from them, not guided by craving for what is pleasant, aversion to what is unpleasant, or indifference to what is neutral. Pure consciousness focuses on one perception or another or discards one perception or another for the sake of the rise and development of wholesome qualities.
The Seven Factors of Enlightenment
Practitioners are aware of pure consciousness thanks to the seven factors of enlightenment:
1. Mindfulness of the impermanence of the body, senses and thought
2. Investigating the qualities of the mind, discernment of pure and impure states, studying the Teaching.
3. Diligent development of wholesome effort in implementing the Teaching
4. Restraint of the mind leading to control of excitement (ecstasy).
5. Sublimity, wholesome purity
6. Residence of the mind in peace and equilibrium
7. Contentment
The Four Truths of the Noble Path
Pure consciousness covers, with the right view, all phenomena, external and internal. The essence of the right view is that there is the suffering of dependence on name and form; there is the cause of suffering — sensual thirst; there is the extinction of suffering, nibbana; there is the noble eightfold path leading to the attainment of nibbana.
Conclusion
The Buddha encourages his disciples, saying that in seven years or less, the diligent development of the four awarenesses will lead, if not to complete liberation, to the state of no-return, in which practitioners, with the dissolution of the visible body, will be reborn in the Pure Abodes and will attain full enlightenment in the heavenly realms.
Author
Retelling: Vova Pyatsky and Smadar Pyatsky (based on the translations of the suttas published on Theravada.ru and SuttaCentral.net)
Russian Version: Сатипаттхана сутта, Памятование Основ, Мадджхима Никая 10 | Три Ваджры
Translation to English: Roni Sherman and Marina Sherman
Introduction
Satipathana Sutta virtually repeats Mahasatipathana Sutta, Digha Nikaya 22 word for word. The difference between them is very small. Therefore, the retelling of this sutta, in effect, is repetitive. We offer the reader another way of reading Satipatthana.
The Buddha suggests that four awarenesses lead to the cessation of the extremes of craving and aversion to the world: 1) awareness of the body 2) awareness of the senses 3) awareness of thought 4) awareness of pure consciousness. With these four awarenesses, the disciple is liberated from grief and pain, delusions, purifies their mind and attains nibbana. Therefore these four awarenesses are the foundations of the Path of the cessation of suffering.
Awareness of the Body
Observation of Breath
The foundation in observing breath — is awareness of the relationship between breath and the body. The characteristics of breath are given by describing bodily sensations — inhalation and exhalation occur with strain of the body or with relaxation, breath enters the body deeply or shallowly, it is observed outside or inside the body, or outside and inside.
Practitioners direct their volition on relaxing the body during inhalation and exhalation. Subsequently, aware of the alternation of inhalation and exhalation in the body as the turning of the pottery wheel, they give round, soft and laid-back form both to shallow breathing and deep breathing. Seeing how breath turns the awareness of the body, practitioners perceive the body as a thing, as a pot in the hands of potter-breath. Practitioners are aware of the rise of the corporeal state of awareness, its change, and its disappearance.
The Four Positions of the Body
Observing: “I’m walking”, “I’m standing”, “I’m sitting”, “I’m lying down”, seeing how the internal state changes with the position of the body, relaxing and being vigilant at the same time, meditators cease to be attached to the position of the body (identifying with some position).
Observing the Actions of the Body
Meditators develop attention to the actions of the body — where the eye is focused, whether the limbs are squeezed or extended, whether food is tasted, chewed, or swallowed, whether they are going forward or backwards, defecating, urinating, wearing clothes or taking them off. Meditators are attentive to the actions of the body when they speak or remain silent, fall asleep or wake up. Thus, seeing the changeability of every action of the body, meditators discard preoccupation with the thought “I’m — a body”, acting for the sake of accumulating virtue and nothing more.
The metaphor of the sack of different grain
Meditators look at the body as a sack of skin covered with hairs, nails, and skin fat. Inside this sack — are impurities: the internal organs and their secretions. Seeing the different kinds of internal organs and their secretions, meditators see the contents of the body like a person with good eyesight sees the contents of a sack of different kinds of seed and grain. Thus meditators realize the composite, impure, and devoid of any permanent support nature of the body.
Separation of the awareness of the body into elements
Having learned that the body is like a vessel, impermanent, having renounced the thought “I’m — a body”, seeing the hazy composite content of the body, meditators give rise to the idea of acquiring awareness of the body as composed of pure, great elements. Thus meditators separate all kinds of qualities of the body into manifestations of the elements of earth, water, fire, and air. By separating the qualities of the body in this manner, meditators feel like a butcher separating dead meat into four heaps and sitting between them at the crossroads. Seeing the rise, residence and disappearance of the great elements, meditators learn a straightforward attitude towards the body which is not based on attachment.
Discarding all attachment to the body through cemetery meditation
Meditators reflect on the bodies left by the mind. They think of bodies which became food for predators, birds and worms, decomposed, decayed, turned into dust. “Those bodies are the same as mine, and my body will likewise disappear” — meditators reflect.
Practitioners reflect on scattered bones and do not find any part of the skeleton where there would be an “I”; they reflect on bones collected in a pile, seeing them as a constructed image of “I”. Meditators see bones covered in blood stains, meat, tendons as the stains of the excitement of the mind, sensual thirst, and belief in an “I”. Thus they acquire the knowledge of leaving the body, using the living body with a purified mind for wholesome action.
Awareness of the Senses
Meditators observe two bases and three manifestations in the senses. The two bases of sensation — are gross (the body) and subtle (the mind). The three manifestations — are pleasant, unpleasant, and indefinite. Knowing that the three manifestations of the senses are impermanent, replace one another, arise and disappear, meditators dispose of sensual thirst. Knowing that the body and mind — are the supports of sensual thirst, meditators dispose of craving for existence, gross and subtle. By using the senses without attachment to them, in a convenient manner which leads to the accumulation of virtue, meditators end the thirst for non-existence.
Awareness of thought
Passion, anger and delusion make a thought unwholesome. Freedom from them — is wholesome. Stagnation and absent-mindedness of thought — are unwholesome states of thought, while freedom from them — is wholesome. A thought seated in the four dhyanas — focused on examining one's own state, on the heart, on curbing passion, on equanimity — is wholesome. A thought which can distinguish between wholesome and unwholesome, liberated and unliberated — is wholesome. Thus meditators acquire awareness of thought and guide it skilfully.
Awareness of Pure Consciousness
Pure consciousness is present in the awareness of the body, in the awareness of the senses and in the awareness of thought. Developing awareness of itself, pure consciousness develops remembrance and comprehension of the perfect Teachings transmitted by the Tathagatha. Remembrance and comprehension of these teachings (Dhammas) leads to the awareness of pure consciousness in which suffering is extinguished, to a state beyond which there is nothing more perfect.
The Five Hindrances
Pure consciousness discerns that ill-will and malevolence, narrow-mindedness and indifference, restlessness and anguish, greed and lust, doubts about the absolute value of virtue and the Teaching are hindrances. Realizing the unsatisfactoriness of these qualities, the mind of practitioners is vigilant to their rise, is liberated from following them, and is set on developing the opposite wholesome qualities: goodwill, compassion, peace, giving and taking Refuge in the Triple Gem.
The Five Complexes
Pure consciousness discerns that form, perception, notions, impulses and consciousness — are complexes of particles of ignorance. Meditators discern attachment to these complexes which gives rise to the thought of “I”.
The Six Realms of Sensation
Meditators differentiate between six realms of sensation: the eye with the forms perceived by it, the ear with the sounds perceived by it, the skin with the sensations perceived by it, the nose with the smells perceived by it, the tongue with the tastes perceived by it, the mind with the thoughts perceived by it.
Pure consciousness sees the paths of those realms and becomes liberated from them, not guided by craving for what is pleasant, aversion to what is unpleasant, or indifference to what is neutral. Pure consciousness focuses on one perception or another or discards one perception or another for the sake of the rise and development of wholesome qualities.
The Seven Factors of Enlightenment
Practitioners are aware of pure consciousness thanks to the seven factors of enlightenment:
1. Mindfulness of the impermanence of the body, senses and thought
2. Investigating the qualities of the mind, discernment of pure and impure states, studying the Teaching.
3. Diligent development of wholesome effort in implementing the Teaching
4. Restraint of the mind leading to control of excitement (ecstasy).
5. Sublimity, wholesome purity
6. Residence of the mind in peace and equilibrium
7. Contentment
The Four Truths of the Noble Path
Pure consciousness covers, with the right view, all phenomena, external and internal. The essence of the right view is that there is the suffering of dependence on name and form; there is the cause of suffering — sensual thirst; there is the extinction of suffering, nibbana; there is the noble eightfold path leading to the attainment of nibbana.
Conclusion
The Buddha encourages his disciples, saying that in seven years or less, the diligent development of the four awarenesses will lead, if not to complete liberation, to the state of no-return, in which practitioners, with the dissolution of the visible body, will be reborn in the Pure Abodes and will attain full enlightenment in the heavenly realms.
