The Four Sathipatanas - how to practice

Sattanang Visutiya

Sokaparitewanang Samatikamaya

Dukkhatomanassaanang Adtangkamaya

Yaayassa Atikamaya

Nibbanassa Saccikiriyaya

(For the purification of all beings, for the liberation from sadness and loss and suffering, for realising Dhammas which should be known, and for attaining Nibbana).

The main Cetegories of practice contained within the Sathipatana Sutta are such;

1. Kayanupassana Sathipatana – Cultivate Minfulness of the Body

2. Vedhananupassana Sathipatana – Cultivate Minfulness of the feelings

3. Cittanupassana Sathipatana – Cultivate Minfulness of the thoughts andmind

4. Dhammanupassana Sathipatana- Cultivate Minfulness of all Dhammas (phenomena)

Kayanupassana;

Kayanupassana consists of making an effort to maintain conscious mindfulness and observation whilst examining various aspects of the body. Kayanupassana is split into 6 methods of practice.

• Anapanasathi - Applying mindfulness of the breath (only the first four of the 16 levels of breath practices)
• Iriyabhada – Mindfulness of bodilymovements and changing position.
• Sampajjanya – Mindfulness of all goings on within and without.
• Patikulanamasikara – Mindful examination of the unclean or unsavoury parts of the body.
• Dhatumanasikara – Mindfulness of the parts of the body whilst noting how all parts can be resuced to being composed of 4 elements.
• Navasivatika – Mindful examination of a corpse in 9 stages of decomposition.

Vedhananupassana

Vedhananupassana consists of making an effort to maintain conscious mindfulness and observation whilst examining the feelings, sensations and emotions. The feelings are split into three categories

• Sukhavedhana -Pleasant feelings
• Tugkhavedhana -Unpleasant feelings
• Atugkhamasukhamavedhana (or, Upekhavedhana) – neither pleasurable or unpleasurable – neutral feeling.

Cittanupassana;

Cittanupassana consists of making an effort to maintain conscious mindfulness and observation whilst examining the mind and thoughts. Thi examination is categorized into a list of 8 pairs of mind states which should be observed and examined;

• Examination of the mind which has Desire (Greed/Raka), and that which has no Desire.
• Examination of the mind which has Anger (Tosa), and that which has noAnger.
• Examination of the mind which has  Moha ( Ignorance/falling into fascination or illusions with things)
• Examination of the mind which has Paranoia and worry, and that which has no Paranoia or worry.
• Examination of the mind which has Mahakkata (Jhana) and that which has no Jhana.
• Examination of the mind which has Arupavajorati (4th Jhana/formlessness), and that which has not (Rupavajorati).
• Examination of the mind which has attained Samadhi (one pointed concentration) and that which has not.
• Examination of the mind which has become Enlightened, and that which has not become Enlightened.

Dhammanupassana;

Dhammanupassana consists of making an effort to maintain conscious mindfulness and observation whilst examining all the Dhammas. In this case, Dhammas means all phenomena which do not come under the ones previously mentioned in the first three Sathipatanas (Kayanupassana, Vedhananupassana and Cittanupassana). I say this, because the things mentioned in the first three Sathipatanas are also Dhammas (as is everything you can think of also a Dhamma). The examination of the Dhammas is split into 5 groups for examination;

• The 5 Nivarana.
• 5 Khandas (five aggregates)
• 12 Ayatana (6 Inner and 6 outer senses)
• 7 Bojjhangas (7 factors of enlightenment)
• 4 Ariyasacca (four noble Truths)