The Mahasatipatthana Sutta: A Discourse on Mental Development. In Buddhism, the discourse on the main principle practice for mental development is the Mahasatipatthana Sutta. As a compound term, satipatthana can be broken down in two ways, either as sati-patthana, foundation of mindfulness; or as sati-upatthana, establishing of mindfulness. Maha is the prefix that means “great”. So Mahasatipatthana means the great foundation of mindfulness. This sutta is regarded as the canonical Buddhist text with the fullest instructions on the system of meditation technique that the Buddha taught. What the Buddha shows in this discourse is the tremendous power that can unfold from the mind’s potentials culminating in final deliverance from unsatisfactoriness."This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and distress, for the attainment of the right method, and for the realization of Unbinding”.
(Digha Nikaya 22)
This discourse is a means for generating insight (vipassana) and concentration (samatha). At the end of discourse, the Buddha strongly states that one who follows what the discourse says will surely attain the highest truth. The Mahasatipatthana Sutta is divided into four sections as follows:
Kayanupassana contemplation of the body;
Vedananupassana contemplation of feelings;
Cittanupassana contemplation of the mind;
Dhammanupassana contemplation of Dhammas.
The key to the practise is to combine energy (viriya), mindfulness (sati) and clear comprehension (sampajanna) to the phenomena of mind and body.
To successfully practise, a student will generally require a sound theoretical knowledge of the practice along with actual training. The theoretical knowledge should be based on the Mahasatipatthana Sutta. The actual training descriptions, which are well known among Thai Buddhists or even aboard and have been practised for centuries, will be presented in the next chapters. Here is a brief description of the Mahasatipatthana Sutta that new students can study to understand the overall picture of the discourse. This information quotes from the original source of the Buddha’s teachings in the sutta.
One important thing that should be made clear before talking about the sutta is who is suitable to practise this sutta as taught by the Buddha. As mentioned in the sutta, the Buddha directly taught this sutta to monks. So, what did the Buddha say to the monks that had been passed down for over 2500 years and is suitable for lay people in the modern world? The Buddha’s teachings are never old because they are the Truth that exists in the universe forever. Sakayamuni Buddha, the present Buddha, and many Buddhas who were born in the past and will be born in the future discovered the Truth and delivered it to the people. The Buddhas did not claim that they created the Dhammas and taught them to people. The Mahayana Buddhism interestingly explains the Buddha as of two kinds: the natural Buddha and the actual Buddha. The former refers to the Truth that is forever inherent in the universe. The latter refers to the human Buddha who attained the Truth. Therefore, even if the Buddha’s teachings that have been passed down to us for 2500 years, they are not old teachings that modern people cannot understand. The Truth is the Truth and that cannot be changed. Whoever follows the Buddha’s teachings, will attain the same enlightenment as the Buddha and his Sangha in ancient times. The question is, “Who is suitable to practise this sutta?” The simple answer is all people because the Buddha’s teachings are not specific to any group, race, or religion. Even if, as mentioned in the sutta and many places in the scriptures that the Buddha directly taught this to monks, it does not mean that those teachings are not suitable for lay people. The Buddha chose and taught the Dhamma that was right for his audience. As told in the suttas, after listening to the Buddha’s sermon, many audiences reached enlightenment. Therefore, the monks in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta refer to those who are ready to listen to this sutta and will finally reach enlightenment. Therefore, “monk” in this sense does not only refer to monks or monastic people, but also refers to lay people who have an inspiration to dedicate their life to follow the path until they reach enlightenment.
Kayanupassana: This exercise aims to develop insight- seeing the body as it truly is. Commonly, we cling to our body as beauty, desirability, attractiveness, ego, etc. because ignorance and craving dominate our mind. There are six divisions in this exercise. All quotes come from the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, Digha Nikaya 22.The
Mahasatipatthana Sutta: A Discourse on Mental Development - Pinayo Prommuang
Translated by: Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu
