Stearns, Cyrus. Luminous Lives: The Story of the Early Masters
of the Lam ‘Bras Tradition in Tibet.Boston: Wisdom Publi-
cations, 2001.
RONALDM. DAVIDSONS ́ASTRA. SeeCommentarial Literature
SATIPATTHANA-SUTTA
The Satipatthana-sutta(Discourse on the Foundations
of Mindfulness) is one of the most important exposi-
tions of Buddhist meditation in the Pali canon and in
the THERAVADAschool. The discourse enumerates
twenty-one meditation practices for the cultivation of
MINDFULNESS(Pali, sati; Sanskrit, smrti) under a four-
fold rubric called the four foundations of mindfulness.
The four foundations are extolled as the one path lead-
ing to the realization of NIRVANA. The first foundation,
“contemplation of the body” (kayanupassana), in-
cludes fourteen practices: mindfulness of breathing,
mindfulness of postures, full awareness of bodily ac-
tions, contemplation of bodily impurities, contempla-
tion of elements, and nine cemetery meditations. The
second foundation, “contemplation of feeling” (veda-
nanupassana), consists of one practice: mindfulness of
sensations (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral). The third
foundation, “contemplation of mind” (cittanupassana)
is also a single practice: mindfulness of states of mind,
such as lust, hatred, and liberation. The fourth foun-
dation, “contemplation of mind-objects” (dhammanu-
passana), includes five meditations on specific
categories of dharmas: the five hindrances, the five
SKANDHA(AGGREGATES), the six sense bases, the seven
enlightenment factors, and the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS.
In every exercise, the practitioner is directed to observe
the object of meditation simply as it is with bare at-
tention and without attachment.
The text claims that correct practice of the four
foundations of mindfulness will lead to enlightenment
in as little as seven days. An expanded version of this
text named the Mahasatipatthana-suttais also found
in the Pali canon. Since the beginning of the twentieth
century, the Satipatthana-suttahas become especially
influential as the scriptural foundation for the modern
revival and popularization of insight meditation prac-
tice (vipassana) in the Theravada countries of South
and Southeast Asia.
See also:Vipassana(Sanskrit, Vipas ́yana)Bibliography
Bhikkhu Ñanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans. “The Founda-
tions of Mindfulness.” In The Middle Length Discourses of the
Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya.Boston: Wis-
dom, 1995.
Nyanaponika Thera. The Heart of Buddhist Meditation (Sati-
patthana): A Handbook of Mental Training Based on the Bud-
dha’s Way of Mindfulness.London: Rider, 1962.PATRICKA. PRANKESATORI (AWAKENING)Satori(Chinese, wu) is a term used principally in the
CHAN SCHOOLto designate momentary episodes of
transforming disclosure or insight that prompt further
progress on the PATH. A practitioner may experience
multiple satori, which may be of greater or lesser in-
tensity. One’s first satori, sometimes defined as “seeing
one’s [buddha] nature” (Chinese, jianxing; Japanese,
kensho), is typically regarded as especially important.
Popular conceptions of Zen tend to portray satori as a
sudden breakthrough in which intuition solves an oth-
erwise intractable problem or dilemma. In Japanese
Buddhist contexts, satori and its verb form satoru(to
discern, to comprehend) frequently translate the Chi-
nese terms jue(to become aware), wu(to compre-
hend), and zheng(to authenticate). Although satoriis
commonly translated as “awakening” or “enlighten-
ment,” it is to be distinguished from the related term
BODHI(AWAKENING).See also:Zen, Popular Conceptions ofROBERTM. GIMELLOSAUTRANTIKAThe term Sautrantikameans “those who rely upon the
sutras.” The Sautrantika mainstream Indian Buddhist
school represented a dissenting doctrinal party within
the Sarvastivada school, which was referred to by their
Sarvastivadin opponents as Darstantika. The Sautran-
tika school rejected the authority of a separate ABHID-
HARMAcollection and adopted a doctrinal position of
extreme momentariness, whereby only present activ-
ity exists.S ́ASTRA