This set of slides is from the Satipatthana Workshop conducted by Venerable Aggacitta at Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary between July 26-29, 2012. Permission is given to redistribute without any modifications, for non-commercial purposes only.

1. Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta
Study with Meditation
Workshop
Summary & Conclusion
● Comparison with Satipaṭṭhāna Mūla
● Internal coherence of material
● Comparison with other suttas
● Grand Conclusion
1

2. Comparison with Satipaṭṭhāna Mūla
1) Many additional exercises in Pāli
kāyānupassanā and dhammānupassanā
2) 1st part of Pāli refrain (contemplating
internally, externally & both) is in the
definition of Mūla
3) No vipassanā in refrain of Mūla
4) Vipassanā only in dhammānupassanā
of Mūla
2

3. Internal coherence of material
1) How to contemplate arising and vanishing of
body parts and corpses?
2) Redundancy of refrain & causal investigation
in dhammānupassanā
3) No hard and fast line drawn between concept
and “ultimate reality”
4) For vipassanā contemplation, saṅkhāras are
not restricted to form, citta and cetasika, but
include anything that has the nature of arising
and vanishing 3

4. Comparison with other suttas
1) Sati has a broad range of applications
based on its root meaning: “awareness of
a past object”
2) Sati thus covers: (a) remembering,
(b) recollecting, (c) reminding, (d) looking
back at an immediate past object
3) Sati is not paññā, but is a necessary
condition for it, the groundwork for paññā
4

5. Comparison with other suttas
4) Sati brings the composed mind to be aware of
an object that has just arisen so that paññā can
discern its nature & conditionality
5) Pajānāti (=verb of paññā) ranges from just bare
acknowledgement of an object to intellectual
understanding of and profound insight into the
true nature of sensory experience
6) According to Poṭṭhapāda Sutta (DN 9),
preception (saññā) arises first, followed by
knowledge (ñāṇa) 5

6. Comparison with other suttas
7) Clear knowing is to be applied to all 4
satipaṭṭhānas, not just bodily activities
8) In the Gradual Training templates, postures
& clear knowing precede meditation proper &
should not be included in kāyānupassanā
9) “Having subdued longing and dejection” is
equivalent to sense restraint in the Gradual
Training templates
What is the Gradual Training Template? 6

7. The Gradual Training Template
1. Virtuous in the moral precepts
2. Guarding the doors of the sense faculties
3. Moderation in eating
4. Devotion to wakefulness
5. Mindfulness and clear knowing
6. Resorting to seclusion
7. Abandoning the 5 hindrances
8. Developing the jhānas
Based on GaṇakaMoggallāna Sutta (MN 107) 7

8. Comparison with other suttas
10) According to Kāyagatāsati Sutta (MN 119),
the 14 exercises in kāyānupassanā lead to
samādhi
11) According to Janavasabha Sutta (DN 18)
and Cūlavedalla Sutta (MN 44) the 4
satipaṭṭhānas lead to samādhi
12) Although “samatha” & “vipassanā” are not
explicitly mentioned in MN 10, their features
are there according to other suttas
8

9. Comparison with other suttas
13) According to Vibhaṅga Sutta (SN 47.40),
(a) the establishment of mindfulness
= the definition
(b) the development of the establishment
of mindfulness = contemplating the
nature of arising, of vanishing & of both
(c) the way leading to the development of
the establishment of mindfulness
= Noble Eightfold Path
9

10. Grand Conclusion
1) Practice of 4 satipaṭṭhānas supported by
Factors 1-6 of N8P leads to Right Samādhi
2) Based on the samādhi attained, sati and
saññā take the lead in contemplating the
nature of arising, of vanishing & of both
3) This leads to experiential knowledge and
vision of saṅkhāras as they had occurred
4) When such experiential insight reaches
maturity, it develops into weariness and
detachment, culminating in Liberation 10