Sayadaw Meditation Satipatthana Vipassana

Foreword

No need to prove that no one likes to suffer and everyone strives for happiness. In our world, people do their best to prevent and alleviate suffering and enjoy happiness. However, their efforts are mainly aimed at physical well-being through material means. Happiness ultimately depends on the position of the mind, and yet few people really think about developing the mind, and even fewer people seriously practice mind training.
To illustrate, consider the daily cleansing and tidying of your body, the endless pursuit of food, clothing and shelter; on the incredible technological progress that has been achieved today to increase material well-being, to improve means of communication and transport, to prevent and treat diseases. All these efforts are mainly related to the care and care of the body. It must be recognized that they are necessary. But these efforts and achievements of mankind cannot alleviate or eliminate the suffering associated with old age and disease, family problems and economic difficulties, in short, associated with unmet needs and desires. Sufferings of this nature cannot be overcome by material means; they are overcome only by training and development of the mind.
In such a case, it becomes clear that one must look for the right way to train, balance and purify the mind. This path is indicated in the Maha Satipatthana Sutta, the famous treatise of the Buddha, spoken more than two and a half thousand years ago. The Buddha declared:
"There is a one-way path for purifying beings, overcoming sorrow and tears, eliminating suffering and troubles, entering the right path, achieving nibbana, namely, the four foundations of awareness."
These four foundations of mindfulness are
(1) contemplation of the body;
(2) contemplation of feelings;
(3) contemplation of the mind;
(4) contemplation of mental objects.
It is obvious that those who strive for happiness must follow this path in order to get rid of the defilements of the mind that cause them suffering.
If you ask someone if he wants to overcome sadness and crying, he will, of course, answer "Yes." In this case, he, and indeed any other person, needs to practice the four foundations of mindfulness.
If you ask someone if he wants to eliminate suffering and trouble, he will not hesitate to answer positively. In this case, he, and indeed any other person, needs to practice the four foundations of mindfulness.
If you ask someone if he wants to get on the right path and achieve Nibbana, he will of course answer "Yes." In this case, he, and indeed any other person, needs to practice the four foundations of mindfulness.
How to practice the four foundations of mindfulness? In the Maha Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha said: "Constantly practice the contemplation of the body, the contemplation of the senses, the contemplation of the mind and the objects of the mind." But without the guidance of a qualified teacher, it will not be easy for the average person to practice these contemplations systematically in order to achieve success in developing concentration and seeing-as-is.
I myself took a very intensive practical course of Satipatthana meditation under the personal guidance of Mingun Jetavan Sayadaw of Thanton. Since 1938, I have taught this meditation technique to several thousand yogis, in person, as well as through books and lectures. At the request of the participants in the first groups, to whom I gave personal instructions, I wrote a monograph on Vipassana meditation (vision-as-is) in two volumes. This monograph was completed in 1944 and went through seven editions. In all chapters except the fifth, scientific calculations and reasoning are given with references to Pali texts, commentaries and subcommentaries. I preferred to write the fifth chapter in a common language, so that those who study with me can easily understand how they need to start, and then go step by step, with a full description of the main points, in accordance with the Visuddhimagga and other sources. Here is the translation of this fifth chapter. The first fourteen pages of the Burmese original were translated into English in 1954 by U Pe Tin, my longtime student, for those who came to our meditation center from abroad. Pages 15 to 51 of the Burmese original were translated into English at the request of Nyanaponika Mahathera by my student Myanong U Tin. By the way, it may be mentioned that our Sasana Yeiktha meditation center is now almost ten hectares in area, with more than fifty buildings housing meditation teachers and yogis, monks and lay people, both men and women.[1]
The venerable Nyanaponika Mahathera brought this translation to its final literary form, having received approval for its valuable suggestions. Wu Bae Ting's translation was edited and stylistically improved by Mrs. Mary McCollum, an American Buddhist. She practiced satipatthana meditation under the guidance of Angarika Munindra in Burma Vihara, in the city of Bodh Gaya, Bihar Province, India. Angarika Munindra stayed in our center for a long time. He sent us the revised version for consideration and approval. After that, the translation was given to Nyanaponika Mahathera. Thus, this book is a combined and joint edition of the two above-mentioned translations, with the addition of my preface. The fifth chapter of my Burmese monograph, as I have said, is written in a public style. I would like to say that those Buddhist terms that are given in this book without Pali equivalents are fully explained in The Progress of Insight, a translation of my work from Pali into English by the venerable Nyanaponics of Mahathera. His book The Heart of Buddhist Meditation is in itself a treasure trove of information and guidance on this extremely important topic.
In conclusion, I would like:
(1) to say that I am deeply grateful for the help of those who have done the translation and editing, as well as those who have undertaken the publication of this book,
(2) to urge the readers of this book not to confine themselves to the theoretical knowledge contained therein, but to apply this knowledge to systematic and persistent practice, and
(3) to express my sincere desire that they soon have the vision-as-is and enjoy all the benefits that the Buddha described in the introduction to the Maha Satipatthana Sutta.

Bhaddantha Sobhana
Agga Maha Pandita
Mahasi Sayadaw
October 1, 1970

Saasana Yita
16 Hermitage Road
Rangoon, Burma

Book One: Through Mindfulness to Seeing-As-Is
"Namo Buddhasa"
Glory to the Fully Awakened

Moral Conduct, Concentration and Wisdom
Having come to the Buddha's teachings, it is essential to develop the virtues of moral conduct (strength), concentration (samadhi), and wisdom (panna). Without a doubt, one must possess these three virtues.
For the laity, the minimum measure of moral behavior is the observance of the "five rules[2]". For monks, it is the observance of the Patimokha, the code of monastic discipline. Everyone who is well disciplined in moral conduct will be reborn in a happy world as a man or a deva (god).
But such a common form of earthly morality (lokiya-sila) is not a guarantee against returning to lower states of painful existence, such as hell, the world of animals, or the world of peta[3] (spirits). Therefore, it is desirable to develop in oneself a higher form of transcendental morality (lokuttara-sila). When a person fully acquires the virtue of such a morality, he is not in danger of returning to lower states, and he will always lead a happy life, being reborn as a man or a deva[4] (god). Therefore, everyone should consider it his duty to develop transcendental morality.
He who makes sincere effort and perseverance has every hope of success. It would be a pity if someone does not take advantage of this great opportunity to master the highest qualities, because such a person will inevitably sooner or later become a victim of his own bad karma, which will throw him into the lower states of a painful existence in hell, the world of animals, or the world of pet (spirits)where the lifetime is hundreds, thousands, millions of years. Therefore, it is emphasized here that the encounter with the Buddha's teaching is a unique opportunity to develop the morality of the path[5] (magga-sila) and the morality of the fruit[6] (phala-sila).
But it is not recommended to work only on moral behavior. It is also necessary to practice samadhi, or concentration. The ordinary, undisciplined mind is used to wandering somewhere. It cannot be controlled, it follows every idea, thought, imagination, etc. To prevent this wandering, the mind must be directed again and again to the chosen object of concentration. With practice, the mind gradually discards what it was distracted by and fixes itself on the object to which it is directed. This is samadhi (concentration).
There are two types of samadhi: earthly (lokiya-samadhi) and transcendental concentration (lokuttara-samadhi). The first of these consists of the earthly jhanas[7], that is, the four rupa jhanas and the four arupa jhanas of the formless world. They can be achieved through the practice of meditation on tranquility (samatha-bhavana) by methods such as meditation on breathing (anapana),[8] friendliness (metta), meditation on kasinas,[9] etc. One who masters them, reborn on the plane of brahma[10]. The life span of Brahma is very long and lasts one, two, four or eight world cycles, up to 84.000 world cycles. But at the end of his life span, brahma will die and be reborn as a human or a deva.
If a person leads a virtuous life all the time, he can live a happy life on a higher level of existence, but because he is not free from the kiles[11] (defilements) of attachment, aversion and delusion, he may commit unworthy acts in many cases. Then he will become a victim of his bad karma and be reborn in hell or in other low states of painful existence. Therefore, earthly concentration (lokiya-samadhi) is also an unreliable guarantee.