Pali Term: Satipaṭṭhāna
Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 8:37 pm
Hello Pali friends,
First of all, I would like to share an excerpt from an interview with Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi -
BB: Any language, I have found, has an underlying conceptual scheme built into it by the metaphors that govern its vocabulary and by the connotations and nuances of its words. Thus in translating from one language into another, one is always faced with the problem of dissonance between their two underlying conceptual schemes. This leads to conflicts that often can only be resolved by sacrificing important conceptual connections in the original language for the sake of elegance or intelligibility in the target language. This problem becomes all the more acute when one is translating from an ancient language utilizing a somewhat archaic set of conceptual metaphors into a modern language pertaining to a very different culture.
We can see this problem in some of the simplest Pali words. For instance, the word samadhi can be translated as “concentration, composure, collectedness, mental unification, etc.,” but none of these renderings convey the idea that samadhi denotes a specific meditative state, or set of meditative states, in the Buddhist (and broader Indian) system of spiritual cultivation. Even the word sati, rendered mindfulness, isn’t unproblematic. The word derives from a verb, sarati, meaning “to remember,” and occasionally in Pali sati is still explained in a way that connects it with the idea of memory. But when it is used in relation to meditation practice, we have no word in English that precisely captures what it refers to. An early translator cleverly drew upon the word mindfulness, which is not even in my dictionary. This has served its role admirably, but it does not preserve the connection with memory, sometimes needed to make sense of a passage.
Satipatthana is often translated “foundation of mindfulness,” which sounds elegant; but if one knows Pali one might suspect that the compound represents not sati + patthana (which gives us “foundation of mindfulness”), but sati + upatthana, “establishment of mindfulness” (the u dropping off through union of vowels). Then, if one knows the texts in the original, one will have encountered a number of phrases that pair sati with words related to upatthana, such as upatthitassati, “one with mindfulness established,” but no other phrases that pair it with forms related to patthana. And this would confirm the case for “establishment of mindfulness” over “foundation of mindfulness.” However more graceful the latter might sound, the accent is on the internal process of setting mindfulness up rather than on the object to which it applies.
http://www.inquiringmind.com/Articles/Translator.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There's no word 'paṭṭhāna' in early texts, it first appears in later literature, in title of the 7th book of the Abhidhamma, also called Mahāpakaraṇa.
One of the phrases which pair sati with word related to upaṭṭhāna is well-known:
'parimukhaṃ satiṃ upaṭṭhapetvā' - 'having established remembrance near the mouth'.
Patisambhidamagga describes all four satipaṭṭhānas:
Kāyo upaṭṭhānaṃ, no sati; sati upaṭṭhānañceva sati ca. Tāya satiyā tena ñāṇena taṃ kāyaṃ anupassati. Tena vuccati – ‘‘kāye kāyānupassanāsatipaṭṭhānabhāvanā’’ti.
Vedanā upaṭṭhānaṃ, no sati; sati upaṭṭhānañceva sati ca. Tāya satiyā tena ñāṇena taṃ vedanaṃ anupassati. Tena vuccati – ‘‘vedanāsu vedanānupassanāsatipaṭṭhānabhāvanā’’ti.
Cittaṃ upaṭṭhānaṃ, no sati; sati upaṭṭhānañceva sati ca. Tāya satiyā tena ñāṇena taṃ cittaṃ anupassati. Tena vuccati – ‘‘citte cittānupassanāsatipaṭṭhānabhāvanā’’ti.
Dhammā upaṭṭhānaṃ, no sati; sati upaṭṭhānañceva sati ca. Tāya satiyā tena ñāṇena te dhamme anupassati. Tena vuccati – ‘‘dhammesu dhammānupassanāsatipaṭṭhānabhāvanā’’ti.
In relation with Anapanasati, the Commentary notes:
Pakatiassāsapakatipassāse nissāya uppannanimittampi assāsapassāsāti nāmaṃ labhati. Upaṭṭhānaṃ satīti taṃ ārammaṇaṃ upecca tiṭṭhatīti sati upaṭṭhānaṃ nāma.
'Sati upaṭṭhāna' means that 'sati', having approached, stays on that basis of concentration (ārammaṇa) (i.e. the perceptual image (nimitta) which has arisen due to natural in-and-out-breath).
Patisambhidamagga-Atthakatha 2.509
Therefore, the compound satipaṭṭhāna consists of two words, 'sati' and 'upaṭṭhāna', which can be translated as '(way of) establishing remembrance'.
Metta,
Dmytro
First of all, I would like to share an excerpt from an interview with Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi -
BB: Any language, I have found, has an underlying conceptual scheme built into it by the metaphors that govern its vocabulary and by the connotations and nuances of its words. Thus in translating from one language into another, one is always faced with the problem of dissonance between their two underlying conceptual schemes. This leads to conflicts that often can only be resolved by sacrificing important conceptual connections in the original language for the sake of elegance or intelligibility in the target language. This problem becomes all the more acute when one is translating from an ancient language utilizing a somewhat archaic set of conceptual metaphors into a modern language pertaining to a very different culture.
We can see this problem in some of the simplest Pali words. For instance, the word samadhi can be translated as “concentration, composure, collectedness, mental unification, etc.,” but none of these renderings convey the idea that samadhi denotes a specific meditative state, or set of meditative states, in the Buddhist (and broader Indian) system of spiritual cultivation. Even the word sati, rendered mindfulness, isn’t unproblematic. The word derives from a verb, sarati, meaning “to remember,” and occasionally in Pali sati is still explained in a way that connects it with the idea of memory. But when it is used in relation to meditation practice, we have no word in English that precisely captures what it refers to. An early translator cleverly drew upon the word mindfulness, which is not even in my dictionary. This has served its role admirably, but it does not preserve the connection with memory, sometimes needed to make sense of a passage.
Satipatthana is often translated “foundation of mindfulness,” which sounds elegant; but if one knows Pali one might suspect that the compound represents not sati + patthana (which gives us “foundation of mindfulness”), but sati + upatthana, “establishment of mindfulness” (the u dropping off through union of vowels). Then, if one knows the texts in the original, one will have encountered a number of phrases that pair sati with words related to upatthana, such as upatthitassati, “one with mindfulness established,” but no other phrases that pair it with forms related to patthana. And this would confirm the case for “establishment of mindfulness” over “foundation of mindfulness.” However more graceful the latter might sound, the accent is on the internal process of setting mindfulness up rather than on the object to which it applies.
http://www.inquiringmind.com/Articles/Translator.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There's no word 'paṭṭhāna' in early texts, it first appears in later literature, in title of the 7th book of the Abhidhamma, also called Mahāpakaraṇa.
One of the phrases which pair sati with word related to upaṭṭhāna is well-known:
'parimukhaṃ satiṃ upaṭṭhapetvā' - 'having established remembrance near the mouth'.
Patisambhidamagga describes all four satipaṭṭhānas:
Kāyo upaṭṭhānaṃ, no sati; sati upaṭṭhānañceva sati ca. Tāya satiyā tena ñāṇena taṃ kāyaṃ anupassati. Tena vuccati – ‘‘kāye kāyānupassanāsatipaṭṭhānabhāvanā’’ti.
Vedanā upaṭṭhānaṃ, no sati; sati upaṭṭhānañceva sati ca. Tāya satiyā tena ñāṇena taṃ vedanaṃ anupassati. Tena vuccati – ‘‘vedanāsu vedanānupassanāsatipaṭṭhānabhāvanā’’ti.
Cittaṃ upaṭṭhānaṃ, no sati; sati upaṭṭhānañceva sati ca. Tāya satiyā tena ñāṇena taṃ cittaṃ anupassati. Tena vuccati – ‘‘citte cittānupassanāsatipaṭṭhānabhāvanā’’ti.
Dhammā upaṭṭhānaṃ, no sati; sati upaṭṭhānañceva sati ca. Tāya satiyā tena ñāṇena te dhamme anupassati. Tena vuccati – ‘‘dhammesu dhammānupassanāsatipaṭṭhānabhāvanā’’ti.
In relation with Anapanasati, the Commentary notes:
Pakatiassāsapakatipassāse nissāya uppannanimittampi assāsapassāsāti nāmaṃ labhati. Upaṭṭhānaṃ satīti taṃ ārammaṇaṃ upecca tiṭṭhatīti sati upaṭṭhānaṃ nāma.
'Sati upaṭṭhāna' means that 'sati', having approached, stays on that basis of concentration (ārammaṇa) (i.e. the perceptual image (nimitta) which has arisen due to natural in-and-out-breath).
Patisambhidamagga-Atthakatha 2.509
Therefore, the compound satipaṭṭhāna consists of two words, 'sati' and 'upaṭṭhāna', which can be translated as '(way of) establishing remembrance'.
Metta,
Dmytro