Satipaṭṭhāna is the Pāli word for the Buddhist concept of the foundations of mindfulness. The corresponding word in Sanskrit (Skt.) is smṛtyupasthāna and in Chinese it is ‘mindfulness-place’.
The four foundations of mindfulness (Pāli cattāro satipaṭṭhānā) are four practices set out in the Satipatthana Sutta for attaining and maintaining moment-by-moment mindfulness (Sati) and are fundamental techniques in Buddhist meditation. The four foundations of mindfulness are:
- mindfulness of the body;
- mindfulness of feelings or sensations (vedanā);
- mindfulness of mind or consciousness (citta); and
- mindfulness of mental phenomena or mental objects (dhammā).
The Buddha referred to the four foundations for establishing mindfulness as a "direct" or "one-way path" to the realisation of nirvana.
These practices continue to be recognized, taught, and practiced as key techniques for achieving the benefits of mindfulness, especially in modern Theravadan Buddhism and in the Vipassana or Insight Meditation Movement.