Touching The Infinite: A New Perspective on the Buddha's Four Foundations of Mindfulness

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The Four Foundations of Mindfulness as set out in Satipatthana Sutta are among the most basic of Buddhist teachings, relied upon by Buddhist practitioners across the whole spectrum of schools and traditions. They relate to the four areas to which mindfulness should be applied and maintained as a foundation for awakening. The foundations are (1) Mindfulness of the body, (2) Mindfulness of feelings/sensations, (3) Mindfulness of mind/consciousness, and (4) Mindfulness of dhammas. Rodney Smith provides here a guide to the Four Foundations that provides a solid foundation in the teachings, but that then goes further to show how, when practiced, the foundations lead to the perception of the true nature of things, leading the practitioner to the perception of the formless and then back to daily life infused with that great freedom.The Four Foundations of Mindfulness as set out in Satipatthana Sutta are among the most basic of Buddhist teachings, relied upon by Buddhist practitioners across the whole spectrum of schools and traditions. They relate to the four areas to which mindfulness should be applied and maintained as a foundation for awakening. The foundations are (1) Mindfulness of the body, (2) Mindfulness of feelings/sensations, (3) Mindfulness of mind/consciousness, and (4) Mindfulness of dhammas. Rodney Smith provides here a guide to the Four Foundations that provides a solid foundation in the teachings, but that then goes further to show how, when practiced, the foundations lead to the perception of the true nature of things, leading the practitioner to the perception of the formless and then back to daily life infused with that great freedom.
RODNEY SMITH is founder and guiding teacher of the Seattle Insight Meditation Society and is a senior teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Mass.) He leads at least twenty retreats annually- in the Seattle area, as well as at the Insight Meditation Society; Spirit Rock; Southern Dharma (North Carolina); Austin and Houston, Texas; and British Columbia. Before his retirement he spent many years as a hospice administrator and is also the author of the book Lessons from the Dying (Wisdom, 1998; 13,000 copies), which comes from his experiences in that work.