Practise all seven contemplations in one sitting
Move through anatomy, elements, mortality, feeling tone, mind, hindrances and awakening factors as one integrated session.
Pourquoi ça marche
Anālayo’s practice guide arranges the discourse into a sequence of seven contemplations that can be done in a single sitting, each one held for a while before moving to the next, with whole-body awareness as the base throughout. Practising the whole map — rather than only the breath — keeps attention interested and gives mindfulness a wider range of objects, which the tradition regards as what makes satipaṭṭhāna a path to insight rather than only a relaxation technique.
Comment faire
- Begin with a few minutes of whole-body awareness.
- Move through the three body contemplations — anatomy, elements, mortality — a few minutes each.
- Shift to feeling tone, then to the state of the mind, then to whichever hindrance or awakening factor is present.
- Return to whole-body awareness to close. Over time, let the pace be set by what is alive rather than by a timer.
- On days when one contemplation is plenty, stay with it — the sequence is a map, not a test.
Données probantes
Mindfulness-based programs, which grew out of this tradition, show moderate evidence for improving anxiety, depression and pain in a large systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials. That evidence is for modern program packages, not for this seven-part sequence, which has not been trialled as such. (rct)
The RCT evidence is for mindfulness programs generally, at moderate strength; it does not test the satipaṭṭhāna sequence itself. Intensive insight practice can also bring unexpected difficulties — see the research on meditation-related challenges below.
Sources
- Goyal, M., Singh, S., Sibinga, E. M. S., et al. (2014). Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Internal Medicine, 174(3), 357–368.
- Anālayo, B. (2018). Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation: A Practice Guide. Cambridge: Windhorse Publications.
Erreur fréquente
Rushing through all seven to “complete” the map — the guide’s point is to stay with each until it is actually felt, even if that means only reaching two or three.
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Plus de pratiques pour Satipaṭṭhāna: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
- Know the body in its postures and activities
Keep a light awareness of whether you are walking, standing, sitting or lying down — and of what you are doing as you do it.
- Scan the body as its anatomical parts
Move attention through skin, flesh and bones to see the body as made of parts rather than as one fixed thing to defend or admire.
- Feel the body as the four elements
Notice hardness, fluidity, temperature and movement in the body as qualities rather than as “me.”
- Recollect that the body will die
Bring to mind, calmly, that this body is subject to death — so what matters now comes into focus.
- Notice the feeling tone of each experience
Catch whether a moment feels pleasant, unpleasant or neutral before you react to it.
- Recognise the state of your mind as a state
Know the mind as “with anger,” “distracted,” or “settled” — a weather pattern you can see, not a truth you are inside.
- Watch the hindrances and the factors of awakening come and go
Notice when desire, ill will, dullness, restlessness or doubt is present — and when mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, calm, concentration and equanimity are.
- Know what to do if practice brings up difficulty
Recognise that mindfulness can surface fear, old memories or disorientation — and adjust instead of pushing through.
Concepts associés
- La méditation vipassana, rendue pratique
Intuition, équanimité et l'approche du scan corporel pour se libérer de la réactivité
- La pratique de notation, rendue pratique
Étiqueter, observer, revenir — la technique de notation et pourquoi elle change votre relation à la pensée
- Les cinq obstacles : diagnostiquer et travailler avec les obstacles à la méditation
Nommer précisément l'obstacle — puis appliquer l'antidote spécifique
- Anicca : travailler concrètement avec l'impermanence
Voir le changement directement, pas juste y croire — et pourquoi cette différence change tout