The Buddha teaches the four establishments of mindfulness—body, feelings, mind, and principles—as the direct path for the purification of beings, the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, and the realization of extinguishment.

SN 47.16 With Uttiya

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

Atha kho āyasmā uttiyo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā uttiyo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “sādhu me, bhante, bhagavā saṅkhittena dhammaṁ desetu, yamahaṁ bhagavato dhammaṁ sutvā eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto vihareyyan”ti.

“Tasmātiha tvaṁ, uttiya, ādimeva visodhehi kusalesu dhammesu. Ko cādi kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ? Sīlañca suvisuddhaṁ, diṭṭhi ca ujukā. Yato ca kho te, uttiya, sīlañca suvisuddhaṁ bhavissati, diṭṭhi ca ujukā, tato tvaṁ, uttiya, sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya cattāro satipaṭṭhāne bhāveyyāsi.

Katame cattāro? Idha tvaṁ, uttiya, kāye kāyānupassī viharāhi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ; vedanāsu …pe… citte …pe… dhammesu dhammānupassī viharāhi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ. Yato kho tvaṁ, uttiya, sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya ime cattāro satipaṭṭhāne evaṁ bhāvessasi, tato tvaṁ, uttiya, gamissasi maccudheyyassa pāran”ti.

Atha kho āyasmā uttiyo bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinanditvā anumoditvā uṭṭhāyāsanā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā pakkāmi. Atha kho āyasmā uttiyo eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto viharanto nacirassevayassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁbrahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsi.

“Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthattāyā”ti abbhaññāsi. Aññataro ca panāyasmā uttiyo arahataṁ ahosīti.

Chaṭṭhaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

At Sāvatthī.

Atha kho āyasmā uttiyo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā uttiyo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

Then Venerable Uttiya went up to the Buddha … and asked him,

“sādhu me, bhante, bhagavā saṅkhittena dhammaṁ desetu, yamahaṁ bhagavato dhammaṁ sutvā eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto vihareyyan”ti.

“Sir, may the Buddha please teach me Dhamma in brief. When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.”

“Tasmātiha tvaṁ, uttiya, ādimeva visodhehi kusalesu dhammesu.

“Well then, Uttiya, you should purify the starting point of skillful qualities.

Ko cādi kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ?

What is the starting point of skillful qualities?

Sīlañca suvisuddhaṁ, diṭṭhi ca ujukā.

Well purified ethics and correct view.

Yato ca kho te, uttiya, sīlañca suvisuddhaṁ bhavissati, diṭṭhi ca ujukā, tato tvaṁ, uttiya, sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya cattāro satipaṭṭhāne bhāveyyāsi.

When your ethics are well purified and your view is correct, you should develop the four kinds of mindfulness meditation, depending on and grounded on ethics.

Katame cattāro?

What four?

Idha tvaṁ, uttiya, kāye kāyānupassī viharāhi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ;

Meditate observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world.

vedanāsu …pe…

Meditate observing an aspect of feelings …

citte …pe…

mind …

dhammesu dhammānupassī viharāhi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ.

principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world.

Yato kho tvaṁ, uttiya, sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya ime cattāro satipaṭṭhāne evaṁ bhāvessasi, tato tvaṁ, uttiya, gamissasi maccudheyyassa pāran”ti.

When you develop these four kinds of mindfulness meditation, depending on and grounded on ethics, you’ll cross beyond Death’s dominion.”

Atha kho āyasmā uttiyo bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinanditvā anumoditvā uṭṭhāyāsanā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā pakkāmi.

And then Venerable Uttiya approved and agreed with what the Buddha said. He rose from his seat, bowed, and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before leaving.

Atha kho āyasmā uttiyo eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto viharanto nacirassevayassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁbrahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsi.

Then Uttiya, living alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute, soon realized the supreme end of the spiritual path in this very life. He lived having achieved with his own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.

“Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthattāyā”ti abbhaññāsi.

He understood: “Rebirth is ended; the spiritual journey has been completed; what had to be done has been done; there is nothing further for this place.”

Aññataro ca panāyasmā uttiyo arahataṁ ahosīti.

And Venerable Uttiya became one of the perfected.

Chaṭṭhaṁ.

Topics & Qualities:

Cultivation

Cultivation

The active practice of 'bringing into being' wholesome states. It is the deliberate nurturing of the bright state of mind.

Also known as: development, improvement, meditation, nurturing, growth
Pāli: bhāvanā
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Displeasure

Displeasure

A feeling of mental pain or a disagreeable feeling or unease born of mental contact.

Also known as: mental pain, mental distress, melancholy, sadness
Pāli: domanassa
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Greed

Greed

A grasping mental quality of craving, possessiveness, or lustful wanting that clings to objects or experiences; it fuels attachment and obstructs renunciation and contentment

Also known as: acquisitiveness, avarice, covetousness, rapacity, money grabbing, grabbiness
Pāli: lobha, gedha
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Jealousy

Jealousy

A painful mental state that arises when seeing the good fortune or qualities of others. It begrudges what others have and resents their happiness, closing the heart to appreciative joy.

Also known as: covetousness, envy, possessiveness, protective of, unwilling to part with
Pāli: issā
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Jhana

Jhana

An abiding with a steady, collected awareness that is attained through seclusion from the five hindrances and unwholesome mental states. When supported by right view, a jhāna can be a basis for the wearing away of taints and directing the mind toward the vision of Nibbāna.

Also known as: meditation, undistracted awareness, absorption, mental absorption
Pāli: jhāna, samāhita, susamāhita, sammāsamādhi
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Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Active presence of mind and lucid retention; the faculty that remembers the Dhamma, anchors attention to the chosen object or present experience, and guards the mind against unwholesome states.

Also known as: recollecting, remembering, keeping in mind, presence, awareness
Pāli: sati, anussati
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Last updated on July 27, 2026