Venerable Anuruddha teaches that the four kinds of mindfulness meditation—regarding body, feelings, mind, and principles—are the noble path to the complete ending of suffering when undertaken with keen awareness.

SN 52.11 A Thousand Eons

Ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā anuruddho sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Atha kho sambahulā bhikkhū yenāyasmā anuruddho tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmatā anuruddhena saddhiṁ …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinnā kho te bhikkhū āyasmantaṁ anuruddhaṁ etadavocuṁ:

“Katamesaṁ āyasmā anuruddho dhammānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā mahābhiññataṁ patto”ti?

“Catunnaṁ khvāhaṁ, āvuso, satipaṭṭhānānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā mahābhiññataṁ patto. Katamesaṁ catunnaṁ? Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, kāye kāyānupassī viharāmi …pe… vedanāsu …pe… citte …pe… dhammesu dhammānupassī viharāmi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ imesaṁ khvāhaṁ, āvuso, catunnaṁ satipaṭṭhānānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā mahābhiññataṁ patto.

Imesañca panāhaṁ, āvuso, catunnaṁ satipaṭṭhānānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā kappasahassaṁ anussarāmī”ti.

Paṭhamaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā anuruddho sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.

At one time Venerable Anuruddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

Atha kho sambahulā bhikkhū yenāyasmā anuruddho tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmatā anuruddhena saddhiṁ …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinnā kho te bhikkhū āyasmantaṁ anuruddhaṁ etadavocuṁ:

Then several mendicants went up to Venerable Anuruddha, exchanged greetings with him … and said:

“Katamesaṁ āyasmā anuruddho dhammānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā mahābhiññataṁ patto”ti?

“What things has Venerable Anuruddha developed and cultivated to attain great direct knowledge?”

“Catunnaṁ khvāhaṁ, āvuso, satipaṭṭhānānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā mahābhiññataṁ patto.

“Reverends, I attained great direct knowledge by developing and cultivating the four kinds of mindfulness meditation.

Katamesaṁ catunnaṁ?

What four?

Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, kāye kāyānupassī viharāmi …pe…

I meditate observing an aspect of the body …

vedanāsu …pe…

feelings …

citte …pe…

mind …

dhammesu dhammānupassī viharāmi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ

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

imesaṁ khvāhaṁ, āvuso, catunnaṁ satipaṭṭhānānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā mahābhiññataṁ patto.

I attained great direct knowledge by developing and cultivating these four kinds of mindfulness meditation.

Imesañca panāhaṁ, āvuso, catunnaṁ satipaṭṭhānānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā kappasahassaṁ anussarāmī”ti.

And it’s because of developing and cultivating these four kinds of mindfulness meditation that I recollect a thousand eons.”

Paṭhamaṁ.

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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Direct knowledge

Direct knowledge

A deep, firsthand realization or knowing that arises from personal experience, not from study or conceptual understanding; it is an immediate, unmediated apprehension of truth.

Also known as: experiential understanding, direct experience
Pāli: abhiñña
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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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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