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 52.7 The Ending of Craving

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

Tatra kho āyasmā anuruddho bhikkhū āmantesi: “āvuso bhikkhavo”ti.

“Āvuso”ti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato anuruddhassa paccassosuṁ. Āyasmā anuruddho etadavoca:

“Cattārome, āvuso, satipaṭṭhānā bhāvitā bahulīkatā taṇhākkhayāya saṁvattanti. Katame cattāro? Idhāvuso, bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati …pe… vedanāsu …pe… citte …pe… dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ ime kho, āvuso, cattāro satipaṭṭhānā bhāvitā bahulīkatā taṇhākkhayāya saṁvattantī”ti.

Sattamaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

At Sāvatthī.

Tatra kho āyasmā anuruddho bhikkhū āmantesi:

There Venerable Anuruddha addressed the mendicants:

“āvuso bhikkhavo”ti.

“Reverends, mendicants!”

“Āvuso”ti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato anuruddhassa paccassosuṁ.

“Reverend,” they replied.

Āyasmā anuruddho etadavoca:

Anuruddha said this:

“Cattārome, āvuso, satipaṭṭhānā bhāvitā bahulīkatā taṇhākkhayāya saṁvattanti.

“Reverends, when these four kinds of mindfulness meditation are developed and cultivated they lead to the ending of craving.

Katame cattāro?

What four?

Idhāvuso, bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati …pe…

It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body …

vedanāsu …pe…

feelings …

citte …pe…

mind …

dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ

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

ime kho, āvuso, cattāro satipaṭṭhānā bhāvitā bahulīkatā taṇhākkhayāya saṁvattantī”ti.

When these four kinds of mindfulness meditation are developed and cultivated they lead to the ending of craving.”

Sattamaṁ.

Topics & Qualities:

Craving

Craving

A driving ‘thirst’ that reaches out toward experiences, identities, or outcomes as the place to find satisfaction—“if only I had that.” It spins stories of lack, binds the mind to becoming, and invariably leads to suffering.

Also known as: wanting, yearning, longing, lit. thirst
Pāli: taṇha, abhijjhā
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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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Ending

Ending

The complete exhaustion and ending of craving, aversion, and delusion—the three roots of suffering. It refers to both the gradual wearing away of defilements through practice and the final cessation that constitutes Nibbāna.

Also known as: cessation, exhaustion, gradual ending, wearing away
Pāli: khaya, khīṇa, nirodha
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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