A POETIC
INTERPRETIVE
TRANSLATION
OF THE
SATIPATTHANA SUTTA
©2017 Jason Siff (originally self-published in 1997)
All rights reserved. Permission must be obtained to use this material in any form whatsoever, including public readings, study groups, or Dharma groups.
Parts One, Two, & Three will be published at a later date. Here is Part Four:
1
How does
a person
meditate
as one who looks deeply into
fundamental truths within mental processes?
Here,
he meditates
on the five-walled cage
that imprisons him in samsara.
How does
a person
meditate
to remove the walls of this cage?
He knows,
I am seeking out sensual pleasures,
or causing harm,
or becoming apathetic and lazy,
active and care-worn,
or doubting
the truth of this teaching.
I know when one of these barriers is present,
that it is present,
and when one of them is absent,
that it is absent.
I know how it is,
that when one of these has not yet arisen,
it will arise again;
and how it is,
when arisen,
it will be abandoned;
and how it is
when completely abandoned,
it will not arise
ever again.
2
Here,
On another aspect of this practice,
a person
meditates
as one who looks deeply into
the fundamental truth within the process
of becoming
and possessing
the five aggregates.
How?
This is my physical form;
it has an origin
and an end.
This is my ability to feel;
it too has an origin
and an end.
This is my ability to perceive;
it too has an origin
and an end.
This is my way of being;
it too has an origin
and an end.
This is my knower of the field;
it too has an origin
and an end.
3
How does
a person
meditate
as one who looks deeply into
the fundamental truth of the process
of the six
internal and external
realms.
He knows
the organ of sight
and visual objects;
the organ of hearing
and sounds;
the organ of smell
and scents;
the organ of taste
and flavors;
the organ of touch
and sensations;
the organ of mind
and its cognitions.
He knows
that upon both parts of each pair
coming together,
in an instant,
a trap ensnares him.
He knows
this process:
the arising of
the dormant traps,
the abandoning of
the arisen traps,
and the non-arising of
the abandoned traps
ever again.
4
How does
a person
meditate
as one who looks deeply into
the fundamental truth of
the process
of the seven limbs
of wisdom?
He knows
when he is aware,
now
and in recollection.
He knows
when he is
investigating into the true nature
of his experience.
He knows
when he is
courageous
and applies himself.
He knows
when he is
flooded with purified
feelings of rapture.
He knows
when he is
calmed, comfortable
and at peace inwardly.
He knows
when he is
within a higher state
of consciousness,
his mind unified,
absorbed,
malleable and light.
And he knows
when he is
looking on,
peacefully,
with wisdom guiding
his vision.
He knows,
When any one of these
limbs of wisdom
is within me,
it leads me onward.
And when none of these
limbs of wisdom
are within me,
I remain where I am.
He knows
how a dormant
limb of wisdom
comes to arise,
and how
an arisen limb of wisdom
can be made to flourish
thoroughly
and fully.
5
On another aspect of this practice,
a person
meditates
as one who looks deeply into
the fundamental truth of
the four-fold knowledge
of his noble quest.
What are the four truths
of his noble quest?
He knows,
as a truth
anchored deep within his heart,
Knowing reveals pain.
He knows,
This pain has its source.
He knows,
This pain has its death.
And
He knows,
This is the path that ends this pain.