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| A Comparative Study on the Satipa??hāna Sutta in Pāli and Chinese Canon: Centered on the Mindfulness of the Body |
| Lei Xiaoli |
| School of Humanities, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing 102249, China |
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Abstract Against the backdrop of exchanges and mutual learning among Buddhist civilizations, Buddhist textual research has increasingly been based on comparative research on parallel texts representing different schools of Buddhism and preserved in various languages, including Pāli, Chinese, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and others. The Satipa??hāna Sutta (or Sm?tyupasthāna Sūtra in Sanskrit) is an important parallel text that has always been regarded as one of the most important meditation manuals. Meditation techniques taught by popular meditation masters from different lineages today are normally developed based on this scripture. Both the Satipa??hāna Sutta, the 10th discourse of the Majjhima Nikāya in Theravada Tipitaka, and the Sm?tyupasthāna Sūtra, the 98th discourse of the Madhyama ?gama in Chinese Tripitaka, focus on Satipa??hāna practice, but there are some differences in their contents. However, scholars pay insufficient attention to these differences, especially the unique meditation techniques in the Chinese version translated by Sa?ghadeva from the Sarvāstivāda school in 397. This is worth analyzing from the perspective of the historical context of the translation and the cultural heritage of Chinese translator Devadatta.The difference between the Pāli and Chinese versions mainly lies in the mindfulness of the body. Besides, if we investigate the prevalent meditation techniques taught by the main meditation lineages in modern society, they also differ in their choice of meditation subjects for the mindfulness of the body. Before the mindfulness of the body, the Chinese Sm?tyupasthāna Sūtra first simplified the conditions to attract more practitioners, for example, it does not impose specific requirements on the place, posture, etc. It also adjusts the order of meditation techniques to make them more in line with the progressive model of the Satipa??hāna practice. The Pāli Satipa??hāna Sutta recorded six meditation techniques for the mindfulness of the body, while the Chinese version added eight extra meditation techniques, such as the four jhanas and the perception of light (āloka-sa??ā), and replaced the reflections of the four elements of the body with the reflection of six elements. From the perspective of meditation techniques, the adjustments in the Chinese version are not appropriate. Strictly speaking, the fourth jhānas are an internal realization attainable through the practice of mindfulness, whereas the internal space element among the six elements of the body has no arising or passing away and is therefore unsuitable as an object of meditation. However, after studying the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, we find that there are already many precedents for listing the four jhanas and other items—which appear in excess in the Chinese translation—as methods of meditation, and such scriptures are not few in number.The Chinese Sm?tyupasthāna Sūtra should be the result of assimilating other practice techniques under the title of Satipa??hāna. As an important meditation guidebook, the Chinese Sm?tyupasthāna Sūtra takes into account the integrity and balance of meditation subjects and thus absorbs important meditation techniques mentioned in other scriptures, especially those prevalent in China at that time. In addition, borrowing good meditation techniques from other scriptures to expand the content is closely related to the characteristics of the dissemination and development of early Chinese Buddhism. For example, in early Chinese Buddhism, the four jhanas were often regarded as a method of meditation, and deep meditation could help to obtain supernatural power (abhi??ā). In the early days of Buddhism’s introduction to China, supernatural power was an important tool for attracting new followers and won support from rulers. Moreover, the society at that time also attached great importance to supernatural talents. During the Wei and Jin dynasties when Sa?ghadeva translated the Sm?tyupasthāna Sūtra into Chinese, the practice of immortals, holy people, and the idea of the ultimate human were prevalent, and in Buddhism, we could only find the idea of abhi??ā to meet the needs of the mainstream. Finally, although the Sm?tyupasthāna Sūtra provides a wealth of meditation subjects and techniques, practitioners generally do not need to practice the techniques mentioned in this scripture one by one, but may choose one or freely combine several ones according to their capacities and practice habits
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Received: 12 December 2024
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2026, Vol. 56 
