satipatthana

The meaning of Satipatthana
Sati+patthana
Or
Sati+pa+(t)thana
The world sati derive from the room meaning “ to remember” (samsarati), but as a mental factor it signifies` presence of mind,attentiveness to the present,awareness,wakefulness and heedfulness’, rather than the facully of memory of the past.
Patthan means “close, firm and steadfast establishment,application,setting up”.
Combining these two elements, the meaning of the compound becomes “close,firm and steadfast establishment of awareness on the object of observation”.This kind of awareness is also called suppatitthita sati, “teadfast mindfulness”.
The four foundation of mindfulness have a single essence-mindful contemplation of natural phe-nomena.They are differentiated insofar as this mindful contemplation is applied to four objects:1.the body(kaya);2.the feelings(vedana);3.states of consciousness(citta);and 4.mental objects as the five hindrances,the five aggregates, the six sense bases and six sense objects(general activities),the seven factors of enlightenment and the four noble truths.
Sati
“ Mindfulness” has come to be the accepted English translation of the term sati.However,this is an incomplete trndering.`Observing power” is a more adequate translation.The full scope of its meaning will be explained examining its various aspects,such as characteristic, function,manifestation,proximate cause and the further distinguishing factors of mindfulness.
Sati has the chracteristic of not wobbling;that is,of not floating away from the object(apilapanalakkhana).The commentators have give the simle of a dried, hollow pumpkin thrown in to water. The cork of pumpkin will pop up and down on the surface of the water.In the same way, the nothing and observing mind should not skin over the object in a superficial manner.Instead, the mind should sink or plunge in to the object of observation, just as when a stone is thrown in to water it will sink or plunge to the bottom.
Suppose you are watching your abdome as the object of your satipatthana practice.you try to be very firm, focusing your attention on the main object so that the mind will not skip off. Instead, rising and falling. As the mind penetrates this process,you can comprehend its true nature:tension,pressure,movement and so on.