Reference: The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness
Buddha says in Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness
“This is the only way, monks, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely, the four foundations of mindfulness. What are the four?
“Herein (in this teaching) a monk lives contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief; he lives contemplating feelings in feelings, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief; he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief; he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief.
Here Buddha outlines the four foundations of mindfulness as follows:
- The body in the body
- Feelings in feelings
- Consciousness in consciousness
- Mental objects in mental objects
The prerequisite to mindfulness is the overcoming of covetousness and grief.
Through the above use of language, the Buddha implies the need to be totally immersed in the object one is observing and contemplating upon.
In other words, there should be no resistance to sensations, feelings, consciousness, ideas, thoughts, etc., that flow through the self, as one observes and contemplates.
Also see points 6, 7, and 8 of The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness.
.
