The four frames of reference [satipatthana] are a set of teachings that show where a meditator should focus attention and how. This dual role — the "where" and the "how" — is reflected in the fact that the term satipatthana can be explained etymologically in two ways.
On the one hand, it can be regarded as
a compound of sati
(mindfulness, reference, the ability to keep something in mind)
and patthana
(foundation, condition, source),
thus referring to the object kept in mind as a frame of reference for giving context to one's experience.
Alternatively, satipatthana can be seen as
a compound of sati and upatthana
(establishing near, setting near),
thus referring to the approach (the how) of keeping something closely in mind, of establishing and maintaining a solid frame of reference.
Scholars are divided as to which interpretation is right, but for all practical purposes they both are.
The Buddha was more a poet than a strict etymologist, and he may have deliberately chosen an ambiguous term that would have fruitful meanings on more than one level.
In the practice of the frames of reference [satipatthana], both the proper object and the proper approach are crucial for getting the proper results. In fact....
the taking of a proper object entails the beginning of the proper approach,
and the approach ends by taking as its objects the qualities of mind developed in the course of pursuing the approach itself.
In other words....the "what" merges with the "how" as the "how" of the investigation ultimately becomes what gets investigated.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu in Wings, p. 72
I share this passage to emphasize the active and holistic nature of working with the Satipatthan Sutta (especially satipatthana, but other suttas as well). The sutta provides more than just a menu or curriculum for study. It provides a holigraphic map for practice. The map is useful to follow linearly because the practices build on each other, but it is not nesessary to follow linearly, because we can touch on the whole througout the process - or where ever we dip in.
