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satipaṭṭhānānaṁ

satipaṭṭhāna

genitive plural of satipaṭṭhāna (n.)

1. establishment of mindfulness
2. foundation of remembering
3. fourfold meditation practice

Built from

• sati — root · remembering, mindfulness
  From √smṛ 'to remember'. The noun sati is the cardinal virtue of mindful awareness in Buddhist practice.
• pa — prefix · forward, forth
  Forward-moving prefix; here intensifies the sense of placing or establishing.
• ṭṭhā — root · stand, place, establish
  From √thā 'to stand' (Sanskrit sthā, Latin stāre 'stand'). The geminate ṭṭ reflects an underlying intensification or reduplication.
• na — ending · nominalizing suffix
  Converts the verbal root into an abstract noun meaning 'the act or state of placing/establishing'.

Analysis. sati (remembering, mindfulness) + paṭṭhāna (standing, placing, foundation), lit. 'the placing of mindfulness'; the four satipaṭṭhānā are the cardinal meditation subjects in the path to awakening (body, feeling, mind, phenomena).

Etymology. sati from √smṛ 'remember' (Sanskrit smṛti, English Mnemosyne); paṭṭhāna from paṭi- 'back, against' + √thā 'stand' (Sanskrit sthā, Latin stāre), lit. 'standing-back' or 'firm placing'. The prefix paṭi- gives the sense of returning to base or establishing a stable foundation.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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