How to Practice Satipaṭṭhāna: The Four Establishments of Mindfulness
Satipaṭṭhāna is the practice of establishing mindfulness on four domains — body, feelings, mind, and dhammas — observing each as it actually is, ardent, clearly comprehending, and mindful, having put aside longing and dejection for the world.
Read the full sutta: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10) — The Four Establishments of Mindfulness: full text →Related: Anapanasati · Facing Fear: How the Buddha Stood His Ground Until It Passed · How to Stop Angry or Negative Thoughts: the Buddha's Five Steps · The Five Hindrances
What Satipaṭṭhāna Is: A Direct Path
The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta opens with a bold claim: the four establishments of mindfulness are the path (ekāyano maggo, 'the direct path' or 'one-way path') to the purification of beings, to overcoming sorrow and lamentation, and to realizing nibbāna. The Buddha then gives the summary formula: one abides contemplating body as body, feelings as feelings, mind as mind, and dhammas as dhammas — in every case with the same three qualities: ardent (ātāpī), clearly comprehending (sampajāno), and mindful (satimā), 'having put aside longing and dejection in regard to the world.' These qualities are the working basis of every exercise in the sutta: not blank awareness, but energetic, lucid, continuous knowing of what is happening now.
Ekāyano ayaṁ bhikkhave maggo sattānaṁ visuddhiyā sokaparidevānaṁ samatikkamāya dukkhadomanassānaṁ atthaṅgamāya ñāyassa adhigamāya nibbānassa sacchikiriyāya yadidaṁ cattāro satipaṭṭhānā
「比丘們！這是眾生清淨、超越愁悲、消滅苦憂、證得正理、親證涅槃的唯一道路，亦即四念處。」
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ
於此，比丘們！比丘隨觀身於身而住，精勤、正知、具念，捨除世間的貪憂。
vedanāsu vedanānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ
（比丘）隨觀受於受而住，精勤、正知、具念，捨除世間的貪憂。
citte cittānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ
（比丘）隨觀心於心而住，精勤、正知、具念，捨除世間的貪憂。
dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ
（比丘）隨觀法於諸法而住，精勤、正知、具念，捨除世間的貪憂。
Body (1): Mindfulness of Breathing — Where to Begin
The first concrete method is mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati), and the instructions are unusually procedural: (1) go to a forest, the root of a tree, or an empty place; (2) sit down cross-legged, body erect, and establish mindfulness in front; (3) breathe in and out, mindful. The contemplation unfolds in four steps: breathing in long, one knows 'long'; breathing in short, one knows 'short'; then one trains 'experiencing the whole body I will breathe'; finally one trains 'calming the bodily formation I will breathe.' Note the verbs: the first two steps use pajānāti (knowing things as they are), the last two use sikkhati (one trains). First observe honestly; only then gradually settle breath and body. The simile is a skilled turner who simply knows when he makes a long turn and when a short one — no controlling, just knowing.
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu araññagato vā rukkhamūlagato vā suññāgāragato vā nisīdati pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā
於此，諸比丘，比丘往林中，[或]至樹下，[或]往空閑處，坐下，盤折[就座]，端正[身體]，[令念]朝向當前，安立[念]。
So satova assasati satova passasati
彼[具念]入息，[具念]出息。
Dīghaṁ vā assasanto dīghaṁ assasāmī ti pajānāti dīghaṁ vā passasanto dīghaṁ passasāmī ti pajānāti
入息長時，了知『（吸）長』；出息長時，了知『（呼）長』。
rassaṁ vā assasanto rassaṁ assasāmī ti pajānāti rassaṁ vā passasanto rassaṁ passasāmī ti pajānāti
入息短時，了知『（吸）短』；出息短時，了知『（呼）短』。
Sabbakāyapaṭisaṁvedī assasissāmī ti sikkhati sabbakāyapaṭisaṁvedī passasissāmī ti sikkhati
『覺知全身（而入息）』，如是修習；『覺知全身（而出息）』，如是修習。
Passambhayaṁ kāyasaṅkhāraṁ assasissāmī ti sikkhati passambhayaṁ kāyasaṅkhāraṁ passasissāmī ti sikkhati
『令身行平靜（而入息）』，如是修習；『令身行平靜（而出息）』，如是修習。
Body (2): Postures and Clear Comprehension — Mindfulness Off the Cushion
Satipaṭṭhāna is not confined to sitting. The postures section says: when walking, one knows 'I am walking'; likewise standing, sitting, lying down — however the body is disposed, one knows it. The clear-comprehension section extends this to every ordinary action: going out and returning, looking ahead and looking away, bending and stretching the limbs, wearing robes and carrying the bowl, eating, drinking, chewing, tasting, defecating and urinating, walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking, speaking, and keeping silent — in all of it, one 'acts with clear comprehension' (sampajānakārī). Together these two sections turn the whole day into the training ground.
Puna caparaṁ bhikkhave bhikkhu gacchanto vā gacchāmī ti pajānāti ṭhito vā ṭhitomhī ti pajānāti nisinno vā nisinnomhī ti pajānāti sayāno vā sayānomhī ti pajānāti
再者，諸比丘，比丘行走時清楚了知；站立時清楚了知；坐著時清楚了知；臥下時清楚了知。
Puna caparaṁ bhikkhave bhikkhu abhikkante paṭikkante sampajānakārī hoti ālokite vilokite sampajānakārī hoti samiñjite pasārite sampajānakārī hoti saṅghāṭipattacīvaradhāraṇe sampajānakārī hoti asite pīte khāyite sāyite sampajānakārī hoti uccārapassāvakamme sampajānakārī hoti gate ṭhite nisinne sutte jāgarite bhāsite tuṇhībhāve sampajānakārī hoti
再者，諸比丘，比丘前進時、返回時，以正知行事；向前看時、環顧時，以正知行事；（肢體）彎曲時、伸展時，以正知行事；持執大衣、缽及衣時，以正知行事；食、飲、嚼、嚐時，以正知行事；大小便時，以正知行事；行走、站立、坐著、睡眠、醒寤、說話、保持沉默時，以正知行事。
Body (3): Parts and Elements — Analyzing What the Body Is Made Of
The next two methods are analytical. In the contemplation of the body's parts, one reviews this very body from the soles of the feet up and from the hair of the head down, bounded by skin, as full of its anatomical constituents — head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, organs, and fluids — the way a person with good eyes would identify the different grains in an open sack. In the elements section, one reviews this same body, however placed, in terms of elements: 'in this body there are the earth element, water element, fire element, and air element,' as a butcher who has divided a cow sits with its parts before him. Both contemplations dismantle the compact sense of 'my body' into observable parts and processes, loosening attachment where it forms.
Puna caparaṁ bhikkhave bhikkhu imameva kāyaṁ uddhaṁ pādatalā adho kesamatthakā tacapariyantaṁ pūraṁ nānappakārassa asucino paccavekkhati
再者，諸比丘，比丘就在這個身體——從足底往上，從髮頂往下，以皮膚為界——充滿各種不淨之物，加以觀察：
atthi imasmiṁ kāye kesā lomā nakhā dantā taco maṁsaṁ nhāru aṭṭhi aṭṭhimiñjaṁ vakkaṁ hadayaṁ yakanaṁ kilomakaṁ pihakaṁ papphāsaṁ antaṁ antaguṇaṁ udariyaṁ karīsaṁ pittaṁ semhaṁ pubbo lohitaṁ sedo medo assu vasā kheḷo siṅghāṇikā lasikā muttan ti
在這個身體中，有：髮、體毛、指甲、牙齒、皮膚、肉、肌腱、骨骼、骨髓、腎臟、心臟、肝臟、胸膜、脾臟、肺臟、腸、腸繫膜、胃中食物、糞便、膽汁、痰液、膿、血液、汗水、脂肪、淚水、油脂、唾液、鼻涕、關節滑液。
Puna caparaṁ bhikkhave bhikkhu imameva kāyaṁ yathāṭhitaṁ yathāpaṇihitaṁ dhātuso paccavekkhati
「諸比丘，比丘又進而對此（身），如其所立、如其所向，以界的方式加以省察。」
atthi imasmiṁ kāye pathavīdhātu āpodhātu tejodhātu vāyodhātū ti
「此身中有地界、水界、火界、風界。」
Body (4): The Charnel Ground Contemplations — Facing the Body's End
The body section closes with nine charnel-ground contemplations: one considers a corpse discarded in a charnel ground — one, two, or three days dead, bloated, livid, festering — then progressively devoured by animals, reduced to a skeleton, scattered bones, and finally bones rotted to powder. At each stage the method is the same comparison: one relates that sight to one's own body — 'this body too is of the same nature, it will become like that, it is not exempt.' This is not morbidity but honesty: the difference between this body and that one is only time. The purpose is to cut through the deepest distortions of attachment to the body in the most direct way available.
Puna caparaṁ bhikkhave bhikkhu seyyathāpi passeyya sarīraṁ sivathikāya chaḍḍitaṁ ekāhamataṁ vā dvīhamataṁ vā tīhamataṁ vā uddhumātakaṁ vinīlakaṁ vipubbakajātaṁ
再者，比丘們，比丘（假設他）見到一具遺體被棄置於墳場，死亡一日、兩日或三日，已膨脹、已青紫、已流膿。
So imameva kāyaṁ upasaṁharati
他就以正是此身與之相類比。
ayampi kho kāyo evaṁdhammo evaṁbhāvī evaṁanatīto ti
「此（身）確實亦具此本性、將趨向如是、尚未超越此。」
Feelings: Knowing What Is Felt, As It Is Felt
The contemplation of feelings (vedanā) uses a single verb: pajānāti, to know. Feeling a pleasant feeling, one knows 'I feel a pleasant feeling'; likewise with painful and neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings. The sutta then distinguishes each as worldly (sāmisa, bound up with sensuality) or unworldly (nirāmisa, connected with renunciation and practice) — nine kinds of feeling in all, each simply to be known as it occurs. There is no instruction to change or fight the feeling, only to recognize it in the moment it arises. Feeling is the hinge between body and mind: reactions begin at the level of feeling before they become emotion and narrative, so establishing mindfulness here intervenes at the earliest link in the chain.
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu sukhaṁ vā vedanaṁ vedayamāno sukhaṁ vedanaṁ vedayāmī ti pajānāti
諸比丘，於此，比丘感受樂受時，了知『我感受樂受』。
Dukkhaṁ vā vedanaṁ vedayamāno dukkhaṁ vedanaṁ vedayāmī ti pajānāti
感受苦受時，了知『我感受苦受』。
Adukkhamasukhaṁ vā vedanaṁ vedayamāno adukkhamasukhaṁ vedanaṁ vedayāmī ti pajānāti
感受不苦不樂受時，了知『我感受不苦不樂受』。
Sāmisaṁ vā sukhaṁ vedanaṁ vedayamāno sāmisaṁ sukhaṁ vedanaṁ vedayāmī ti pajānāti
感受世俗樂受時，了知『我感受世俗樂受』。
Nirāmisaṁ vā sukhaṁ vedanaṁ vedayamāno nirāmisaṁ sukhaṁ vedanaṁ vedayāmī ti pajānāti
感受出世間樂受時，了知『我感受出世間樂受』。
Mind: Recognizing the State of the Mind Honestly
The contemplation of mind (citta) applies the same knowing to the overall state of the mind. The sutta lists sixteen: with lust / without lust, with hatred / without hatred, with delusion / without delusion, contracted / distracted, exalted / unexalted, surpassable / unsurpassable, concentrated / unconcentrated, liberated / unliberated. The practice is honest recognition: when the mind has lust, one knows 'this is a mind with lust' — no concealing, no judging, no rushing to fix. Notice the list's design: every item comes in a pair, and the wholesome states are objects of observation just as much as the defiled ones. Mindfulness of mind is not a surveillance system for bad states; it is equal, accurate knowing of whatever state is present.
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu sarāgaṁ vā cittaṁ sarāgaṁ cittan ti pajānāti
於此，諸比丘，比丘或於有貪之心，了知（其心）為「有貪之心」。
Vītarāgaṁ vā cittaṁ vītarāgaṁ cittan ti pajānāti
或於離貪之心，了知（其心）為「離貪之心」。
Sadosaṁ vā cittaṁ sadosaṁ cittan ti pajānāti
或於有瞋之心，了知（其心）為「有瞋之心」。
Vītadosaṁ vā cittaṁ vītadosaṁ cittan ti pajānāti
或者，（他）了知離瞋之心為「離瞋之心」。
Saṅkhittaṁ vā cittaṁ saṅkhittaṁ cittan ti pajānāti
或者，（他）了知收縮之心為「收縮之心」。
Vikkhittaṁ vā cittaṁ vikkhittaṁ cittan ti pajānāti
或者，（他）了知散亂之心為「散亂之心」。
Dhammas (1): The Five Hindrances — Observing Obstacles Arise and Pass
Contemplation of dhammas begins with the five hindrances (sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, doubt), and here the method becomes fully dynamic, with five knowings: (1) when the hindrance is present, one knows 'it is present in me'; (2) when absent, one knows 'it is absent'; (3) one knows how the unarisen hindrance arises; (4) how the arisen hindrance is abandoned; (5) how the abandoned hindrance does not arise again in the future. The first two are static recognition; the last three observe conditionality — what this obstacle depends on to arise and to cease. The obstacles to practice are themselves the objects of practice: recognizing drowsiness and seeing its conditions is not a failure of meditation, it is the meditation.
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati pañcasu nīvaraṇesu
諸比丘，於此，比丘於五蓋中隨觀諸法而住。
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu santaṁ vā ajjhattaṁ kāmacchandaṁ atthi me ajjhattaṁ kāmacchando ti pajānāti asantaṁ vā ajjhattaṁ kāmacchandaṁ natthi me ajjhattaṁ kāmacchando ti pajānāti yathā ca anuppannassa kāmacchandassa uppādo hoti tañca pajānāti yathā ca uppannassa kāmacchandassa pahānaṁ hoti tañca pajānāti yathā ca pahīnassa kāmacchandassa āyatiṁ anuppādo hoti tañca pajānāti
於此，諸比丘，比丘了知內在有欲欲——「我內在有欲欲」；了知內在無欲欲——「我內在無欲欲」；又了知未生起之欲欲如何生起，了知那；了知已生起之欲欲如何得以捨斷，了知那；了知已捨斷之欲欲如何於將來不再生起，了知那。
Dhammas (2): The Five Aggregates and Six Sense Bases — Deconstructing Experience
Next, observation turns to the structure of experience itself. With the five aggregates subject to clinging, one contemplates each in three aspects: 'such is form, such its origin, such its passing away' — and likewise for feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. With the six internal and external sense bases, one knows the eye and forms, the ear and sounds, and so on for each sense — and one knows 'the fetter that arises dependent on both,' how the unarisen fetter arises, how it is abandoned, and how it does not arise again. This pair of contemplations resolves 'me experiencing the world' into sense faculty, object, and the binding that forms between them — making clinging visible at the very point where it is produced.
iti rūpaṁ iti rūpassa samudayo iti rūpassa atthaṅgamo
「如是色；如是色之集；如是色之滅。」
iti vedanā iti vedanāya samudayo iti vedanāya atthaṅgamo
「如是受；如是受之集；如是受之滅。」
iti saññā iti saññāya samudayo iti saññāya atthaṅgamo
「如是想；如是想之集；如是想之滅。」
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu cakkhuñca pajānāti rūpe ca pajānāti yañca tadubhayaṁ paṭicca uppajjati saṁyojanaṁ tañca pajānāti yathā ca anuppannassa saṁyojanassa uppādo hoti tañca pajānāti yathā ca uppannassa saṁyojanassa pahānaṁ hoti tañca pajānāti yathā ca pahīnassa saṁyojanassa āyatiṁ anuppādo hoti tañca pajānāti
諸比丘，此處比丘了知眼，亦了知諸色；了知緣此二者而生起之結縛；了知未生起之結縛如何生起；了知已生起之結縛如何被捨斷；了知已被捨斷之結縛於將來如何不再生起。
Dhammas (3): The Seven Awakening Factors and Four Noble Truths
The hindrances are to be abandoned; the seven awakening factors (mindfulness, investigation of dhammas, energy, rapture, tranquillity, concentration, equanimity) are to be cultivated, and the formula shifts accordingly: one knows whether each factor is present or absent, how the unarisen factor arises — and 'how the arisen factor comes to fulfillment by development.' The final exercise is the four noble truths, known as they actually are: 'this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.' The sutta thus traces a complete arc, from the most tangible object — the breath — to the heart of the Buddha's insight.
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu santaṁ vā ajjhattaṁ satisambojjhaṅgaṁ atthi me ajjhattaṁ satisambojjhaṅgo ti pajānāti asantaṁ vā ajjhattaṁ satisambojjhaṅgaṁ natthi me ajjhattaṁ satisambojjhaṅgo ti pajānāti yathā ca anuppannassa satisambojjhaṅgassa uppādo hoti tañca pajānāti yathā ca uppannassa satisambojjhaṅgassa bhāvanāya pāripūrī hoti tañca pajānāti
諸比丘，於此，比丘若自身內有念覺支，了知「我內有念覺支」；若自身內無念覺支，了知「我內無念覺支」；又未生起之念覺支如何生起，亦清楚了知；已生起之念覺支藉由修習如何達致圓滿，亦清楚了知。
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu idaṁ dukkhan ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti ayaṁ dukkhasamudayo ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti ayaṁ dukkhanirodho ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti
於此，比丘們，比丘對「此」如實了知；對「此為苦之生起」如實了知；對「此為苦之息滅」如實了知；對「此為導向苦滅之道」如實了知。
The Refrain: Internal and External, Arising and Passing, Abiding Independent
One passage repeats verbatim after every single exercise — twenty-one times in all. It is the soul of the method, and it has three layers: (1) internal and external — one contemplates the body (feelings, mind, dhammas) in oneself, in others, or both; (2) arising and passing — one contemplates the nature of arising, of vanishing, or of both in the object; (3) abiding independent — mindfulness that 'there is a body' is established 'just for the sake of knowledge and mindfulness,' and one 'abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.' The refrain shows where every exercise ultimately points: not to accumulating special experiences, but to seeing the arising-and-passing nature of every object, until the mind stops grasping at anything. No exercise in the sutta is complete without it.
Iti ajjhattaṁ vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati bahiddhā vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati ajjhattabahiddhā vā kāye kāyānupassī viharati
如此，他或對內在的身隨觀身而安住，或對外在的身隨觀身而安住，或對內外的身隨觀身而安住。
samudayadhammānupassī vā kāyasmiṁ viharati vayadhammānupassī vā kāyasmiṁ viharati samudayavayadhammānupassī vā kāyasmiṁ viharati
他或安住於隨觀身中諸法的生起，或安住於隨觀身中諸法的滅去，或安住於隨觀身中諸法的生滅。
Atthi kāyo ti vā panassa sati paccupaṭṭhitā hoti Yāvadeva ñāṇamattāya paṭissatimattāya anissito ca viharati na ca kiñci loke upādiyati
「有身」的念現前，僅為了知與念而建立。他不依附而安住，對世間任何事物不執取。
Evampi kho bhikkhave bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati
諸比丘，比丘就這樣隨觀身而安住於身中。
The Promise: From Seven Years Down to Seven Days
The sutta closes with a rare explicit guarantee: whoever develops these four establishments of mindfulness in this way for seven years can expect one of two fruits — final knowledge here and now, or, if there is a residue of clinging, non-return. Then the Buddha reduces the term step by step: let alone seven years — six, five, down to one year; let alone a year — seven months, down to one month, half a month; finally: seven days, with the same two fruits to be expected. The descending series is not a promise that seven days mechanically produces awakening; its point is that the result depends on the quality and intensity of the practice, not on clocking a fixed duration. The discourse then ends by restating its opening line — this is the direct path — closing the frame it opened with.
Yo hi koci bhikkhave ime cattāro satipaṭṭhāne evaṁ bhāveyya satta vassāni tassa dvinnaṁ phalānaṁ aññataraṁ phalaṁ pāṭikaṅkhaṁ
諸比丘，無論何人若如此修習這四念住達七年，對他而言，兩種果報之中的一種是可以期待的。
Yo hi koci bhikkhave ime cattāro satipaṭṭhāne evaṁ bhāveyya sattāhaṁ tassa dvinnaṁ phalānaṁ aññataraṁ phalaṁ pāṭikaṅkhaṁ
比丘們，任何人若如此修習這四念住七天，對他而言，兩果中某一果可以期待：
diṭṭheva dhamme aññā sati vā upādisese anāgāmitāti
就在當下持此見解之法中——或另一種，若有餘依存在，即不還果。
Relation to Mahāyāna interpretation
Satipaṭṭhāna is common ground across Buddhist traditions. The Chinese Madhyama Āgama preserves a parallel Smṛtyupasthāna Sūtra broadly matching the Pali text. East Asian commentarial tradition later summarized the four as counteracting four distortions — contemplating the body as impure, feelings as suffering, mind as impermanent, and dhammas as non-self — a interpretive scheme not found in the Pali sutta itself. Mahāyāna includes the four establishments among the thirty-seven aids to awakening as a shared foundation of the bodhisattva path, and Tiantai master Zhiyi devoted a treatise to reinterpreting them from his school's perspective. Theravāda, meanwhile, treats this sutta (with the longer DN 22) as the core charter of insight meditation, from which the modern Burmese and Thai vipassanā lineages developed. The traditions frame and rank these contemplations differently; this page presents the Pali text without adjudicating between them.
What are the four foundations of mindfulness?
Contemplation of the body (breathing, postures, daily activities, anatomical parts, elements, charnel-ground contemplations), of feelings (pleasant, painful, neutral — worldly or unworldly), of mind (recognizing sixteen states such as with or without lust, distracted or concentrated), and of dhammas (the five hindrances, five aggregates, six sense bases, seven awakening factors, four noble truths) — each practiced ardent, clearly comprehending, and mindful, having put aside longing and dejection for the world.
How long do I need to practice each day?
The sutta prescribes no daily quota. What it gives is an overall guarantee at the end: practicing this way for seven years, one can expect final knowledge or non-return — and the term is then reduced step by step through six years, one year, seven months, one month, half a month, down to seven days. The descending series emphasizes quality and continuity of practice over any fixed schedule; any specific 'minutes per day' figure comes from later teachers, not from the text.
How does satipaṭṭhāna relate to vipassanā meditation and MBSR?
The modern vipassanā traditions — such as the Mahasi and Goenka lineages — all ground their methods in the satipaṭṭhāna texts and can be read as different practical interpretations of this sutta. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and similar secular programs also trace their concept of mindfulness to sati, but their stated goals are stress reduction and well-being, whereas the sutta's stated goal is the abandoning of longing and dejection and the realization of nibbāna. They share a root text; their depth and purpose differ.
Which foundation should a beginner start with?
The sutta's own order is body, feelings, mind, dhammas, and its very first method — mindfulness of breathing — is the only one with full procedural instructions (place, posture, four steps of observing the breath), which is why it is commonly taken as the natural entry point. But the text never states that one must master each foundation before the next. Later traditions vary: most insight schools begin with the breath or body sensations, while some teach the four in rotation or enter through the mind. Starting with the breath has the most textual support; beyond that, sequence is a matter of tradition.
Do I have to sit in meditation to practice satipaṭṭhāna?
Not only. The breathing section does describe a seated posture — going to a forest, the root of a tree, or an empty place and sitting cross-legged — but the very next sections extend the practice to walking, standing, sitting, lying down, and every daily activity: eating, dressing, speaking, keeping silent, all done 'with clear comprehension.' Seated breath meditation and everyday clear comprehension are two sections of the same body contemplation; they support each other, and neither alone is the whole practice.