Focus and Awareness: Dharma in Daily Life from *Fundamentals of Buddhist Practice*

# *Fundamentals of Buddhist Practice*

## Chapter Five: The Dharma in Daily Life

## Section Three: Focus and Awareness

### The Necessity of Focus and Awareness

We've said that the Dharma should be practiced in daily life, and that life itself is the response of the six sense faculties to their objects. The Dharma in daily life, then, is nothing other than restraint at the six sense faculties — counteracting, guarding against, and bringing to cessation greed and aversion. Through this practice of sense-restraint, we can turn inward to reflect on self-attachment, advancing toward the cessation of self-view, self-craving, self-conceit, and ignorance.

In the study and practice of the Dharma, working with greed and aversion is clearly unavoidable. We've already suggested some principles for this, one of which is "immediate awareness — finding your own stop indicator." This follows the methodology of the Four Noble Truths — *duḥkha, samudaya, nirodha, mārga* — first knowing suffering, then entering the subsequent stages of practice.[1] To know suffering first means being able to detect the problem — and to detect it right away, so you can address it at the best possible moment. Immediate awareness requires keen perception, and keen perception comes from focus. Training yourself in keen awareness through the cultivation of concentration is therefore an essential foundation for studying and practicing the Dharma.

### Focus, Awareness, and Śamatha-Vipaśyanā

Focus is the gathering of attention. When attention gathers in one place, the mind settles there — this is *śamatha*, and the practice of śamatha can lead to samādhi.[2] For example, when you can settle the mind on a single object (*citta-ekāgratā*), select a target (*vitakka; seeking*), and examine it deeply and subtly (*vicāra; observing*), and when surges of intense physical elation (*pīti*) begin to alternate with gentle mental pleasure (*sukha*),[3] along with the subsiding of verbal activity,[4] you've entered the first *jhāna*, the first of the four meditative absorptions.

Awareness means seeing clearly, without error or omission. Deep awareness goes beyond grasping surface phenomena — it involves penetrating examination, understanding, and discernment of underlying truths. This is *vipaśyanā*. Śamatha and vipaśyanā — concentration and wisdom — are the two great pillars of Buddhist practice. One leans toward stillness, the other toward active investigation. On the surface their natures differ, but in practice they mutually enhance and complement each other. Though the fulfillment of practice lies in the accomplishment of insight-wisdom, that accomplishment can't happen without the foundation of śamatha. Thus the sūtra says: "Cultivating śamatha ultimately completes vipaśyanā; having cultivated vipaśyanā, one also completes śamatha."[5]

As for whether to begin with vipaśyanā or śamatha, to develop both equally, or to emphasize one within a balanced interchange — this depends on your own physical, mental, and temperamental disposition,[6] and it need not be a single, fixed choice. Deep śamatha-vipaśyanā retreat practice is hard to carry out amid the busyness of daily interactions and affairs. Yet its spirit — focus and awareness — can run through every encounter in daily life, becoming part of how you practice the Dharma each day.

### The Four Establishments of Mindfulness

Among the Buddhist methods of practice that emphasize focus and awareness, the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (*satipaṭṭhāna*) stand out. They constitute the content of Right Mindfulness within the Noble Eightfold Path.[7] This practice calls for focusing attention specifically[8] on the body and its physical processes (*kāyānupassanā*), on feelings or sensations (*vedanānupassanā*), on states of mind (*cittānupassanā*), or on mental objects and dharmas (*dhammānupassanā*) — observing each of these four domains with clear, precise understanding of their present condition and how they change.

This is a remarkably broad method of practice. It can be combined with ānāpānasati (mindfulness of breathing),[9] the signless concentration (*animitta-samādhi*),[10] and other specialized practices, and it's equally well suited to daily life, where the six sense faculties meet their objects.

Though the sūtras describe a sequential progression — "restraint at the six sense bases, when cultivated and developed, fulfills the three kinds of wholesome action"; "the three kinds of wholesome action, when cultivated and developed, fulfill the four establishments of mindfulness"; "the four establishments of mindfulness, when cultivated and developed, fulfill the seven factors of awakening"; "the seven factors of awakening, when cultivated and developed, fulfill the fruits of knowledge and liberation"[11] — giving the appearance of a fixed order from sense-restraint → three wholesome actions → four establishments of mindfulness → seven factors of awakening → liberation, what the sūtras actually specify is the order of *fulfillment*. That is, the sequence in which these practices reach consummation. Looked at from another angle: since the fulfillment of the four establishments of mindfulness requires the foundation of wholesome action and sense-restraint, the practice of sense-restraint — countering and guarding against greed and aversion in daily life — must already incorporate some, or even many, elements of the four establishments. Above all, it can't do without the backbone of this method: awareness itself, and the focus that awareness requires.

Chinese Buddhism traditionally defines the Four Establishments of Mindfulness as "contemplating the body as impure, contemplating feelings as suffering, contemplating the mind as impermanent, and contemplating dharmas as non-self." This isn't a fabrication by some Chinese commentator — it actually comes from the condensed compilations of Indian sectarian Buddhist commentators.[12] When viewed in the context of their full arguments, these commentators' summaries were originally quite complete. They didn't lose the spirit of the early discourses, which emphasized observation, wisdom, and freedom from affliction. They also clearly pointed out that these four contemplations aim at counteracting the four perversions (*vipallāsa*). But if, out of fondness for brevity, we strip away the full context and emphasize only these four phrases — without understanding the commentators' intent, without attending to the teachings of the early sūtras, and assuming this abridged content is all there is — then we fall into narrowness. It becomes hard for anyone to grasp the real heart of the practice: the cultivation of awareness.

The *Saṃyuktāgama* describes the Four Establishments as "contemplating body as body; feelings; mind; dharmas as dharmas."[13] "Dwelling in contemplation of body as body" also appears as "abiding in observation of body in conformity with body,"[14] "contemplating body as body, an establishment of mindfulness,"[15] "observing body within the body,"[16] and "dwelling observing body in the body."[17] The sectarian commentators explained this as "dwelling, examining the body by way of the body."[18] In other words, you focus attention specifically on the physical body and observe it in accordance with its actual processes. This kind of observation has the character of wisdom.[19] The same principle applies to feelings, mind, and dharmas.

In more detail: "Fixing the mind in contemplation of the inner body, the outer body, the inner-and-outer body; inner feelings, outer feelings, inner-and-outer feelings; inner mind, outer mind, inner-and-outer mind; inner dharmas, outer dharmas, inner-and-outer dharmas — striving diligently to remove worldly greed and sorrow."[20] This subdivides the content of observation into inner, outer, and both inner-and-outer, and it places the aim and function of observation squarely in the removal of greed and sorrow (afflictions). The sūtras don't elaborate on what "inner" and "outer" mean. Later commentators offered various interpretations, with no unified conclusion. Broadly speaking: "Oneself is inner, others are outer," and "if observing others leads to reflection on oneself, that can be called inner-and-outer."[21]

What does it mean to observe the body and its physical processes as inner, outer, and inner-and-outer? It means that whether you're walking, standing, sitting, lying down, reaching or withdrawing, dressing or carrying your alms bowl — every physical gesture, every moment of silence or speech, every act of sleeping, eating, drinking, chewing, and swallowing — you're clearly aware of each movement. No unconscious, careless, muddled action slips by; these would be lapses in awareness. When practiced alongside mindfulness of breathing, you must clearly register the length of each breath (and likewise its pace, its coarseness or fineness), the physical changes that accompany the breath, and the physiological responses triggered by various meditative states. When the body is examined through the six elements — earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness — you distinguish each one as clearly as in an anatomical dissection.[22] When practicing contemplation of impurity, you begin with direct observation and then enter into visualization: hair, teeth, skin, muscle, bone, internal organs, bodily fluids — from head to toe, filled with impurity (a conceptual contemplation). You observe or visualize a corpse bloating, bursting, rotting, decomposing, or the skeleton beneath (the white bone). All of this should be seen as clearly as a person with keen eyesight can distinguish among a handful of mixed seeds at a glance.[23]

So what's the purpose of observing the body in this way? The sūtras say that through this vivid, clear awareness, you experience the arising and passing — the impermanence — of the body. You come to understand that this is only a conglomerate, and that beyond this body there is no other real, independent, eternal entity (a self). Then, grounded in the realization of impermanence and non-self, you let go of attachment, malicious thoughts, sorrow, and affliction.[24] The same holds for feelings, mind, and dharmas: through awareness you realize impermanence and non-self, and from there you cease to cling. The realization and practice of non-self, in particular, is the key that opens onto the complete cessation of affliction and the liberation of nirvāṇa. So the awareness cultivated in each establishment of mindfulness connects directly with the path of liberation through the realization of non-self.

The Buddha said that feelings can be classified in various ways — as one type, as 108 types, or even as limitless in number.[25] But the most common classification in the sūtras is three: unpleasant (*duḥkha*), pleasant (*sukha*), and neutral (*adukkhamasukha*) — the three feelings. In mindfulness of feelings, awareness centers on these three categories. From there, you can investigate more finely: Is this a physical sensation arising from the body, or a mental feeling not rooted in physiology? Is there attachment to the feeling that has arisen (clinging; feeding on it)? Is there desire?[26] And how does the feeling arise, intensify, weaken, and disappear?[27]

Take an unpleasant feeling. Physical unpleasantness — the pain of illness, the ache of injury — the sūtras call "bodily feeling." This is compared to being struck by the first arrow. It's the warning mechanism of the autonomic nervous system, and no one — whether an ordinary person, a noble one, or someone fully liberated — can completely avoid it.[28] Non-physical unpleasantness — the depression, heaviness, irritability (the urgency of wanting to recover), fear, resentment, self-pity, and so on that spin out of physical pain — is called "mental feeling." This has already entered the territory of affliction. The sūtras liken it to being struck by a second arrow after the first.[29] Discerning whether there's desire or clinging toward a feeling that has arisen is an important form of reflective alertness in Dharma practice. Successful immediate awareness can't do without this ability. And to realize impermanence and non-self through the awareness of feelings — that is the very heart of mindfulness of feelings.

Mindfulness of mind involves observing and distinguishing the state of one's thoughts and mood. Is there greed? Dissatisfaction? Doubt or confusion? Is the mind focused or scattered? Open and expansive, or caught up brooding over something? Are there thoughts that shouldn't be there, or is each thought turned toward the practice of the Dharma? Are these afflicted thoughts, or thoughts of one already liberated?

Mindfulness of dharmas primarily involves awareness of the dharmas relevant to Buddhist practice: noting whether the five hindrances — greed, aversion, drowsiness, restlessness, and doubt — are present; observing the arising and passing of the five aggregates with their defilements; watching the six sense bases during the process of perception so that knots of affliction don't form; and tracking the cultivation of the seven factors of awakening, the Four Noble Truths, the four jhānas, and so on.

### The One and Only Path?

The faculty of awareness is crucial — whether used for regulating and counteracting afflictions or, ultimately, for cutting them off and transcending them entirely. The sūtras therefore call it the method for dispelling sorrow, severing affliction, and realizing nirvāṇa (the "one path," the "one way," the "one practice," the "sole path," or the practice that enters the Noble Eightfold "Path").[30]

Viewed as a whole, the path is most completely expressed as the Noble Eightfold Path, with the Four Establishments of Mindfulness forming one part of it. So if we were to say there's a "one and only path" to liberation, then from the standpoint of the whole, the Eightfold Path would be the proper answer. If we look at the finer details of practice, any method (including the Four Establishments) only begins to bear the fruit of liberation when it enters the realization of non-self. So you might say the realization of non-self is the "one and only path." But saying "one and only" can easily lead to the misunderstanding that this single method is sufficient and other aspects of practice aren't needed. And from the standpoint of the path's wholeness and completeness, it seems unwise to single out any one method as "the only way." It would be more fitting to call it a "necessary path."

Practicing the Four Establishments of Mindfulness trains your capacity for awareness and helps you build the habit of being aware. This goes a long way toward bringing the Dharma to life in daily living — and every student of the Dharma should take it up with seriousness and diligence.

### Notes

[1] "One must ascend by the first step, and then in sequence mount the second, third, and fourth steps to reach the hall. So too, monks: for one who has not yet fully penetrated the Noble Truth of Suffering to wish to fully penetrate the Noble Truth of the Origination of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering, and the Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering — that is impossible." — *Saṃyuktāgama* 436

[2] "To distinguish them: practicing śamatha can lead to samādhi; practicing vipaśyanā can lead to wisdom. Śamatha is abiding the mind in one place; vipaśyanā is the observation of facts and principles. In terms of method, they are not the same." — *Investigations of Emptiness*, p. 11, by Master Yinshun.

[3] "The first jhāna has five factors: applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, joy, and one-pointedness of mind — these are the five factors of the first jhāna." — Mādhyama Āgama, Sūtra 210. "When concentration arises, a sensation of heaviness first appears at the crown of the head, yet it is deeply pleasant. This then triggers a physical and mental lightness: from mental lightness comes bodily lightness. The experience is intensely powerful — bliss permeates every part of the body, penetrating to the very bones and marrow. At that moment the mind is profoundly stirred, described as 'body and mind leaping with joy.' Once the surge passes, a subtle bliss of lightness harmonizes with the body. The mind remains effortlessly, undistractedly, and firmly settled on its object — this is what's called attaining concentration." — The Way to Buddhahood, p. 331, by Venerable Yinshun.

[4] "The Buddha said to Ānanda: When one is fully absorbed in the first jhāna, verbal activity ceases." — Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 474.

[5] "The elder replied: Venerable Ānanda! One who contemplates in open spaces, beneath trees, or in empty dwellings should diligently apply the mind to two things — serenity (śamatha) and insight (vipassanā). Venerable Ānanda then asked the elder: When one cultivates serenity extensively, what does it accomplish? When one cultivates insight extensively, what does it accomplish? The elder replied: Venerable Ānanda! Cultivating serenity ultimately leads to insight; cultivating insight also leads to serenity. When a noble disciple cultivates both serenity and insight together, one attains the various realms of liberation." — Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 464.

[6] "According to the sūtras, some first cultivate serenity and then accomplish insight, while others first cultivate insight and then accomplish serenity. Only through cultivating both together can one attain the various realms of liberation (of varying depths). The Aṅguttara Nikāya classifies them into four types: (1) cultivating serenity first, then insight; (2) cultivating insight first, then serenity; (3) cultivating both together; (4) for those whose minds are prone to restlessness, placing special emphasis on serenity within the paired practice." (Note 5: Aṅguttara Nikāya, Fours [Nikāya Vol. 18, p. 276, Thai edition]; Saṃyukta Āgama, Scroll 21 [Taishō 2.146b–147a].) — Inquiry into Emptiness, p. 12, by Venerable Yinshun.

[7] "The Buddha taught his disciples to practice relying on themselves and relying on the Dharma. The Dharma one relies upon is the Four Establishments of Mindfulness — mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of feelings, mindfulness of mind, and mindfulness of dharmas. The Four Establishments of Mindfulness constitute the content of Right Mindfulness within the Noble Eightfold Path." — Studying the Buddha-Dharma Through the Buddha-Dharma, p. 106, by Venerable Yinshun. The same point appears in An Introduction to the Buddha-Dharma, p. 8.

[8] The Ekottara Āgama (Chapter 12, Sūtra 1) renders it as "unifying the mind," while Majjhima Nikāya Sūtra 10 (Yuanheng Temple translation) renders it as "ardent and attentive, with deep sustained mindfulness."

[9] "At that time, Venerable Ānanda addressed the Buddha: 'Now is the time, Blessed One! Now is the time, Well-Gone One! Please teach the bhikkhus the diligent cultivation of the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, so that having heard it, they may receive and practice it.' The Buddha told Ānanda: 'Listen carefully and reflect well, and I will teach you. When a bhikkhu breathes in, he trains in accordance with the in-breath; up to and including when breathing out, he trains in accordance with the out-breath...'" — Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 813.

[10] "Bhikkhus! How are thoughts of greed, ill will, and harm — perceptions of greed, ill will, and harm, and countless other unwholesome states — ultimately eradicated? By tethering the mind to the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, abiding in the signless concentration, and cultivating it extensively. Unwholesome states thereby perish, utterly extinguished without remainder." — Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 272.

[11] Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 281.

[12] "The treatise states: Having cultivated serenity to accomplishment as a foundation, in order to swiftly accomplish insight, one cultivates the Four Establishments of Mindfulness — for one who has not attained concentration cannot see things as they truly are. How does one cultivate the Four Establishments of Mindfulness? ...By observing the ten internal and external sense bases of the body... Furthermore, the sūtras say that whoever abides in the body, contemplating the body, is said to practice mindfulness of the body; the same applies to feelings, mind, and dharmas... Some masters say: Form can be gathered and dispersed, grasped and relinquished; it appears as a similar continuum, and its impurity, suffering, and other characteristics are easily understood. Greed and the like arise mostly in dependence on the body. Men and women find in it the object of mutual desire. The meditation on impurity, mindfulness of breathing, and analysis of the elements — these three entranceways to practice all mostly take the body as their object. Therefore, at the stage of cultivating the establishments of mindfulness, one should begin by observing the body... Because it counteracts the four perversions — seeing the impure as pure, and so on — one contemplates the body as impure, countering the perception of impurity as pure... Contemplating feelings as suffering counteracts the perversion of taking suffering to be pleasure. Contemplating mind as impermanent counteracts the perversion of taking the impermanent to be permanent. Contemplating dharmas as non-self counteracts the perversion of taking what is non-self to be self... In sum, one contemplates all body, feelings, mind, and dharmas as impermanent, suffering, empty, and non-self." — Nyāyānusāra (Taishō 29.675b–677b).

Additionally, the Mahāvibhāṣā, completed earlier than the Nyāyānusāra and often called the encyclopedia of the Sarvāstivāda school, states: "Consider a person who contemplates the body as impermanent; having cultivated this to maturity, one then observes feelings as suffering, mind as empty, and dharmas as non-self. The mind does not scatter — it doesn't drift or wander but abides, guarding its oneness. Through this causal condition, the preceding concentration isn't lost and one can advance to subsequent concentrations. What is ignorance?..." (Taishō 29.221b). This seems to present a method of "contemplating the body as impermanent, feelings as suffering, mind as empty, and dharmas as non-self."

[13] The Saṃyukta Āgama, in the "Chapter on the Path" under the "Section on Mindfulness," corresponds to Taishō canon sūtras numbered 605 through 639.

[14] Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 281.

[15] Mādhyama Āgama, Sūtra 98.

[16] Majjhima Nikāya, Sūtra 10 (Yuanheng Temple translation).

[17] Dīgha Nikāya, Sūtra 22 (Yuanheng Temple translation).

[18] "Furthermore, the sūtras say that whoever abides in the body, contemplating the body, is said to practice mindfulness of the body. The same is taught for feelings, mind, and dharmas." — Nyāyānusāra (Taishō 29.675b).

[19] "If the term 'establishment of mindfulness' is explained in terms of mutual association, it means that mindfulness can abide only when joined with wisdom; because it enables mindfulness to abide, wisdom receives the name 'establishment of mindfulness.'" — Nyāyānusāra (Taishō 29.675b).

[20] Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 538.

[21] See the author's Twelve Selections from the Mādhyama Āgama, p. 185.

[22] Mādhyama Āgama, Sūtra 98, states: "Within this body there are the earth element, water element, fire element, wind element, space element, and consciousness element — just as a butcher slaughtering a cow spreads the hide on the ground and divides it into six sections." The Ekottara Āgama (Chapter 12, Sūtra 1) states: "This body has four [elements], just as a skilled butcher or a butcher's apprentice, dissecting the joints of a cow, examines and sees for himself: this is the leg, this is the heart, this is the joint, this is the head. In the same way, that bhikkhu distinguishes the elements and observes for himself that this body contains the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind."

[23] Mādhyama Āgama, Sūtra 98, states: "It is like a vessel containing various kinds of seeds — a person with eyes can clearly distinguish them all: rice, millet, turnip seeds, and mustard seeds. In the same way, a bhikkhu dwells with this body and, whatever its condition, observes from head to foot, seeing it filled with various kinds of impurity." Majjhima Nikāya, Sūtra 10 (Yuanheng Temple translation), lists rice, millet, green beans, beans, sesame, and rice grains. Dīgha Nikāya, Sūtra 22 (Yuanheng Temple translation), is similar.

[24] Mādhyama Āgama, Sūtra 98, states: "Establish mindfulness in the body, with knowing, with seeing, with clarity, with understanding." The Ekottara Āgama (Chapter 12, Sūtra 1) states: "One should contemplate the body, finding joy therein, dispelling thoughts of desire and evil, free from sorrow." Majjhima Nikāya, Sūtra 10 (Yuanheng Temple translation), states: "One contemplates the arising of phenomena in the body; one contemplates the passing away of phenomena in the body; one contemplates both the arising and passing away of phenomena in the body. The mindfulness that 'there is a body' becomes present. Thus one's wisdom and recollection develop. One dwells without reliance, unattached to the world." Dīgha Nikāya, Sūtra 22 (Yuanheng Temple translation), states: "Or one dwells contemplating the arising of phenomena in the body; or dwelling, contemplates the arising and passing away; or dwelling, contemplates the arising-and-passing-away of phenomena in the body. And whatever arises from wisdom and mindful awareness — the thought 'there is body' — becomes present. One should dwell without reliance, without grasping at anything in the world." For the latter two, Lin Chong-an synthesizes the translation in the section on "Mindfulness of Feelings" as: "One becomes mindfully aware that 'this is a feeling!' Thus there is mere knowing, mere awareness. And so one dwells without defilement, without grasping at the (body-mind) world." (See "A Study of the Establishment of Mindfulness of Feelings," Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal, Issue 9.)

[25] "The Buddha told Udāyī: Sometimes I speak of one kind of feeling, sometimes two, sometimes three, four, five, six, eighteen, thirty-six, up to a hundred and eight, and sometimes of countless kinds of feeling. What do I mean by one kind? As when I say all feeling is suffering — this is what I call one kind. What about two kinds? Bodily feeling and mental feeling — these are the two. What about three? Pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. What about four?..." — Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 485.

[26] "In the Northern tradition's Mādhyama Āgama section on mindfulness of feelings, in Saṃyukta Āgama Sūtras 471 and 472, and in Abhidharma Dharmaskandha, Scroll 5, twenty-one types of feelings are listed, grouped into seven categories: (1) pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling; (2) pleasant bodily feeling, painful bodily feeling, neither-painful-nor-pleasant bodily feeling; (3) pleasant mental feeling, painful mental feeling, neither-painful-nor-pleasant mental feeling; (4) pleasant carnal feeling (pleasant feeling with attachment to flavor, pleasant flavored feeling), painful carnal feeling (painful feeling with attachment to flavor, painful flavored feeling), neither-painful-nor-pleasant carnal feeling (neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling with attachment to flavor, neither-flavorful-nor-painful flavorless feeling); (5) pleasant non-carnal feeling (pleasant feeling without attachment to flavor, pleasant flavorless feeling), painful non-carnal feeling, neither-painful-nor-pleasant non-carnal feeling; (6) pleasant attachment-clinging feeling (pleasant desiring feeling, pleasant clinging-dependent feeling, pleasant dependent-clinging feeling), painful attachment-clinging feeling, neither-painful-nor-pleasant attachment-clinging feeling; (7) pleasant renunciation feeling (pleasant non-desiring feeling, pleasant reliance-on-renunciation feeling, pleasant renunciation-reliance feeling), painful renunciation feeling, neither-painful-nor-pleasant renunciation feeling. These seven categories each subdivide into three according to pleasant, painful, and neither-painful-nor-pleasant, totaling twenty-one types of feelings. Although the translated names differ across sūtras and treatises, the content is entirely the same." — "A Study of the Establishment of Mindfulness of Feelings," by Lin Chong-an, Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal, Issue 9, p. 41.

[27] "He delights in practicing the Dharma. He also contemplates cessation, and further contemplates both arising and cessation. Or when a feeling becomes present, it can be known and seen." — Ekottara Āgama (Chapter 12, Sūtra 1).

[28] "When a learned noble disciple experiences a painful feeling through bodily contact — great pain, oppressive, even life-threatening — he doesn't give rise to sorrow, lamentation, weeping, or wailing, nor does his mind scatter into frenzy. At that moment, only one kind of feeling arises: bodily feeling. Mental feeling doesn't arise. It's like a person struck by one poison arrow but not a second." — Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 470.

[29] "The Buddha told the bhikkhus: 'Listen carefully, reflect well, and I will teach you. Bhikkhus! When a foolish, unlearned ordinary person experiences feelings through bodily contact, the pain increases — even becoming life-threatening — and he grieves, laments, weeps, and wails, his mind driven to frenzy. At that moment, two kinds of feeling increase: bodily feeling and mental feeling. It's like a person struck by two poison arrows at once, experiencing extreme agony. The foolish, unlearned ordinary person is just the same — two kinds of feeling increase: bodily and mental, producing extreme suffering.'" — Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 470.

[30] Mādhyama Āgama, Sūtra 98, states: "There is one path for the purification of beings, for transcending fear and sorrow, for extinguishing distress, for ending weeping, and for realizing the true Dharma — namely, the Four Establishments of Mindfulness."

The Ekottara Āgama (Chapter 12, Sūtra 1) states: "There is one path of entry that purifies the conduct of beings, dispels sorrow, eliminates all afflictions, attains great wisdom, and realizes nirvāṇa — namely, abandoning the five hindrances and contemplating the Four Establishments of Mindfulness. What is meant by 'one entry'? It means unifying the mind — that is the one entry. What is the path? It is the Noble Eightfold Path."

Majjhima Nikāya, Sūtra 10 (Yuanheng Temple translation), states: "There is one thing here that leads to the purification of beings, the transcending of sorrow and grief, the extinguishing of suffering and pain, the attainment of the right path, and the realization of nibbāna — namely, the Four Establishments of Mindfulness."

Dīgha Nikāya, Sūtra 22 (Yuanheng Temple translation), states: "For the purification of beings, for transcending sorrow and grief, for extinguishing suffering and pain, for attaining the truth, for realizing nirvāṇa — there is one path directed toward this, namely, the Four Establishments of Mindfulness."