THE FOUR STATIONS OF MINDFULNESS
AS A METHOD OF MEDITATION
The Four Stations of Mindfulness (S. smrtyupasthana; C. nianchu) entails contem-
plation of four basic objects: (I) the gross physical body; (2) sensation; (3) the
mind; and (4) dharmas, or elemental units of psycho-physical experience that
constitute experience of body, sensation, and mind. These four are called "sta-
tions" (S. upasthana; C. chu) of "mindfulness" (S. smrti; C. niati) because the stu-
dent mindfully observes or contemplates each of these four spheres in sequence,
progressing from shallow to deep, from gross to subtle.
The Four Stations of Mindfulness are intended to counteract and uproot
four basic "misconceptions," or inverted views about existence: (I) the notion
that existence is pure when it is really impure; (2) the idea that existence is plea-
surable when it is actually painful; (3) the idea that existence is eternally abid-
ing and constant when actually it is impermanent; and (4) the notion that we
and all living things are endowed with a constantly abiding self, when there is
really no self.