[3][4] These suttas (discourses) stress the practice of sati (mindfulness) "for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the extinguishing of suffering and grief, for walking on the path of truth, for the realization of nibbāna.
In the Chinese Canon, the Nian Chu Jing (念處經, Smṛtyupasthāna Sūtra), based on a Sarvastivadin source, is found on page 582 of the Taisho Tripitaka Vol.
[11] An early Smṛtyupasthāna Sūtra version also survives inside some of the large Prajñāpāramitā sutras (Tibetan and Chinese), one of which has been translated into English by Edward Conze.
[15] The Satipaṭṭhāna material, including the various meditation objects and practices, is treated in various later Abhidharma works such as the Theravada Vibhanga and Paṭisambhidāmagga, the Sarvastivada Dharmaskandha, the Jñānapraṣṭhāna, the Śāriputrābhidharma and the Arthaviniscaya Sutra.
In the Satipatthana Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 10, the Buddha identifies four "foundations of mindfulness"[17] or "frames of reference,"[18] on which he contemplates[17] or focusses[18] after leaving behind the worldly life: kāyā (body), vedanā (sensations/feelings aroused by perception), cittā (mind/consciousness), and dhammas (elements of the Buddhist teachings).
The sutta then gives an overview of Buddhist practices, under these four headings: The Sarvāstivāda Smṛtyupasthāna Sūtra differs in some ways from the Theravada version, including postures as the first contemplation instead of breathing for example.
A section on Smṛtyupasthāna is found in various Tibetan and Chinese recensions of large Prajñāpāramitā sutras, such as the 25,000 line version translated by Edward Conze.
[27] Gethin, followed by Polak and Arbel, notes that there is a "definite affinity" between the bojjhaṅgā, the seven factors of awakening, and the four jhanas, which actualize the Buddhist practices aiming at calming the mind.
[36] Polak, elaborating on Vetter, notes that the onset of the first dhyana is described as a quite natural process, due to the preceding efforts to restrain the senses and the nurturing of wholesome states.