Scope of satipaṭṭhāna practice in MN 10 — narrow or broad?
The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10) is often presented as the definitive guide to mindfulness meditation. But the Pali text encompasses a much broader range of practices than the 'breath meditation' interpretation dominant in contemporary teaching. How should the translation frame the introduction — as a meditation manual or as a comprehensive path?
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Anālayo's work is decisive here — the sutta uses the word 'ekāyano' which has been mistranslated as 'the only way'. A more accurate rendering is 'a direct path' or 'a path that goes one way'. The translation should not privilege the meditation-manual reading in its introduction.
Agreed. The Thai forest tradition reads this quite broadly too — Ajahn Chah's commentary treats it as encompassing the entire monastic training, not just sitting meditation.
The Chinese parallel in the Madhyama Āgama (MĀ 98) is actually less ambiguous on this point. Might be worth adding a cross-canonical footnote to flag the interpretive tradition.