(Mahasatipathan sutta)
The four foundations of mindfulness represent a very important way for purification and the destruction of misery and for the attainment of Nibbana. Every way of Buddha's teachings is to cut out the delusion of self-personality (Sakkayaditti) or egoistic view, the number one of the ten fetters (Sanyojana) that binds all sentient beings to the cycle of birth and death.
          After you investigate or analyze your own body, your feelings, your emotions, your mind, and ultimate reality of life and nature, you acknowledge spirit. You realize that this universe is filled with instability, insecurity, constant change, problems, unhappiness and emptiness. The only state you wish for is supreme happiness of eternal Nibbana.

What are the four foundations of mindfulness ?
1. Body Contemplation (Kayanupassana). After completing the breathing concentration, the students consider or investigate their own bodies as walking corpses, full of filth and composed of four elements, which continue to decay. Soon the four elements in their bodies will go on their separate ways as dirt (muscles and bones), water (blood and urine), air (oxygen and carbon dioxide), and heat.
We call our bodies walking corpses. Our loved ones are not subject to attachment because they do not really belong to us. They belong to nature. We are really the ultimate soul or the purified soul, and we must reach the ultimate goal, eternal magic, supreme happiness called Nibbana.
2. Contemplation of Feelings (Vedan Upassana). All the happy and sad feelings do not really belong to us. They come and go. We should not pay any attention or think about them.
3. Mind Concentration (Cittanupassana). All these states of the mind contain lust, passion for all beautiful things in the world (raga), hatred (dosa), delusion, and ignorance (moha). We should try to get rid of them because these defilements are the cause of trouble with rebirth and endless suffering.
-To get rid of greed. The Buddha taught us to be Generous.
-To get rid of anger and hatred, the Buddha taught us to be kind.
-To get rid of ignorance and delusion, the Buddha taught us to see our bodies as four elements filled with filth, which will disintegrate, over which we have no control.
4. Dhamma Contemplation (Dhammanupassana) . Dhamma means nature or ultimate reality of life and the universe. We will concentrate on the five hindrances (Nivorn):
- Sense desire (Kamacchanda). To know sense desire is to try to get rid of it.
Anger. Try to abandon anger by substituting sympathy and kindness.
- Sloth or sleepiness. This causes us to be lazy, not to meditate. We have to be alert and awaken and try to get out of the ocean of suffering by striving to be successful.
- Restlessness (Uddhacca kukkucca). We learn how to get rid of this restlessness with mindfulness on breathing.
- Indecision or doubt (Vicikiccha). We may think that meditation is useless, however, it is ignorance that has caused us to be miserable in the uncertainty of rebirth.
The five aggregates of grasping is one of the Dhamma contemplations
- To be free from bondage of rebirth, we have to analyze the body (material form as combination of four elements), which are perishable and do not belong to anyone.
- These bodies also contain feelings (vedana), perception or memory (sanna), mental formation or thoughts (sangara) and nerve impulses or consciousness (vinyana) which exist together with the body and eventually disappear. They do not belong to us. We have to detach or abandon these five aggregates to be free from rebirth and attain eternal, supreme happiness.
The six sense base in Dhamma contemplation (Salayatana)
-The six senses are also in the physical body, which includes eyes, ears, nose, tongue, bodily contact, and passion of the mind. They are the open door for greed, anger, passion, and illusion. To get rid of these fetters is to know and investigate the function of these six senses. They are only nerve impulses that come and go link visitors. They are not real.
-The six senses are the basis for body consciousness (nerve impulses), which belong to the five aggregates. Some people think that the mind and soul are the same. But this is a misunderstanding as the soul is a separate entity which goes to the highest realm of Nibbana when the spirit is purified of defilements through the process of meditation. However, the mind is associated with the finite body which decays and disintegrates at the time of death.
The seven factors of enlightenment in Dhamma contemplation (Bojjhanga)
As students, we should keep these seven factors of enlightenment in our minds. They are the path of purification, full of wisdom, and realizing Nibbana, Free from all bondage.
1. Mindfulness (Sati) or awareness of whatever we are doing, good or bad, useful or useless actions.
2. Investigation of Reality (Dhammavicaya). We continue to investigate or observe the reality of life around us and wonder if sentient beings are really joyful or full of troubles.
3. Striving for success (Viriya). This is one of the best ways to successful enlightenment or the purification of the soul to attain Nibbana, the state of peace and real happiness. By striving until we reach the state of sainthood, we will be free from birth, sickness, and death that cause us sorrow and lamentation.
4. Joy (Piti) is present when we practice good concentration of body and states of mind. There is more contentment and determination after these states of joy.
5. Tranquility (Passaddhi). When are we aware of tranquility? We are aware of tranquility when we reach the third and fourth states of absorption (third and fourth jhana) in breathing meditation.
6. Equanimity (Ubegka). The state of mental equanimity will be present if we continue until the fourth state of meditation. We will feel more peaceful, independent, and happy.
7. Concentration (Samathi). We will develop more confidence and determination to succeed in sainthood or liberation from the wheel of life that causes us trouble with all kinds of misery, disappointment, and hopelessness.
Contemplation of the Four Noble Truths in Dhamma Concentration
          Suffering. Before we realize the reality of nature, we have to open our hearts and minds to see what our bodies really are and how they work. Our bodies being to change as soon as we are born. The trouble with bodies is that we become hungry, thirsty, too hot, too cold, tired, develop a headache or stomachache.
We get all kinds of sickness from diseases, filthy from perspiration, urinating, defecation of feces, urinating, defecation of feces, stool every day. We have to clean our bodies by taking a bath or shower due to the impurity of the body. Besides, we all have to work hard to make money to buy food to feed these bodies. These bodies are fragile and not easy to keep healthy. Even before death, our bodies get sick and old, and are perishable from the beginning of life. To study the nature of our bodies is to know the first Noble Truth, the cause of suffering.
If we did not have these perishable bodies, which are out of our control, we would have no more suffering. The joys that Brahma and the Devas experience are not lasting, even though they do not suffer the kinds of troubles that mortal beings suffer. The Buddha said that all earthly and heavenly joys are only temporary states. They will finally disappear at the end of time.
          The only permanent state is that of the pure or liberated soul which has been freed from the cycle of birth and death. It is the eternal supreme Nibbana state with deathlessness, with cleanliness, with joy, with real freedom from all kinds of troubles. We will realize that state if we continue contemplation of the Four Noble Truths.
The causes of suffering (Samudaya)
          The cause of suffering are : passion, greed, hatred or anger, self-delusion, self-illusion or not knowing the truth of life that causes us to have bad thoughts, bad speech and violent actions. Then the cycle of birth, sickness, and death continues as soon as we die.
          To put an end of this life is to get of passion in life, to share or give away to the needy, to be kind and sympathetic and to practice breathing meditation to gain more wisdom, to get rid of self-delusion. We will have the intention to follow the Noble Eightfold path to attain Nibbana or to end the cycle of rebirth.
The cessation of suffering (Nirodha)
          If we knew that the cause of suffering is rebirth, the cause of rebirth as defilements and bad deeds (bad or immoral actions such as killing, stealing, adultery, false speech, drug and intoxicants), attachments, craving to live, we must rid ourselves of these causes by good conduct or morality, good concentration (any of the forty subjects of meditation), good wisdom, by investigating the reality or the truth of life, nature and the universe.

The path to purification (Magga)
           The Lord Buddha taught us the Noble Eightfold path to follow for the destruction of suffering life. This unique path leads to Nibbana, the state of eternal wisdom, enlightenment, real peace, and real freedom. This consists of morality, concentration and knowledge or wisdom.
The following eight factors are listed below
Right understanding (Sammaditthi) or the truth of life.
Right thoughts (Samma samkappa) or thoughts to get out of the cycle of rebirth.
Right speech (Samma vaca) or speaking with truth and gentleness.
Right action (Samma kammanta) or non-injury, not to harm or destroy other beings.
Right livelihood (Samma ajiva) or to work for a living with honesty.
Right effort (Samma vayama) or to strive for abandonment of self-delusion, abandonment of greed, anger, self-illusion, to be liberated from the bondage of rebirth to reach the stage of sainthood and realize Nibbana by comprehension of all stages of existence. Nibbana is the state of happiness with no rebirth.
Right mindfulness (Samma sati). It is awareness of actions, thoughts, and feelings to keep the mind from clinging, craving or attachment to the temporal world.
          Right concentration (Samma samathi). There are forty subjects of concentration, including the four foundations of mindfulness. These are the way to benefit all beings whether of one religion or another. They must lead to real eternal peace or Nibbana. Nibbana is the place for all sentient beings with no self-delusion, with no attachment to this word, the heavenly world or Brahma world.