In “Maha Satipatthana Sutta”, Buddha addressed to monks:

"This is the one and only way, monks, 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: that is to say, the fourfold establishing of awareness."

 

Why is this way, the Fourfold Establishing of Awareness, the only way?

To answer this question, just consider the reason why having studied and completed the education of a medical school is the only way for a person to get a license to treat illness for people. Even though there are many different medical schools with different names, the teaching program is almost identical. The education and training program must be scientific, comprehensive to offer students knowledge and understanding about the formation and functioning of a human body from just being the baby to the elderly person, in normal state as well as in pathological state. Based on the knowledge, students will learn the means and methods of caring, treating human physical and mental disorders. After graduation, students acquire the skill of treating illnesses and caring for people health. That is to say “this is the one and only way.”

 

Likewise, In the process of practicing Vipassana meditation, objects being advised to recognize, observe and contemplate by practitioner are comprehensive and thorough. These objects belong to the four foundations: body, feeling, mind and dharma.

 

Focusing awareness on objects of the Body Foundation will radiate light over what is going on in or coming in contact with the body to recognize its constantly changing characteristic.

 

Focusing awareness on objects of the Mind Foundation will offer knowledge about the natural, impermanent characteristics of the arising and disappearing of memories, thoughts and consciousness.

 

Observing, contemplating objects of the Feeling Foundation induce the "understanding" of the ultimate origin of human beings pain and suffering.

 

Recognizing, contemplating objects of the Dharma Foundation project light to the darkness of the cause of what is happening in life. Gradually, the practitioner also understands how the cause/effect principle, the being's karma, the conditioned/learned mind reactions and the social convention work together to shape the emotion, attitude, intention and action of a being in this very world. It is worth to mention that, the knowledge a medical student gets from learning the physiopathology subject, somehow similar to the experience a meditator gets in contemplating objects of the Dharma Foundation about the infiltration and domination of defilement in a human being's mind.

 

Over time of practicing, the “understanding” will develop. “Understanding” written in quotation marks, is the ability to see things through its reality (noumenal) world, not its phenomenal world (the information will be discussed in detail here and there on this website).

 

Finally and uniquely, Vipassana meditation practice, over time, will establish in practitioner mind a skill that helps to manage human being's defilements and sufferings: the Noble Eightfold Paths. 

 

That is to say “this is the one and only way”.

 

Vipassana practice follows a scientific method going from recognizing, observing, contemplating objects to "understand" their ultimate nature. However, the practitioners can not describe, report the results they get in worldly language for evaluation and statistic purposes to render the meditation practice science.

 

To be able to recognize and practice Vipassana meditation, yogis must have enough merit and good karma to induce a decision to follow a life-long journey that requires enthusiasm, perseverance, intelligence. A critical condition required is the right motivation. The right motivation comes from the karma of each being to help enduring difficulties, pain, suffering in practicing and to revive other hidden qualities of the yogis.

 

Even in a civilized society with people having high education level and high living standard, only with little attention paid, it is easy to see the prominent presence and widely proliferation of churches, cathedrals, temples, mosques, monasteries of different religions. These buildings, with sizes as small as a house to massive ones; from newly built to ancient, primeval structures spread in residential, commercial areas of lower to middle and high-class people. The above observation discovers the hidden human beings' concern about what happens after ending this current life.

The explosion of communications greatly improve opportunities for everybody to access information and knowledge of the unimaginable progress of sciences, especially space science that have more or less affected human beings' belief, judgment and thinking. The spirit of “do it yourself” has also influenced people mentality. The Four Foundations of Awareness meditation, with the practice based on self-reflecting for finding an answer for human being's life, death, suffering, and happiness, has been welcomed and practiced by Americans and western country people on an increased number day after day.

 

June 2016