The smṛtyupasthāna (four foundations of mindfulness) is regarded as basic ways of practice in the Āgama. The “mindfulness of the body” emphasises current understandings of the states of body, including the breath, the composition of body, and how it decomposes and transforms after death. The “mindfulness of feelings or sensations” requires observations on sensations, such as suffering, pleasure, and neither-pleasure-nor-suffering (adukkhāmasukha), that are aroused when the six sensory roots confront with the six blemishes (sensed objects). The “mindfulness of mind or consciousness” lays stress on current observations on the mind and its state: desirous/non-desirous, angry, or ignorant. The “mindfulness of dhammā” requires observations on the dhammā aroused in the mind and its transformations as the sensory roots confront with the blemishes. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a “method of differentiation” (異法門) is added to the four foundations of mindfulness. It claims it necessary to traverse through the śrāvaka-dharmā and realises the aspect of impurity, impermanence, suffering, and śūnyatā, in order to grasp the true nature (tattvasya-lakṣaṇam; 實相) of body, sensations, mind, and dhammā.For Master Sheng-Yen ( 聖嚴法師), the smṛtyupasthāna is considered as, firstly, the foundation of the threefold training (sikkhā) which belongs to the practices with gradualness and, secondly, the foundation of silent-illumination meditation (默照禪). We can see that wisdom as ancient as the smṛtyupasthāna is still frequently evoked even in silent-illumination meditation. However, although the practice of silent illumination derives from the five serene contemplations ( 五停心) and the smṛtyupasthāna, its actual operation is totally different from that of the latter. Because of its methodological refinement, the silent-illumination meditation can achieve a goal that has never been reached by the five serene contemplations and the smṛtyupasthāna, which only serve as the basis of Buddhist sādhanā. Therefore, it may be proper to claim that such ancient a method of practice still lives alive in contemporary Chan practices, though in different looks and postures. In other words, although the silent-illumination meditation of Master Sheng-Yen is a special mode of teaching and training catering for the development of modern society, it never goes too far from ancient wisdom and traditions.
