1 The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta: An Application of Buddhist Mindfulness for Counsellors Kin Cheung (George) Lee Centre of Buddhist Studies The University of Hong Kong Ong Chez Kuang Department of Psychology University of the West Author Details: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kin Cheung (George) Lee, Centre of Buddhist Studies, HKU Room 415, 4/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong (email:
[email protected]). 2 Abstract In the field of counselling, there has been an increasing number of counsellors trying to incorporate Buddhist ideas and practices into their practise, but little pragmatic resources from the Buddhist framework are available. In response to this need, this paper focuses on the foundational Buddhist text on meditation, namely the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. Original Buddhist scriptures are not easily understood without guidance, thus this paper provide a commentary for counsellors by explaining the relevant Buddhist concepts and practices, proposing a Note, Know, and Choose model based on the sutta, and providing a case study to illustrate the application of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta for counselling. Keywords: Mindfulness, Meditation, Buddhist Psychology, Buddhist Counselling, Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 3 Introduction Buddhism provides a comprehensive analysis of the human mind and a systematic methodology to eliminate human suffering that has been a mental health treatment for millions of individuals in human history (Epstein 2002). Although there are many different schools and subcultures of Buddhism, all forms of teachings and counselling are congruent with the fundamental teachings of the Buddha, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Three Marks of Existence (Lee at el.