Do "and further", "again", in MahaSatipatthanasutta definitely mean "next step (aparam)"?

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Accepted answer

More like 'and deeper than that'. You will find that the majority, perhaps all, lists in the Dhamma are progressions. Each further step if followed opens up the Dhamma further and is closer to the goal:

  • going from minding the body, to minding the sensations, to minding mental states to minding the Dhamma
  • minding the fundamental aspects of the body (earth, water, firelight, wind), then postures, then movements, then destiny as a corps
  • ditto the internals of minding sensations (worldly unpleasant to unworldly neither unpleasant nor unpleasant), mental states (from thoroughly bound up to freed or not), and the Dhamma (from noting involvement to understanding through the Four truths)

Upvote:3

I don't think the satipatthana sutta is describing a progression. puna caparaṃ is used throughout the Buddha's teaching to connect multiple ideas in a list. For example, in the Mahaparinibbāna Sutta:

“pañcime, gahapatayo, ādīnavā dussīlassa sīlavipattiyā. katame pañca? idha, gahapatayo, dussīlo sīlavipanno pamādādhikaraṇaṃ mahatiṃ bhogajāniṃ nigacchati. ayaṃ paṭhamo ādīnavo dussīlassa sīlavipattiyā.

“puna caparaṃ, gahapatayo, dussīlassa sīlavipannassa pāpako kittisaddo abbhuggacchati. ayaṃ dutiyo ādīnavo dussīlassa sīlavipattiyā.

I don't think it is used to mean "next step". In the above example, as with many other examples, it certainly would be strange to think of it as describing a progression.

PED says:

The phrase puna c' aparaŋ "and again something else" stands on the same level as the phrase aparo pi (apare pi), with which one may compare the parallel expressions puna -- divase: aparadivase all of which show the close relation between pi puna, apara

In the satipatthana sutta there are many different practices, some samatha and some vipassana, and it doesn't seem reasonable that one should necessarily practice them consecutively instead of concurrently or alternatively. Notice that puna ca paraṃ is only used for items within kāya and dhammā because there are multiple sections. It's really more a way of listing, I think, rather than connecting sections.

As the satipatthana sutta commentary says:

The Blessed One's exposition of the Arousing of Mindfulness is similar to the action of a worker in mat and basket weaving who wishing to make coarse and fine mats, boxes, cases, and the like, should make those goods after getting a mammoth bamboo, splitting it into four, and reducing each of the parts to strips.

(Soma, trans.)

One would think if it was meant to be a strict linear progression, the commentary would make some mention of that. Instead, the commentary describes, for example, using mindfulness of postures in between formal meditation, which seems reasonable.

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