Reflection: Selfing and the Satipaṭṭhāna

Reflection: Selfing and the Satipaṭṭhāna

Today I realized how central it is to see anicca (impermanence), anattā (not-self), and dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) if we are to truly release suffering.

These three characteristics aren’t just ideas—they are the lens through which the whole practice becomes liberating.
Without them, even meditation can become a way of reinforcing self.

And that brings a deeper question:
If I teach mindfulness, am I helping people let go—or just helping them get better at clinging to “me”?

This is especially important when introducing beginners to the Satipaṭṭhāna.
The risk is teaching awareness only as self-improvement, rather than as insight.

But how do we make the teachings accessible without diluting their essence?
How do we speak of “watching the breath” or “feeling the body” without turning it into more selfing?

Maybe the key is gentle precision.
To point again and again—not toward performance or control—but toward seeing clearly.
Toward remembering: this body is not mine, these thoughts are not me, these emotions are not self.

We don’t need to push the deep teachings too soon.
But we shouldn’t avoid them either.

They are the doorway out.