This is off topic, but since Lal brought up the mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (DN 22), and the verse:
“Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu araññagato vā rukkhamūlagato vā suññāgāragato vā nisīdati pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā.”
… I’d like to suggest everyone look at this post, if you haven’t seen it before:
Prerequisites for the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhāvanā
Here Lal explained the deeper meaning of the verse as getting into certain mindsets, and keeping the mind on the main subject of nibbana or cooling down. (Bullets 3,4,5,6)
Up until then I had only known the mundane meaning of the verse, which is similar to the translation in the above-mentioned link: Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (DN 22) :
It’s when a mendicant — gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut — sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and establishes mindfulness in their presence.
I went to a number of “vipassana” retreats before, and this verse was always interpreted only with this mundane meaning, with some explaining the last part to mean “keeping attention in the area around the mouth” (i.e. breath meditation).
I can’t tell you all how exhilarated I was when I first came upon the above post! To the point where I memorized the verse — and Pali was no easy thing to a non native Sri Lankan or Indian like me.
Best,
Lang