Satipatthanas (Sati = mindfulness, awareness of what is occuring + patthanas = that which plunges into and penetrates continuously, again and again) is the type of mindfulness that penetrates repeatedly into the body, feelings, mind, and dhammas, and sees the actual reality that is occurring. This is in contrast to the normal unmindful state in which the mind bounces or skips over these phenomena. “The four satipatthanas” might therefore be translated as the “four steadfast mindfulnesses”.