在《阿含經》中四念處被視為基礎的修行法門，在「身念處」的部分強調對當下身體的狀況、呼吸的狀況及組成狀況的認識，並因此延伸到對身體死亡後分解變化的認知。在「受念處」方面則強調六根與六塵相遇時，苦、樂、不苦不樂等覺知的觀察。「心念處」則重在觀察當下心的狀況，是處於有欲還是無欲、瞋恚還是愚癡？「法念處」則是觀察根塵相遇之後，心所生起的「法」的變化情形。大乘中的四念處，則開出一個「異法門」，認為在聲聞法之上必須跳脫到「不淨、無常、苦、空」的層面，方能真正地認識到身、受、心、法的實相。聖嚴法師對四念處的看法，首先是將它視為漸法中三無漏學的基礎。其次，則是將它做為默照禪的基礎。最後，我們可以看到在默照禪卻無處不運用著這古老的智慧。雖然如此，但卻必須說默照禪的修行原則延續著五停心、四念處而來，但實際的操作則完全不同於五停心與四念處。由於默照禪在方法上的改良，使它達到的目標已不是做為修行基礎的四念處、五停心所能望其項背的了。由此可知，這古老的修行法正以一種不同於以往的姿態，在當代禪法中延續著。換個角度來看，聖嚴法師的默照禪，雖是為了因應當代社會的發展，而開展出特有的教學模式，但其中卻延續著古老的智慧傳統。

The smṛtyupasthāna (four foundations of mindfulness) is regarded as basic ways of practice in the Āgama. The “mindfulness of the body” emphasises current understandings of the states of body, including the breath, the composition of body, and how it decomposes and transforms after death. The “mindfulness of feelings or sensations” requires observations on sensations, such as suffering, pleasure, and neither-pleasure-nor-suffering (adukkhāmasukha), that are aroused when the six sensory roots confront with the six blemishes (sensed objects). The “mindfulness of mind or consciousness” lays stress on current observations on the mind and its state: desirous/non-desirous, angry, or ignorant. The “mindfulness of dhammā” requires observations on the dhammā aroused in the mind and its transformations as the sensory roots confront with the blemishes. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a “method of differentiation” ( 異法門) is added to the four foundations of mindfulness. It claims it necessary to traverse through the śrāvaka-dharmā and realises the aspect of impurity, impermanence, suffering, and śūnyatā, in order to grasp the true nature (tattvasya-lakṣaṇam; 實相) of body, sensations, mind, and dhammā. For Master Sheng-Yen ( 聖嚴法師), the smṛtyupasthāna is considered as, firstly, the foundation of the threefold training (sikkhā) which belongs to the practices with gradualness and, secondly, the foundation of silent-illumination meditation ( 默照 禪). We can see that wisdom as ancient as the smṛtyupasthāna is still frequently evoked even in silent-illumination meditation. However, although the practice of silent illumination derives from the five serene contemplations ( 五停心) and the smṛtyupasthāna, its actual operation is totally different from that of the latter. Because of its methodological refinement, the silent-illumination meditation can achieve a goal that has never been reached by the five serene contemplations and the smṛtyupasthāna, which only serve as the basis of Buddhist sādhanā. Therefore, it may be proper to claim that such ancient a method of practice still lives alive in contemporary Chan practices, though in different looks and postures. In other words, although the silentillumination meditation of Master Sheng-Yen is a special mode of teaching and training catering for the development of modern society, it never goes too far from ancient wisdom and traditions.