Bhante Yuttadhammo,

> there are some convincing reasons to suggest that the practice in the
> satipatthana sutta is quite comprehensive, not just an aspect.

It is indeed very comprehensive. I have studied a bit a translation of
Chinese version on the website of Jou Smith.

http://www.geocities.com/josmith_1_2000/buddhism/budaword/from_chinese/index.html

Some details there suggest that the dimension of four satipatthanas and
dimension of seven bojjhangas were richly integrated, giving an amazing
map of practice. However now this multidimensionality is rarely noticed.

Yet suttas demonstrate even bigger amazing variety of approaches to
practice.

For example, Ven. Mahapajapati Gotami practiced according to the sutta
with description of skilful and unskilful qualities.

Ven. Sariputta in Sammaditthi sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn009-nt0.html
shows a rich toolbox of methods.

>>I see your point, however I won't equalise the Eightfold
>>noble path with
>> Satipatthana practice as a method. For example, in
>>Vera~njaka.n.da (Vin. iii 1.11) it is described how different
>>Buddhas apply quite different methods of Eightfold path.
>
> Sorry, I can't find this... is this the introduction? I don't see anything
> about this in the Buddha's stay at Vera~nja.

See
http://web.archive.org/web/20020224045245/www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/vinaya/svib1-1.html

"Sariputta, the Blessed Ones Vipassi, Sikhi, and Vessabhu were not
motivated[11] to explain the Dhamma in detail to their disciples, and
there were few of the dialogues, dialogues containing prose and verse,
explanations, verses, exclamations, quotations, birth stories, amazing
events, and question and answer sessions.[12] Training rules were not
laid down for their disciples, and the Patimokkha was not pointed out.
Then with the passing away of those Awakened Ones, Blessed Ones, and
with the passing away of the disciples awakened under those Awakened
Ones, whatever future generations of disciples of various names, various
ancestries, various births, who went forth from various clans, they
quickly caused the holy life to disappear. Sariputta, it is just like
various flowers placed down upon a table not tied together with string:
the wind scatters them about, blows them away, and dashes them into
pieces. And why? Because it was not tied together with string.
Sariputta, in the same way, with the passing away of those Awakened
Ones, Blessed Ones, and with the passing away of the disciples awakened
under those Awakened Ones, whatever future generations of disciples of
various names, various ancestries, various births, who went forth from
various clans, they quickly caused the holy life to disappear.

"In addition, those Blessed Ones, having grasped with their own minds
the minds of the disciples, were motivated to exhort their disciples.
Formerly, Sariputta, the Blessed One Vessabhu, worthy, rightly
self-awakened, in a certain terrifying forest exhorted and admonished a
gathering of a thousand monks having grasped with his own mind the minds
of the monks: 'Think in this way, do not think in this way; attend to
this, do not attend to this; renounce this, enter upon and remain in
this.' Now at that time, Sariputta, with the Blessed One Vessabhu,
worthy, rightly self-awakened, exhorting and admonishing in this way,
the minds of those thousand monks through no clinging were fully
released from the effluents. There indeed, Sariputta, the terrifying
forest was of a terrifying nature: whoever entered into that forest that
was not free from lust, as a rule the hair of their body stood on end.
This, Sariputta, was the cause, this was the condition by which the holy
life of the Blessed Ones Vipassi, Sikhi, and Vessabhu was not
long-lasting."

With metta, Dmytro