sati
+0 – pre-Buddhist meaning of ‘sati’
MN 36.2.4 as part of 5 indriya was pre-Buddhist, remembering what was done and said from long ago.
+1 – disambiguation
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The most common translation for ‘sati’ is mindfulness.
The problem is ‘mindfulness’ is vague and wildly variant in popular usage,
often extremely wrong when compared to a precise EBT technical meaning.
See sammā sati 7🐘 for authoritative EBT definition and understanding.
+1.1 – disambiguating EBT meaning of sati
+sati 7🐘 = remembering
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0. Basic function and Pre-buddhist (MN 36 5ind) meaning of sati: High level of proficiency in memorizing and 'remembering' what was done and said from long ago (SN 48.9 sati-indriya).
1. The specialized Buddhist meaning of 'sati' builds on #0, and the Dhamma that 'sati' memorizes and remembers is relentlessly recalled and applied in the present moment, always for the sake of Nirvana as the overarching goal. Whenever you see 'sati' without qualification in the suttas, almost always the intended meaning is the specialized Buddhist definition in SN 47.2.
1a. sati = STED 4sp🐘 satipattana formula
1b. Sati is recursively defined as S&S🐘💭 (sati & sampajano) in each of the 4sp, remembering & lucid-discerning.
1c. The lucid-discerning (sampajano) that rides shotgun with sati in S&S, is a thin disguise for right view 1👁. Pajano is a form of pañña 5👁 (discernment), and many suttas equate pañña with right-view. So sati can not be a choiceless awareness zombie with Right View joined at the hip with sati like siamese twins.
2. Sati remembers ☸Dhamma. Always (SN 47.6, SN 47.7). ☸Dhamma = Buddha's teaching that leads to ... viraga, nirodha, ... Nirvana. The 4sp formula in the official sati definition is another concise way to express ☸Dhamma. So is the 4👑☸.
3. Sati is the head of the 7sb dragon (SN 46.1). When you see 'sati', often it's implied you should slurp in all 7sb☀️ awakening factors into the picture, which you already start to do by slurping in 2nd factor ☸Dhamma-vicaya. ☸Dhamma is what sati remembers, and ☸Dhamma is what the 2nd factor in 7sb investigates. The 3rd factor Viriya vigorously executes the ☸Dhamma instructions recalled by sati. Etc.
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1. The specialized Buddhist meaning of 'sati' builds on #0, and the Dhamma that 'sati' memorizes and remembers is relentlessly recalled and applied in the present moment, always for the sake of Nirvana as the overarching goal. Whenever you see 'sati' without qualification in the suttas, almost always the intended meaning is the specialized Buddhist definition in SN 47.2.
1a. sati = STED 4sp🐘 satipattana formula
1b. Sati is recursively defined as S&S🐘💭 (sati & sampajano) in each of the 4sp, remembering & lucid-discerning.
1c. The lucid-discerning (sampajano) that rides shotgun with sati in S&S, is a thin disguise for right view 1👁. Pajano is a form of pañña 5👁 (discernment), and many suttas equate pañña with right-view. So sati can not be a choiceless awareness zombie with Right View joined at the hip with sati like siamese twins.
2. Sati remembers ☸Dhamma. Always (SN 47.6, SN 47.7). ☸Dhamma = Buddha's teaching that leads to ... viraga, nirodha, ... Nirvana. The 4sp formula in the official sati definition is another concise way to express ☸Dhamma. So is the 4👑☸.
3. Sati is the head of the 7sb dragon (SN 46.1). When you see 'sati', often it's implied you should slurp in all 7sb☀️ awakening factors into the picture, which you already start to do by slurping in 2nd factor ☸Dhamma-vicaya. ☸Dhamma is what sati remembers, and ☸Dhamma is what the 2nd factor in 7sb investigates. The 3rd factor Viriya vigorously executes the ☸Dhamma instructions recalled by sati. Etc.
+✅Right and ⛔Wrong
✅Sati can take on any one or more of the meanings above in any combination, simultaneously. They're not mutually exclusive.
✅In the suttas, you often see S&S🐘💭 as a compound, or just 'S' sati on its own. Whichever form is used, usually all meanings are implied. I.e. sati includes S&S🐘💭, 4sp🐘, 7sb☀️.
⛔Sati is not choiceless awareness *
⛔Sati is not bare present moment awareness *
* Sati may at times manifest superificial symptoms that resemble a choiceless awareness zombie, but that is a side effect, and not the true meaning of sati.
✅In the suttas, you often see S&S🐘💭 as a compound, or just 'S' sati on its own. Whichever form is used, usually all meanings are implied. I.e. sati includes S&S🐘💭, 4sp🐘, 7sb☀️.
⛔Sati is not choiceless awareness *
⛔Sati is not bare present moment awareness *
* Sati may at times manifest superificial symptoms that resemble a choiceless awareness zombie, but that is a side effect, and not the true meaning of sati.
+1.2 – equivalent terms to ‘sati’ in EBT
+Sati ⊜ equivalent factors
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+10 – misc.
Abhidhamma Vibhanga has nice defn. here:
Ab Vb 7.1.1.6 – gloss: ‘Satimā.’, rememberful [of Dharma]