Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org

The first step in our progress, the first factor of
enlightenment, is called “sati”. “sati” is a word that should
be familiar to most Buddhists; unfortunately, however, it is
often understood quite loosely, even incorrectly. Generally
translated as “mindfulness”, it is usually taken to mean
“awareness” or “alertness”, both of which are ostensibly
positive qualities of mind. “sati”, however, means neither.
The word “sati” comes from a root (sara) that means to
remember, or recollect. This root is used in the standard
form of “going for refuge” to the Buddha, his teachings, and
his enlightened disciples, for example: “buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ
gacchāmi” – “I go to the Buddha as a saraṇa”. The word
“saraṇa” is generally translated as “refuge”, which it can
indeed mean. The word also means, however, “object of
recollection”, i.e. something to recollect in times of difficulty.
Indeed, this is exactly what the Buddha encouraged us to do
when we are in distress. He said, “maṃ anussareyyātha” –
“you should recollect me”, because thoughts on the
perfection of the Buddha would console us in times of
despair. Similar practices exist in many of the world’s
religions to bring faith and courage in times of difficulty –
there is nothing particularly Buddhist about it.
From this explanation, though, we can see that the word
“sati”, the very basis on which we are to build our practice,
has something to do with calling to mind, or keeping in mind.
The word sati is sometimes used to refer to recollecting
events that have occurred in the past or foreseeing those
that will happen in the future as well. In the context of the
factors of enlightenment, however, it refers only to
recollection of the present moment. What it really means is
to call to mind the objective nature of the experience,
eschewing all projection, extrapolation or judgement about
the object.
According to the Abhidhamma, sati arises based on fortified
recognition (thīra-saññā). Whereas ordinary recognition
(saññā) is not enough to keep the mind in objective
awareness, once we fortify or reaffirm this recognition, not
letting the mind move beyond simple awareness of the
object for what it is, our minds will penetrate the nature of
the object to the core, dispelling all doubt as to its essential
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