5.3. Mental Power of Mindfulness (Satibala or Smṛti)

[Full title: The Five Mental Powers (Pañcabalāni or Bala)—(3): Mental Power of Mindfulness (Satibala or Smṛti)]

The word sati is derived from a root meaning “to remember,” but as a mental factor, it signifies presence of mind, attentiveness to the present, rather than the faculty of memory regarding the past. It has the characteristic of not wobbling that is, not floating away from the object. Its function is absence of confusion or non-forgetfulness. It is manifested as guardianship, or as the state of confronting an object field. Its proximate cause is strong perception (thirasaññā) or the four foundations of mindfulness.

The four foundations of mindfulness have a single essence, which consists of mindful contemplation (anupassanā) of phenomena. They are differentiated insofar as this mindful contemplation is to be applied to four objects—the body (kāya), feelings (vedanā), states of consciousness (citta), and mental objects (dhamma). The latter comprises such factors as the five hindrances (nīvaraṇa), the five aggregates (khandha), the six sense bases (āyatana), the seven enlightenment factors (bojjhaṅga), and the four noble truths (ariyasaccā). The practice of the four foundations of mindfulness is identical with right mindfulness (sammāsati) as the seventh factor of the noble eightfold path (aṭṭhangikamagga).^[1]

The antithesis of mindfulness (sati) is muṭṭhasacca, confused mindfulness or absent-mindedness. It means inability to become absorbed in the work of tranquility meditation (samatha-bhāvanā) or of insight meditation (vipassanā-bhāvanā); inability to concentrate and to control one’s mind; the wandering of thoughts to objects other than the object of concentration. Ordinary mindfulness that one possesses in a rudimentary state from birth cannot dispel that absentmindedness. Only developed mindfulness can do it.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

DN, 22; MN, 10