patissatimattaya

Explore the ancient language of the Tipitaka and Theravāda commentaries
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badscooter
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patissatimattaya

Post by badscooter »

I've seen this translated as "mere attention" or "bare attention".... Does that seem like a correct definition? It appears frequently in the Satipatthana Sutta
thanks
maha metta
:anjali:
"whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon will be the inclination of one's mind"
culaavuso
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Re: patissatimattaya

Post by culaavuso »

Looking at one of the instances where this occurs in MN10:
MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta wrote: ‘Atthi kāyo’ti vā panassa sati paccupaṭṭhitā hoti. Yāvadeva ñāṇamattāya paṭis­sati­mattāya anissito ca viharati, na ca kiñci loke upādiyati.

(Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
Or his mindfulness that 'There is a body' is maintained to the extent of knowledge & remembrance. And he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world.

(Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi)
Or else mindfulness that ‘there is a body’ is simply established in him to the extent necessary for bare knowledge and mindfulness. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.
It appears that this is a dative form (-āya) combined from Paṭissati and Matta. Thus "to the extent of remembrance" or "to the extent necessary for mindfulness" seem to both be reasonable translations of paṭis­sati­mattāya. For a discussion of the meaning of sati and the connection between mindfulness and remembrance, it might be helpful to read Mindfulness Defined by Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
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badscooter
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Re: patissatimattaya

Post by badscooter »

Thanks for the reply culaavuso.
I can see how one can take those meanings as bare awareness. It seems to come down to how one would emphasize the phase "to the extent."
maha metta
"whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon will be the inclination of one's mind"
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Mkoll
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Re: patissatimattaya

Post by Mkoll »

Some in-depth looks into the sutta can be find in Ven. Sujato's A History of Mindfulness and Ven. Analayo's two Satipatthana books.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
dhammachakka
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Re: patissatimattaya

Post by dhammachakka »

a discussion on "paṭissatimattāya" is here:

https://groups.io/g/dsg/topic/99241343#175450

any insights, comments, references that can lead to clarity on the experiential understanding of " PAṬISSATI " [ BARE AWARENESS ] is most welcome.
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