in the case of Goenka, I think these words fairly represents the expression "better sense or understanding":Dmytro wrote:Did they say "this word is not satisfying"?Sekha wrote:I do not deny that to some extent 'remembrance' can be used even in the context of meditation practice, but this word is not satisfying for some of the most realized meditation teachers in describing meditation experience.
In the case of the Pa Auk Sayadaw, it is not that clear I have to admit it, but he nevertheless makes his choice clearly:Sammā-sati is part of the Noble Eightfold Path. Its literal meaning, as commonly used nowadays in India as smṛti, is "memory" or "remembrance". Vipassana involves no past memory, but you must always remember the object of meditation, which is the reality pertaining to mind and matter within the framework of the body. A better sense or understanding of sati is awareness, which is what it is; and awareness has to be of the reality of this moment as it is, of the present, not the past or future.
http://www.vridhamma.org/Discourses-on- ... hana-Sutta" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And this is not because his words have been translated into English by somebody else, since, in the editorial note of that same document, we find:ānāpānassati is the mindfulness of breathing. Knowing the breath is wisdom (paññā). Being mindful of the breath is mindfulness (sati).
see here under The Noble Eightfold Path
All sixteen talks had been prepared in English, and then read in English by the Sayadaw
It is worthwhile though to note the following fact:Dmytro wrote: Nobody used the term 'mindfulness' before Thomas Rhys-Davids coined it in his Pali-English dictionary. So if Margaret Cone will interpret the word 'sati' as 'remembrance' in her new dictionary, this interpretation will be used in new translations, and then by meditation practitioners and teachers.
The Pa Auk Sayadaw has had a complete buddhist education as a monk, involving learning the Pali language, according to the Burmese tradition:
However, when he started to teach in English and he looked for the appropriate translation of sati, he chose "mindfulness". I don't think anyone can reasonably consider that the Sayadaw merely followed Rhys Davids' choice, and few people can be considered as being more knowledgeable than him in both theory and practice, Margaret Cone certainly not being among them.The Sayadaw was born in 1934 , in Leigh-Chaung Village, Hinthada Township, in the delta region about one hundred miles northwst of the capital, Yangon. In 1944, at age ten, he ordained as a novice monk (sāmaṇera) at a monastery in his village. During the next decade, he pursued his life of a typical scholar-novice, studying the Pāli texts (including Vinaya, Suttas and Abhidhamma) under various teachers. He passed the three Pāli language examinatations while still a novice.
In 1954, at age twenty, the Sayadaw received the higher ordination as a bhikkhu. He continued his studies of the Pāli Texts under the guidance of elder learned monks. In 1956 he passed the prestigious Dhammacariya examination. This is equivalent to a BA in Buddhist Pāli Studies and confers the title of "Dhamma Teacher".
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/teach-train3rd.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;