Dmytro wrote:
Satipatthana suttas don't and shouldn't explain the functions of 'sati' - they explain the four ways of establishing 'sati' (sati-upatthana).
The mathematically concise formula from the Satipatthana sutta:
Atthi dhammā ti vā panassa sati paccupaṭṭhitā hoti yāvadeva ñāṇamattāya patissatimattāya
"Or his mindfulness that 'There are mental qualities' is maintained to the extent of knowledge & remembrance."
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Thanks Dmytro.
I think the jury is still out on this, since various translators render
patissati differently. Both Ven T and Ven Soma have it as "remembrance", while Ven Nyanasatta and the MLDB render it as "mindfulness". To my mind, those refrains which employ the verb
pajānāti as evidence of
sati being
paccupaṭṭhita (established, stationed) seem easier to interpret as simply knowing or being aware, without memory intruding, or even an instruction guiding the process. Perhaps the remembrance aspect of
sati is not at the time of the "contemplation"/
anupassanā, but rather,
sati facilitates recall? This facilitative aspect of sati towards enabling memory seems to be the point in AN 7.63 which you cited earlier.
is explained in more detail in Dvedhavitakka sutta:
"Just as in the last month of the hot season, when all the crops have been gathered into the village, a cowherd would look after his cows: While resting under the shade of a tree or out in the open, he simply keeps himself mindful of 'those cows.' In the same way, I simply kept myself mindful of 'those mental qualities.'
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I would agree with this. I note that the
satikaraṇīya (lit. doing sati) after the harvest is a lot more relaxed, and perhaps even indulgent. The presence of the cow/good mental states are simply known, unlike the earlier efforts at curbing the cow/bad mental states because he "realises"/
passati the disadvantages in letting the cow or bad mental states roam. What I take away from MN 19 is that the
passati is the outcome of remembering the work to be done, whereupon the right kind of Right Effort is then brought up to deal with the gross defilements.
Yet, I wonder if sometimes, too much of the wrong type of effort is applied when the hindrances are already subdued to a subtle state. The 4th part of Right Effort is directed towards the maintenance of the positive states that have been aroused. How much energy should be directed to this? AN 3.102 develops the theme further than MN 19's program towards dispelling sensual thoughts etc. We do have the injunction in AN 3.102 to give up
dhammavitakkā as the subtlest form of defilement. Should one be remembering things at this point, or should one simply be "aware"?
In fact, at MN 19, the Bodhisatta's practice of meditation also uses the verb
pajānāmi, where the Bodhisatta "sees" that the bad mental states lead to affliction. This sort of seeing seems direct and does not appear to be mediated by memory, but simply by insight. That very seeing allows the Bodhisatta to
paṭisañcikkhati/consider the afflictions that flow from each mental state. This process simply ends when the defilement "just" disappears (
abbhatthaṃ gacchati). The 2 meditation verbs here do not seem to me to be marshalling great amounts of memory, especially in the context of MN 19 where the Bodhisatta seemed to have been conducting an experiment, ie no prior experience to fall back on.