Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa

Introduction to 3.8.1 Vibhaṅgasuttaṃ-8 -
What is Sammāsati - Right Awareness? - A Concern expressed!

 

Sammāsati is explained as the Fourfold Establishing of Awareness. The Fourfold Establishing of Awareness, the cattāro satipaṭṭhānā, constitutes the path of purification for beings to overcome sorrow and lamentation, to extinguish suffering and grief, to walk the path of truth and to realise nibbāna.¹ Likewise the Buddha declared that only if the Fourfold Establishing of Awareness, the cattāro satipaṭṭhānā are maintained, developed and cultivated it can be assured that the true Dhamma can be expected to prevail after his passing away for long.

The cattāro satipaṭṭhānā similarly refer the respective two physical and two mental manifestations that appear throughout one’s life: ‘observing body in body’, ‘observing sensations in sensations’, ‘observing mind in mind’ and ‘observing mental contents in mental contents’. The respective Pāli terms: ‘kāye kāyānupassī’, ‘vedanāsu vedanānupassī’, ‘citte cittānupassī’ and ‘dhammesu dhammānupassī’ are in the locative and determine the translation ‘IN’. This points to and substantiates that the object and focus of one’s meditation has to remain within one’s ‘own’ physical boundaries, one’s ‘own’ body and mind, the ‘own’ mind-matter phenomenon which needs to be observed. The repeatedly used prefix: ‘anu’ - literal: ‘following after, along with’ denotes the ongoing process of the never ending, always accompanying, ever to be maintained task of the meditator of observing all manifestations within: ‘anupassī’. This constant never interrupted ‘surveillance’ if based on the three characteristics of ‘ātāpī² sampajāno satimā³’ comprises what is called ‘sammāsati’. Sustained effectively and unremittingly it leads to a state that is beyond greed, craving, passion, displeasure, depression and aversion, delusion and ignorance.

It needs to be pointed out that, when talking of ‘sammāsati’ in the context of this ‘Exploring the Path’ selections of the Buddha’s teaching, ‘Right Awareness’ is chosen as the translation. ‘Awareness’ is preferred to the more common ‘mindfulness’, ‘alertness’ or ‘wakefulness of mind’ as a translation for ‘sati’! Using the term ‘awareness’ not only hopes to inhabit more closeness to the ongoing, everlasting energy and never stopping effort behind its accomplishment, it also tries to repudiate the impact of the prominence of what these days is associated when talking about ‘mindfulness’.

Unfortunately, over the past two decades what today is commonly known as ‘mindfulness’ has become ‘mainstream’ but has completely disintegrated itself from what the Buddha taught as ‘sammāsati’ as an indispensable constituent of the Noble Eightfold Path. This transformation of the common perception of mindfulness has removed itself from the necessary, important foundation of sammādiṭṭhi, detached itself from the obligatory base of moral uprightness of sīla and has gone astray with the perspective of liberation.

While the objective of the Buddha’s path aspires for complete eradication of all defilements and mental impurities - the adapted transformation of ‘mindfulness’ has shifted itself far away to utterly different shores. While ‘sammāsati’ was to lay the base to the unavoidable experimentally realized comprehension of the three basic characteristics of ‘anicca’, ‘dukkha’ and ‘anatta’ - ‘mindfulness’ tends to attach itself to any chosen object for the purpose of the appreciation of a more valued ‘mindful’ life. While the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path enables the practitioner to disentangle him/herself from the bondages of greed and craving, aversion and ill will, delusion and ignorance. The application of ‘mindfulness’ promotes what can be experienced as positive, calming and beneficial ‘by-products’ or ‘side-effects’ of the path to liberation: mental calm, stress-reduction, relaxation, focus on the present moment, recreation …⁴. What, 2600 years ago commenced as ‘sammāsati’ to guide those having left the householders life to tread towards nibbāṇa, has completely lost the perspective of liberation and turned into an adaptive better way of a mindfully appreciated life. For someone travelling on the long road towards liberation indispensable positive by-products like improvement in positive social engagement, empathy, compassion, moral stability and mental calm will occur. ‘Mindfulness’ turns these by-products upside down and transfigures them into its often professionally used purpose: Integrated in vocational training of psychoanalysts, therapeutic treatments, health practitioners, rehabilitation for criminals and addicts, colloquiums for educators and teachers and a never-ending stream of further (as it seems randomly) associated applications. The felt sense of an un-satisfactoriness of life that could lay the base for the understanding of the first Noble Truth and the ever existing truth of dukkha and the aim of liberation thereof transforms into a mindfully enhanced appreciation of a more valid experience of a life.

Only with the basic appreciation and refuge into the ‘triple gem’ - the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha; only by recognizing and endorsing the kammic effect of wholesome and unwholesome deeds on the footing of firm determination of safeguarding ethic principles of goodness and empathy; only with the basic comprehension of the Four Noble Truths and acknowledging sammādiṭṭhi⁵ as the stepping stone that leads beyond dukkha on the cruise towards liberation by enrolling on the path of dukkhanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadā one will finally arrive at the true understanding of the three characteristics of all existence as it is said:

‘‘Yaṃ panāniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vā taṃ sukhaṃ vā’’ti? ‘‘Dukkhaṃ, bhante.’’ ‘‘Yaṃ panāniccaṃ dukkhaṃ vipariṇāmadhammaṃ, kallaṃ nu taṃ samanupassituṃ – ‘etaṃ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’’’ti? ‘‘No hetaṃ, bhante.’’ - “Now whatever is impermanent is it painful or pleasant?” — “It is painful, Bhante.” “Now can, whatever is impermanent and what is painful and therefore subject to change, be considered thus: “This is mine, this is I, this is my self?” — “No, Bhante.”⁶

Based on sammādiṭṭhi all wholesome states ensue!

In a simile the Buddha compares the light of the sun which follows the dawn with all the other components of the path that progress from there, only when integrated sammāsati has its obligatory and firm footing:

‘‘Sūriyassa, bhikkhave, udayato⁷ etaṃ pubbaṅgamaṃ etaṃ pubbanimittaṃ⁸, yadidaṃ – aruṇuggaṃ⁹. Evamevaṃ kho, bhikkhave, kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ etaṃ pubbaṅgamaṃ etaṃ pubbanimittaṃ, yadidaṃ – sammādiṭṭhi. Sammādiṭṭhikassa, bhikkhave, sammāsaṅkappo pahoti¹⁰, sammāsaṅkappassa sammāvācā pahoti, sammākammanto pahoti, sammākammantassa sammāājīvo pahoti, sammāājīvassa sammāvāyāmo pahoti, sammāvāyāmassa sammāsati pahoti, sammāsatissa sammāsamādhi pahoti, sammāsamādhissa sammāñāṇaṃ pahoti, sammāñāṇissa sammāvimutti pahotī’’ti. – The dawn, Bhikkhus, is the forerunner and precursor of the rising of the sun. In the same way right view is the forerunner and precursor of wholesome states. For one of right view, Bhikkhus, right thought originates. For one of right thought, right speech originates. For one of right speech, right action originates. For one of right action, right livelihood originates. For one of right livelihood, right effort originates. For one of right effort, right awareness originates. For one of right awareness, right concentration originates. For one of right concentration, right knowledge originates. For one of right knowledge, right liberation originates. ¹¹

Thus the Buddha proclaimed to the Venerable Ānanda:

Catunnañca kho, āvuso, satipaṭṭhānānaṃ abhāvitattā abahulīkatattā tathāgate parinibbute saddhammo na ciraṭṭhitiko hoti.’’ – If when the Fourfold Establishing of Awareness is not developed and not perfected the true Dhamma does not endure for long time after the final passing of the Tathāgata into Nibbāṇa.”¹²

May those on the spiritual quest who have entered on the path as laid out by the Buddha keep this ‘warning’ in mind. May this chapter on sammāsati provide proper inspiration and guidance for all to proceed without any misconception but travel unwaveringly, steadfast and persistently on the straight path.

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