MN 10, 4, 8: ". . . ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Breathing in long, he understands: 'I breathe in long'; or breathing out long, he understands: 'I breathe out long.' Breathing in short, he understands: 'I breathe in short'; or breathing out short, he understands: 'I breathe out short.'. . . a bhikkhu is one who acts in full awareness when going forward and returning . . ."

MN 53, 16: "He has mindfulness; he possesses the highest mindfulness and skill; he recalls and recollects what was done long ago and spoken long ago." [Bhikkhu Bodhi glosses, n. 560, p. 1252: "Keen attentiveness to the present forms the basis for an accurate memory of the past."]

SN V, 46, 53 (p. 1607): "But mindfulness, bhikkhus, I say is always useful."

SN V, 47, 19 (pp. 1648-1649): "'I will protect myself,' bhikkhus: thus should the establishments of mindfulness be practiced. 'I will protect others," bhikkhus: thus should the establishments of mindfulness should be practiced. Protecting oneself, bhikkhus, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself."

SN V, 48, 10 (p. 1671): "And what, bhikkhus, is the faculty of mindfulness? Here, bhikkhus, the noble disciple is mindful, possessing supreme mindfulness and discretion, one who remembers and recollects what was done and said long ago. He dwells contemplating the body in the body . . . feelings in feelings . . . mind in mind . . . phenomena in phenomena, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. This is called the faculty of mindfulness."

2. Post-Canonical Pali Literature

Questions of Milinda: "King Milinda asked: 'What is the characteristic quality of mindfulness, Venerable Sir?' The Venerable Nagasena replied: 'It is the quality of keeping check and of retaining.'

Papanca-Sudani, The Commentary to MN 10: "Mindfulness should be strong everywhere. It protects the mind against restlessness . . . lassitude. . . . Therefore, mindfulness-like salt in all dishes, like a minister versed in all affairs-is required everywhere . . . Without mindfulness there is no spurring nor restraining of the mind."

Mula-tika, Commentary to the Sutta Nipata: "Mindfulness is that unremitting heedfulness that brings about perseverance in any activity."

Abhidhammattha Sangaha, The Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma (Ed. Bhikkhu Bodhi): "The word sati derives 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, i.e. 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 objective field. Its proximate cause is strong perception (thirasanna) or the four foundations of mindfulness" (86, II, 5).

3. Contemporary Asian Teachers

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, Anapanasati: Mindfulness with Breathing: [from glossary at end] "Sati, mindfulness, recollection, reflective awareness: the mind's ability to know and contemplate itself. Sati is the vehicle or transport mechanism for panna, without sati wisdom cannot be developed, retrieved, or applied. Sati is not memory, although the two are related. Nor is it mere heedfulness or carefulness. Sati allows us to be aware of what we are about to do. It is characterized by speed and agility" (168).

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, Me and Mine: Selected Essays of Bhikkhu Buddhadasa: "Sati (mindfulness) may be likened to a rope that ties the mind to the stake of breathing" (62).

Achaan Dhammadaro, "Questions and Answers on the Nature of Insight Practice," in Jack Kornfield (ed.), Living Buddhist Masters: "Everyone has some degree of mindfulness. The ordinary business of life, driving a car, baking bread, and so on requires that we are mindful or attentive to the present moment to some extent. But this usually alternates each minute with long lapses of forgetfulness. A person who has no mindfulness at all is mad, completely scattered, and out of contact. But all of this ordinary mindfulness we can refer to as mundane or worldly. Even the mindfulness involved in virtuous acts is worldly. To reach nirvana, mindfulness must become supramundane. . . . To realize this all we have to do is establish continuous mindfulness in the body in all postures . . ." (261).

S.N Goenka, Satipatthana Sutta Discourses: "Sati means awareness, the witnessing of every reality pertaining to mind and matter within the framework of the body (5). . . . Its literal meaning, as commonly used nowadays in India as smrti, is 'memory' or 'remembrance.' Vipassana involves no past memory, but you must always remember the object of meditation . . . 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" (13).

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English (updated and revised edition): "Mindfulness is presymbolic. . . . It is not shackled to logic. . . . Mindfulness be described in completely different terms than will be used here, and each description could still be correct. . . . When you first become aware of something, there is a fleeting instant of pure awareness just before conceptualize the thing, before you identify it. . . . That fleeting soft-focused moment of pure awareness is mindfulness. . . . Mindfulness is mirror-thought. It reflects only what is presently happening and in exactly the way it is happening. There are no biases. Mindfulness is nonjudgmental observation. It is that ability of the mind to observe without criticism. . . . Mindfulness is an impartial watchfulness . . . nonconceptual awareness . . .nonegotistic alertness . . . awareness of change . . . participatory observation" (137 ff.).

Mahasi Sayadaw, "Insight Meditation: Basic and Progressive Stages," in Jack Kornfield (ed.), Living Buddhist Masters: "Through concentrated attention (mindfulness), he knows how to distinguish each bodily and mental process: 'The rising movement is one process, the knowing of it is another; the falling is one process, the knowing of it is another.' He realizes that each act of knowing has the nature of 'going toward an object'" (67).

Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: "I'll use the term 'mindfulness' to refer to keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality (11) . . . keep your attention focused on the work, be alert and ready to handle ably and intelligently any situation which may arise-this is mindfulness. There is no reason why mindfulness should be different from focusing all one's attention on one's work, to be alert and to be using one's best judgment. . . . Mindfulness is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves . . . it is the miracle which can call back in a flash our dispersed mind and restore it to wholeness so that we can live each minute of life. . . Thus mindfulness is at the same time a means and an end, the seed and the fruit. . . . mindfulness itself is the life of awareness . . . Mindfulness enables us to live" (14-15).

Thich Nhat Hanh, Transformation & Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness: "mindful observation . . . the practitioner is fully aware (32) . . . Sati means 'mindfulness' or 'remembering' (34). . . . Mindfulness means awareness and it also means looking deeply (37). The Pali word sati (Sanskrit: smrti] means 'to stop,' and 'to maintain awareness of the object.' (38) . . . Mindfulness is the core of Buddhist practice (146)

Venerable U Silananda, The Four Foundations of Mindfulness: "Mindfulness is something like a stone hitting a wall. In order to throw a stone, you must put out energy. You throw the stone with energy and it hits the wall. Like the stone hitting the wall, mindfulness hits the object . . . your mind goes to . . . objects. . . . When you have mindfulness, combined with energy or effort, your mind stays with the object for some time. The stone, after hitting the wall, when it is a wet mud wall, stays with the wall. It gets stuck in the wall" (21).

4. Contemporary Western Teachers and Scholars

Ayya Khema, Visible Here and Now: The Buddha's Teachings on the Rewards of Spiritual Practice: "Mindfulness means being alert and observant; clear comprehension, on the other hand, means that we also recognize what we are being mindful of" (66).

Bhikkhu Bodhi, Introduction to his translation of the Majjhima Nikaya: "The sutta [MN 10] sets forth a comprehensive system called satipatthana designed to train the mind to see with microscopic precision the true nature of the body, feelings, states of mind, and mental objects" (40).

Sylvia Boorstein, Don't Just Do Something, Sit There: "Mindfulness: relaxed, nonclinging, nonaversive awareness of present experience. You could think of it as a natural capacity that, like any other skill, requires developing" (8).

Sylvia Boorstein, It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness: "Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of present experience. It isn't more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it" (60).

Christina Feldman, The Buddhist Path to Simplicity: Spiritual Practice for Everyday Life: "Mindfulness is not only a technique or practice, but is concerned with the quality of wakeful presence and the willingness to learn that we bring to each moment in our lives. It is saturated with sensitivity and curiosity, with the willingness to make peace with all moments and all things, and the deep wish to be free wherever we are. Mindfulness illuminates all things and all activities" (166).

Gil Fronsdal, The Issue at Hand: "the practice of mindfulness, the cultivation of clear, stable and nonjudgmental awareness . . . [mindfulness practice] is a practice of seeing clearly who we are, of seeing what is happening as it unfolds, without interference . . . Mindfulness relies on an important characteristic of awareness: awareness by itself does not judge, resist, or cling to anything" (16-17).

Joseph Goldstein, The Experience of Insight: "Mindfulness . . . means being aware of what is happening in the present moment. It means noticing the flow of things . . . Whatever the object is, to notice it, to be aware of it, without grasping, which is greed, without condemning, which is hatred, without forgetting, which is delusion, just observing the flow, observing the process. . . . Mindfulness brings the quality of poise, equilibrium and balance to the mind, keeping it sharply focused, with the attitude of sitting back and watching the passing show" (13).

Joseph Goldstein, Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: "Mindfulness is that quality of attention which notices without choosing, without preference; it is a choiceless awareness that, like the sun, shines on all things equally" (19) . . . What captures the sense and meaning of this mind state is the understanding of mindfulness as 'fullness of mind.' In this fullness of attention there are no barriers, no exclusions; it includes and encompasses every aspect of experience" (130) . . . "The characteristic of mindfulness is one of nonsuperficiality; it is penetrative and profound . . . If we are mindful of an object, our awareness will sink deeply into it. As long as mindfulness is present, the object of observation is kept in view; we are not forgetful or half-hearted in our attentiveness. The mind comes face to face with the object, with directness, focus, depth, and sensitivity. Mindfulness also manifests as a protection, because when we are mindful we are protected from the force of the conditioned habits of grasping, condemning and forgetfulness which create pain and confusion in our lives" (132).

Jack Kornfield, Living Buddhist Masters: "In the development of wisdom, one quality of mind above all others is the key to practice. This quality is mindfulness, attention or self-recollection. The most direct way to understand our life situation, who we are and how our mind and body operate, is to observe with a mind that simply notice all events equally. This attitude of non-judgmental, direct observation allows all events to occur in a natural way. . . . Mindfulness brings us moment-to-moment purity of mind. Each moment we are mindful, the mind is pure, free of clinging, hating, and delusion" (13).

Kathleen McDonald, How to Meditate: "Mindfulness, the ability of the mind to keep attention focused on whatever it is doing without forgetting it or wandering to other objects . . . it keeps us centered, alert, and conscientious, helping us to know what is happening in our mind as it happens and thus to deal skillfully with problems as they arise" (44).

Nyanaponika Thera, The Heart of Buddhist Meditation: "It is mindfulness, in its specific aspect of Bare Attention, that provides the key to the distinctive method of Satipatthana, and accompanies the systematic practice of it . . . Bare attention is the clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us, at the successive moments of perception. It is called 'bare,' because it attends just to the bare facts of a perception . . . without reacting to them by deed, speech or by mental comment" (30).

Larry Rosenberg, Breath by Breath: "Mindfulness is often likened to a mirror; it simply reflects what is there. It is not a process of thinking; it is preconceptual, before thought. . . The only time that mindfulness can happen is in the present moment; if you are thinking of the past, that is memory. . . Mindfulness is unbiased. It is not for or against anything . . . Mindfulness has no goal other than the seeing itself . . . It isn't detached . . . It is a form of participation. . . One word that I personally have come to associate with mindful living is intimacy. The great thirteenth-century Japanese Zen teacher Dogen was once asked, 'What is the awakened mind?' and he answered, 'The mind that is intimate with all things.' . . . the task of mindfulness is to be intimate with the experience . . . this quality of mindfulness, of just being with an experience" (15,16,17,19).

Amadeo Sole-Leris, Tranquility & Insight: "Pure non-reactive mindfulness, i.e. as clear and full an awareness as possible of whatever is present now in the area selected for observation, without immediately going off at a tangent-as the unconcentrated mind tends to do-into other more or less relevant mental associations . . ." (77).

Arinna Weisman and Jean Smith, The Beginner's Guide to Insight Meditation: "Mindfulness is presence of mind or attentiveness to present experience without 'wobbling' or drifting away from it. Like a mirror, mindfulness reflects what is happening without the distortion of our old ideas, habit patterns, or prejudices. Rather, it see our experience clearly and directly. . . . When we are mindful, we are actively and intimately participating in the experience" (14).