How to be "mindful"

Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Mindful.org

Calm+Mindfulness+D.O.=Enlightenment Now

The meaning of "mindfulness" (Pali sati, Sanskrit smirti) has been altered today, taking it from what the Buddha emphasized as an essential ingredient for insight and wisdom (vipassana and panna).

By "mindfulness" the Buddha meant: to be fully present, in the moment, undistracted, dispassionate, unentangled, undeluded, not following our old habits of favoring the pleasant, experiencing aversion toward the unpleasant, or becoming inattentive or bored by the neutral. Remaining vigilant, wakeful, persistent and steady, balanced in mind and heart yields up the Truth -- the true nature of all states of existence, which is that they are:

• inconstant
• unable to ever fulfill us and
• (most unbelievably) impersonal.

The Buddha, to establish the ultimate Truth in us, prescribed 14 exercises divided into four categories. There are two famous sutras or discourses by the Buddha where these 14 are explained called "The Great Discourse on the Establishment of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness" (Satipatthana Sutta and the Maha Satipatthana Sutta).

• How to Practice Mindfulness - Mindful