Right Mindfulness
samma sati
Right Mindfulness is the seventh of the eight path factors in the Noble Eightfold Path, and belongs to the concentration division of the path.
The definition (the four frames of reference)
“And what is right mindfulness? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves… the mind in & of itself… mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. This is called right mindfulness…
“This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four frames of reference.”
— DN 22
Abandoning the wrong factors of the path
“One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in right view: This is one’s right mindfulness…
“One is mindful to abandon wrong resolve & to enter & remain in right resolve: This is one’s right mindfulness…
“One is mindful to abandon wrong speech & to enter & remain in right speech: This is one’s right mindfulness…
“One is mindful to abandon wrong action & to enter & remain in right action: This is one’s right mindfulness…
“One is mindful to abandon wrong livelihood & to enter & remain in right livelihood: This is one’s right mindfulness…”
— MN 117
“Right Mindfulness: samma sati“, edited by Access to Insight. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 5 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-sati/index.html .