Sati
In 1881 Rhys Davids, a British scholar, translated the Pali term sati into mindfulness.
The Buddha stated that sati is:
And what is the faculty of sati? Here, monks, the noble disciple is recollective, possessing utmost recollection and discernment, recalling and bearing in mind even things that were done and said long ago. This is called the faculty of sati. (SN 48.9, similarly at MN 53 i 356, etc.)
Bhikkhu Cintita interpreted this suta about sati as:
This entails being recollective, that is having the teaching at our fingertips that is relevant to the current situation, and having discernment, that is evaluating the current situation in terms of that teaching to guide behaviour or understanding.
How did mindfulness become “bare, non-judgmental, present moment awareness”? Bhikkhu Cintita 2018.
Sati was translated as mindfulness to reflect memory or to recollect. It was the nature of the Buddha to change the meaning of words. The Buddhist understanding of memory meant to have focused and sustained awareness. To bring one’s attention back to what one is focused on.
One was recollecting certain wholesome ideas such as the Buddha, the teachings of the Buddha, the community of practitioners and ethical behaviour. Furthermore, one was discerning whether what was present was in keeping with the Buddha’s teachings and what action was necessary to be skillful.
One can see from the definition of sati from which mindfulness arose the important component of discernment. Historic mindfulness was not interpreted as a non-judgmental process!
by Dr. Phil Blustein
May 21, 2026