Sati

Mindfulness, presence, remembering. Sati (Pāli, equivalent to smṛti in Sanskrit) is the seventh factor of the Noble Eightfold Path (sammā sati) and the foundation of vipassanā meditation.

Two dimensions in the term:

• Presence — Being here, now, aware of what is happening without getting lost in reactions
• Memory — Remembering, keeping in mind what is relevant (the teachings, the nature of phenomena)

Sammā sati (right mindfulness) has four domains (satipaṭṭhāna):

1. Kāyānupassanā — The body: breath, postures, movements
2. Vedanānupassanā — Sensations: pleasant, unpleasant, neutral
3. Cittānupassanā — The mind: conscious states, obstacles, liberation factors
4. Dhammānupassanā — Phenomena: the hindrances, the aggregates, the path factors

In the Dhammapada: satīmati — “the mindful one” is synonymous with the wise. Mindfulness is not just observing, but observing with understanding (paññā).

In classical yoga, smṛti appears as the memory that sustains practice and as a component of dhāraṇā — the thread of presence that anchors the mind.