Antony Woods‎ to The Skillful Teachings of Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Antony Woods‎ to The Skillful Teachings of Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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"It’s interesting that in Thai the words mindfulness and discernment, sati and paññā, form a compound that means intelligence: sati-pañña. Intelligence is not only wisdom but also the ability to keep things in mind. 

You’re both wise enough and mindful enough to remember what is important to keep in mind: the things that will protect you.

This is why it’s so important to remember that mindfulness does mean just that: the ability to keep something in mind. It’s not simply accepting what’s arising and passing away. That’s equanimity. 

Mindfulness is when you keep in mind the fact that there are skillful qualities and unskillful qualities. And that if something unskillful comes up, you’ve got to get rid of it. If something skillful arises, you’ve got to encourage it. And if it hasn’t arisen, you’ve got to give rise to it. And you remember how to get rid of the unskillful qualities and encourage the skillful one. That’s what you want to remember.

So remembering the right things and bringing them to bear all the time is what makes this kind of mindfulness intelligent. In that way, it protects you from the dangers of change and teaches you how to take advantage of the good side of change, the fact that skillful qualities *can* be developed. Then you use them to work on your unskillful qualities so that you’re not overwhelmed by the fact that there’s anxiety, fear, complacency, or whatever the unskillful qualities are. They can seem so big when you don’t have anything to shore you up, to provide you with a good foundation. But the become more manageable when you can remember your true aims and the tools to realize them. That’s your foundation."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Change"

9 January 2023