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AN 7.49 great example of why sampajāno is not "situational awareness"

 

Sujato's AN 7.49 translation has, for all 7 perceptions, this refrain:

Veditabbametaṃ, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā ‘subhāvitā me dukkhe anattasaññā, atthi me pubbenāparaṃ viseso, pattaṃ me bhāvanābalan’ti.
 they should know: ‘My perception of not-self in suffering is well developed. I have realized a distinction higher than before. I have attained a fruit of development.’
Itiha tattha sampajāno hoti.
 In this way they are aware of the situation.    


The point of embedding sampajāno in the 4 satipaṭṭhāna formula,

is to bundle the pañña (wisdom/discernment) faculty with sati faculty. 

Abhidhamma and the commentaries agree here, look at how they gloss sampajāno in satipaṭṭhāna.

Look at how SN 46.3

under Dhamma -vicaya awakening factor, bundles pañña, pa-viciniti, pa-vicārati (vitakka and vicāra of first jhāna), pari-vimamsa (4th iddipāda). 

paññāya here is obviously referring to the sampajāno that's bundled with sati in the 7 awakening factors, with the 4 satipaṭṭhāna, as well as all four jhānas (especially 3rd jhāna).


So tathā sato viharanto
He, {dwelling as} a rememberer,
taṃ dhammaṃ paññāya
that Dhamma-[teaching] (with) discernment,
pa-vicinati pa-vicarati
(he) discriminates, (he) evaluates,
pari-vīmaṃsam-āpajjati.
circumspect-investigation-(he)-enters-upon.
. Yasmiṃ samaye, bhikkhave, bhikkhu
. On-the occasion, monks, a-monk
tathā sato viharanto
Dwelling as a rememberer,
taṃ dhammaṃ paññāya
that Dhamma-[teaching] (with) discernment,
pa-vicinati pa-vicarati
(he) discriminates, (he) evaluates,
pari-vīmaṃsam-āpajjati.
circumspect-investigation-(he)-enters-upon.
Dhamma-vicaya-sam-bojjh-aṅgo tasmiṃ samaye
Dhamma-investigation-awakening-factor on-that occasion
bhikkhuno āraddho hoti;
(the) monk has-aroused;
Dhamma-vicaya-sam-bojjh-aṅgaṃ tasmiṃ samaye
Dhamma-investigation-awakening-factor on-that occasion
bhikkhu bhāveti;
(the) monk develops;
Dhamma-vicaya-sam-bojjh-aṅgo tasmiṃ samaye
Dhamma-investigation-awakening-factor on-that occasion
bhikkhuno bhāvanā-pāripūriṃ gacchati.
(the) monk has-developed-(and)-fulfilled *******.


You're not just "situationally aware"

You're exercising the full power of the paññā wisdom faculty.
Bodhi translated 'sampajāno' as "clear comprehension",
I translate it as 'lucid-discerning.'

Sujato mostly translates it as 'situational awareness', 
occasionally he translates it as "awareness" or something else more vague when it's extremely clear it can't be 'situational awareness' in that context.

In AN 7.49, it's clear sampajāno is not just 'situational awareness'.


A cocaine addict is 'situationally aware' that they're addicted and it's painful.

pañña, lucid discerning, wisdom faculty, is a wisdom that sees why you're addicted, 
how to break the causes of addiction, 
how to get out of it.
Becoming situationally aware of dukkha is just an obvious minor detail that precedes the real work.
The point of bundling sampajāno with sati, in 7 awakening factors and 4 satipaṭṭhāna, is to give you the tool to completely end suffering,
not to just become situationally aware that, "OH, I'm aware that I'm suffering."



"Situational awareness" is not even in the dictionary


Wikipedia has:
Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the understanding of an environment, its elements, and how it changes with respect to time or other factors. Situational awareness is important for effective decision making in many environments. It is formally defined as:
“the perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future”.[1]
An alternative definition is that situation awareness is adaptive, externally-directed consciousness that has as its products knowledge about a dynamic task environment and directed action within that environment. [2]




conclusion: Sampajāno is the pañña (wisdom) indriya, synonymous with right view


wisdom can do situational awareness,
but situational awareness can't do what wisdom does.
So it's a bad translation of sampajāno and wrong interpretation of the Dhamma.
It makes the collection of suttas incoherent when you start arbitrarily giving specialized meanings according to context.

Sujato needs to follow his own translation guidelines here.
Principle of least meaning.

Abhidhamma and the commentaries agree sampajāno is the pañña faculty, so does common sense.

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