Using 'google' to illustrate problem of 'sati' as 'mindfulness'
If I were to say, "use google", or "google that."
Imagine if I was to translate that phrase for English speakers 2000 years from now.
Maybe I would translate "search" or "find" for 'google'.
Do you see the problem?
"find that." leaves the questions of:
"what should I be finding?"
"where should I be looking?"
"when should I be doing this?"
This is the TITWOW Syndrome : TITWOW = Translators Irritatingly Translate With One Word
It's not enough to just translate 'google' with 'find', I need to state what key word I'm searching for, if it's not explicitly stated near the phrase 'google that',
and I need to explain the context for the future readers that google searches a database of world human knowledge from 1000 CE to 2020 CE for example.
Similarly, 'sati' is not just 'mindfulness'. You need to explain what we're supposed to be mindful of, what's the range of that (local, world, mental, etc.), and when.
Hardly anyone knows what we're suppose to be 'mindful' of, even Buddhists
'Sati' translated with the single word 'mindfulness' is one of the biggest causes of why most people, including Buddhists, don't have a clear and correct understanding of what 'sati' is, as the Buddha originally defined it.
TITWOW Syndrome : TITWOW = Translators Irritatingly Translate With One Word
The problem is, it's not enough to just translate word for word here, sati -> mindfulness.
With each occurence of 'sati' in the suttas, there are unstated supporting actors and context.
Who is doing 'sati', with respect to what?
supported by and by means of what?
and when?
In the EBT (early buddhist teachings), sati defined by the Buddha means:
You remember and apply The Dhamma not just in the present moment, but at all times.
'remember' means both memorizing and recollecting
'remember' means both the act of commiting relevant information to memory, and recalling relevant information to mind to the present moment as needed ("keeping it in mind", "mindfulness").
'The Dhamma' means
The Dhamma is the Buddha's teaching that leads to nirvana.
In the more specific context of exactly how 'sati' expects 'Dhamma' to be formulated,
If no specific Dhamma instruction is stated where the 'sati' term appears in the sutta passage,
the default value of 'The Dhamma'
are the four satipaṭṭhāna formula, as stated in SN 47.2.
Other suttas state that one is to do sati all the time. Any time you're not doing sati, you're in grave danger.
One way to avoid the TITWOW syndrome for translating 'sati'.
I translate 'sati' everywhere in the suttas as, "remembering and applying The Dhamma".
That works everywhere.
Try it out.
Related
Two ways in which sati ("mindfulness") is R.A.D.
Forum discussion
Nice point. That's quite the well-crafted acronym, btw. Who hasn't been pleasantly surprised seeing a member of the the Paridae family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa?
another interesting things about chickadees (tits):
The tits make a variety of calls and songs. They are amongst the most vocal of all birds, calling continuously in most situations, so much so that they are only ever silent for specific reasons such as avoiding predators or when intruding on a rival's territory. Quiet contact calls are made while feeding to facilitate cohesion with others in their social group.[5] Other calls are used for signalling alarm—a well-known example being the "chic-a-dee-dee" of North American species in the genus Poecile, the call which gives them their local common name, the chickadee. The call also serves as a rallying call to summon others to mob and harass the predator. The number of "dee" syllables at the end of the call increases with the level of danger the predator poses.[10]
Similarly, my acronym TITWOW serves as a rallying cry for people to carefully examine and question translations and interpretation of sutta passages
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