[IrrettelatWet]

So, this has confused me for the longest time. The Pali word usually translated as "mindfulness" in English is sati. I have read in many places, however, that a more accurate translation of the word would be "remembering" or "recollection."

So, when we have this word in the Satipatthana Sutta: ""There is the case where a monk — having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building — sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect and setting mindfulness to the fore. Ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out." If we were to replace "mindful" with "remembering", we get:
"There is the case where a monk — having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building — sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect and setting [recollection] to the fore. [Remembering], he breathes in, [remembering] he breathes out. What implications does this have on your understanding? What, exactly, is the Buddha saying? Remember that the breath exists? Remember that you are breathing in this moment? Remember to breath? Not having much knowledge of Pali grammar, I don't quite know how it should be understood. It certainly seems like it would be quite different from using the word "mindfulness" in there. What would it mean for a monk to "set recollection in front of him"? Furthermore, does the title of the Sutta itself becomes something like "The Foundations of Recollection"? Or maybe "The Fundamental Recollections"? What would that mean?

Any thoughts on this would be most welcome!