[lorrieholdridge]

Hi McKmike,
Ajahan Sumedho interprets sati sampajañña as "intuitive awareness, apperception [perception with recognition]; literally, 'mindfulness and clear understanding'" (Intuitive Awareness). Sampajañña is defined at Access To Insight as, " Alertness; self-awareness; presence of mind; clear comprehension;" sati as "mindfulness, self-collectedness, powers of reference and retention. In some contexts, the word sati when used alone covers alertness (sampajañña) as well" (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/glossary.html#s). Ajahn Sumedho elaborates: Sampajañña is a word translated into English as 'clear comprehension', which is so vague and even though it says 'clear', it doesn't give me a sense of that clarity. When you have clear definitions of everything, then you think you have clear comprehension. So that's why we don't like confusion, isn't it? We don't like to feel foggy, confused or uncertain. These kind of state we really dislike, but we spend a lot of time trying to have clear comprehension and certainty. But sati-sampajañña includes fogginess, includes confusion, it includes uncertainty and insecurity. It's a clear comprehension of the appreciation of confusion--recognizing it's like this. Uncertainty and insecurity are like this. So it's a clear comprehension or apprehension of even the most vague, amorphous or nebulous mental conditions (Intuitive Awareness, pp. 19-20).