Venerable Sir, what is Right Mindfulness (sammā-sati)?

When you develop the first six constituent steps of the Noble Eightfold Path, the resultant outcome is ‘Right Mindfulness’ (sammā-sati). Right Mindfulness means, to discern the unwholesome as unwholesome and abstain from it, and to discern the wholesome as wholesome and get stronger in it. The revered-person living within mundane, or worldly Right Mindfulness isn’t skilful to see what is impermanent as impermanent. Even so, they are skilful to uncover a wholesome action even with what is impermanent. They aren’t skilful to behold with penetrative insight-wisdom what is suffering (dukkha), what is repulsive (asubha) or what is non-self (anattā). But they are skilful to uncover wholesome karma-formations even with those things. By making use of those karma-formations, again they wish for rebirth in a fortunate destination in the ‘becoming.’ Craving―tanhā―lurks in worldly Right Mindfulness. Simply as a result, by performing the ten wholesome courses of action,1 once again they hope for rebirth in the fortunate plane, the ‘becoming.’ The phenomena relevant to [realize] the impermanence of the five clinging aggregates won’t develop in them. Right Mindfulness, will only help indulge the view ‘I’ or ‘me’; will only elevate oneself onto the fortunate plane. The one who has formed Right Mindfulness knows the first six constituent steps of the Noble Eightfold Path well. Discerning faith and confidence from the lack of faith and confidence, discerning Right Thought from wrong thought, discerning moral conduct from immorality, they strengthen the path of the Dhamma so as to gain rebirth in fortunate destinations. But the craving for ‘becoming’ [still] lurks in their practice of the Dhamma.

Venerable Sir, what is supermundane Right Mindfulness (lokuttara sammā-sati)?

Where you see the worldly Right Mindfulness with penetrative insight-wisdom: there, arises supermundane Right Mindfulness. In supermundane Right Mindfulness, craving does not lurk. The person who’s of supermundane Right Mindfulness beholds what is impermanent as impermanent, what is suffering as suffering, what is not-self as not-self, what is repulsive as repulsive. He or she knows that the faith and confidence, the morality, the wholesome action are but karma-formations. Sees with the faculty of wisdom that those karma-formations will simply lapse upon yielding karma-results in the fortunate destination. Seeing the impermanence of wholesome karma-formations that form through developing the worldly Noble Eightfold Path, he or she fortifies themselves with the penetrative insight-wisdom needed to perceive the impermanence of the five clinging aggregates. Beholds that both the liking for pleasures and the dislike for suffering are but five clinging aggregates forming in oneself. Seeing the impermanence of the five clinging aggregates, he or she embarks on the path for escaping both pleasures and suffering. Won’t get attached to wholesome or unwholesome karma-formations. Seeing the impermanence of karma-formations, equalizes the five spiritual-faculties with each other―which are faith and confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. This is the characteristic of supermundane Right Mindfulness.

1 Comprises 10 kinds of wholesome courses of action, namely, 3 bodily actions (avoidance of killing, stealing and unlawful sexual intercourse); 4 verbal actions (avoidance of lying, slandering, rude speech, foolish babble); and 3 mental actions (unselfishness, goodwill, right views). The opposites are 10 unwholesome courses of action.