[Buddha-l] mindful/mindfulness

[L.S. Cousins]

  Artur Karp wrote:
> Isn't appamāda to be understood rather as "zeal, ardour"? As antonym
> to "idleness, indolence"? Interesting: when Buddha says appamādena
> sampādetha, does he admonish the monks to "strive with
> alertness/vigilance"?

Appamāda is the opposite of pamāda — to be avoided in the fifth precept. 
Drunkenness is not a lack of ardour. It is a state in which the mind 
loses clarity and alertness. So I understand appamādena sampādetha to 
mean 'progress with vigilance' i.e. move from stage to stage with 
clarity of mind. It's not a Victorian exhortation to diligence.

Lance