What is yoniso manasikāra in the TMI system?

[Alex KMember]

Like sati and sampajañña. The term yoniso manasikāra (translated as appropriate attention below) occurs very frequently in the suttas and is obviously very important as it is the nutriment for sati-sampajañña.

“Now, I tell you, clear knowing & release have their food and are not without food. And what is their food? ‘The seven factors for awakening,’ it should be said. And I tell you, the seven factors for awakening have their food and are not without food. And what is the food for the seven factors for awakening? ‘The four establishings of mindfulness’ … And what is the food for the four establishings of mindfulness? ‘The three forms of right conduct’ … And what is the food for the three forms of right conduct? ‘Restraint of the senses’ … And what is the food for restraint of the senses? ‘Mindfulness & alertness’ … And what is the food for mindfulness & alertness? ‘Appropriate attention’ … And what is the food for appropriate attention? ‘Conviction’ … And what is the food for conviction? ‘Hearing the true Dhamma’ … And what is the food for hearing the true Dhamma? ‘Associating with people of integrity,’ it should be said.”

Ignorance
Avijjā Sutta (AN 10:61) Trans. Thanissaro Bhikkhu

What is the meaning of yoniso manasikāra and how does it fit into the TMI method? I understand sati as the optimal balance between attention and awareness; and sampajañña as metacognitive introspective awareness.

What is yoniso manasikāra in the TMI system?

[Chloe BMember]

I am not actually seeing where the conflict or absence is in the system based on the definition you shared. Can you point out precisely what you feel is missing? It may just be because in the book TMI Culadasa focuses heavily on the meditation aspects but in the rest of his teachings he focuses on the complete 8 fold path. One thing he says constantly is “Virtue is the vehicle for a happy existence.”

[Alex KMember]

Hi Chloe,

I wasn’t pointing to a conflict or an absence. Culadasa redefined mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati and sampajañña) very effectively so they can be understood and used very effectively in practice. I was curious if yoniso manasikāra (appropriate attention) is part of the TMI system as it is a recurrent theme in the suttas.

Kind regards,
Alex

[B ArnoldMember]

Hi Alex,

By strange coincidence I was discussing Bhikkhu Analayo’s definition of sati as “bare attention” with another teacher-in-training today, and wondering how that fits into TMI’s translation of sati – and I’ll just say parathethetically that in past conversations, I recall Culadasa is more apt to link sati with awareness rather than attention. My friend, in response, then linked me to this article which features Alan Wallace, who therein links “bare attention” to this word “manasikāra”: https://tricycle.org/magazine/mindful-balance-0/

With regards to manasikāra, I’m not sure how Culadasa would frame it – I’d like to ask him, and probably will – but it seems to be that in order to properly cultivate this quality of bare or appropriate attention, the meditator would need a well trained and responsive awareness as well- which brings us back to this emphasis on balancing both attention and awareness that is so stressed in TMI. This is a clumsy way of saying that I suspect there isn’t a precise term correlate for manasikāra, and yet I don’t think the TMI system has lost anything without such a term.

– Bobby (Teacher In Training)

[Alex KMember]

Hi Bobby,

Certainly manasikara seems to literally mean ‘attention’. The full phrase however is yoniso manasikāra – yoniso being translated as ‘appropriate’ in this case.

As you say the balancing of awareness and attention is what we understand in the TMI system as mindfulness (sati). However the way the Buddha defines appropriate attention (see the sutta quoted above) says that appropriate attention is the food for the development of mindfuless and alertness (metacognitive introspective awareness) not the other way round.

It seems to me that yoniso manasikāra is somehow more fundamental than the development of sati sampajañña as it is the result of having conviction in the training/teacher/Dhamma.

It would great if you could ask Culadasa about this.

Kind regards,
Alex

[B ArnoldMember]

Hi Alex,

Thank you for the clarification – apologies – I read hastily last night and did not consider the sutta carefully. I will pass this along and follow-up.

Best,
Bobby

[Author]

Posts