ABSTRACT
The word anussati is derived from the Sanskrit word anusmrti, a remembrance or recollection. Its root word, sati, is usually employed in the sense of mindfulness; the prefix anu suggests an action performed repeatedly. So the first six recollections are things to be thought about or brought to mind again and again: they are known as anussatitthana, the establishments of recollection. They first appear as a list of six, but also as a list of ten, with the inclusion of what are known as four mindfulnesses: breathing mindfulness (anapanasati), mindfulness of death (marajasati), mindfulness of body (kayagatasati) and the recollection of peace (upasamanussati). In the text that follows, it is said that any one of these ten leads to nibbana. We probably should not take this too literally, for in the canon and in modern practice they are usually taught alongside other meditations, which they complement and support. Texts such as these, however, are worth bearing in mind as reminders about the canonical treatment and discussion of effective meditation practices. Few limits are placed within the canon itself upon their potential as means of obtaining various meditative states.
