Grammatical Analysis
Sīlānussati: [f.] recollection of virtue; mindfulness of one’s own morality. Formed by sīla (moral conduct/virtue) + anussati (recollection).
Orthodox Definition
Sīlānussati is the fourth of the ten classical Recollections. Unlike the first three (which focus on external objects of refuge), this practice requires the meditator to turn their attention inward to examine the flawless purity of their own moral precepts.
The practitioner recollects their virtue as being “unbroken, untorn, unblotched, unmottled, liberating, praised by the wise, not grasped at (by wrong views), and conducive to concentration.”
For this meditation to succeed, the practitioner must actually possess immaculate sīla. If their precepts are broken, looking at them causes remorse (kukkucca), which destroys concentration. When the precepts are perfectly clean, contemplating them produces immense, blameless joy (somanassa), completely pacifying the hindrances and leading directly to Access Concentration (upacāra-samādhi).
Textual References
- Sutta: Mahānāma Sutta (AN 11.12) – The Buddha instructing the householder Mahānāma to find joy in his own spotless lay precepts as a foundation for higher meditation.
- Canonical: Sāmaññaphala Sutta (DN 2) – Describing the “blameless joy” a monk feels upon reflecting on his purified Patimokkha restraint.
- Commentary: Visuddhimagga (Chapter VII) – Explaining the specific metaphors of virtue being “unblotched” like a flawless gem.