Appamada Introduced
2009
Our name comes from a Pali word, “appamada,” that means “mindful active care.”
According to the earliest recorded teachings of the Buddha, it was a common theme in his teaching and his last word, encouraging his followers to fare forward with appamada—with energetic care.
The Buddha often compared appamada to an elephant's footprint, which is so large that it can contain the footprint of all the other animals. In the same way, the Buddha said, appamada—mindful, clear care—contains all of his other teachings.
We have adopted this name for our community of practice and inquiry because it reflects not only our aspiration as teachers, but our sense of the community as a whole, and its contribution in the world.
In the Dhammapada, the second chapter is titled “Appamada” and opens:
Appamada is the path to the deathless.
Pamada is the path to death.
Those who are vigilant do not die.
Those who are negligent are as if already dead.
The word appears throughout the Pali canon in a variety of contexts—always carrying the sense of earnestness, diligence, and care. It is not a grim or anxious kind of attention, but rather a warm, alert engagement with life as it actually is.