There is no self who practises

Everybody here would like to know in what way he can penetrate the truth of the realities which are now arising and falling away and which are non-self. The Buddha showed the one and only way to realize the truth, and that is: awareness of the characteristics of realities which are appearing at this moment. People have heard about the term "sati", awareness or mindfulness, but this does not mean that they understand the characteristic of sati. One should listen to the Dhamma so that one can understand that sati is a sobhana (beautiful) dhamma. Sati is different from thinking (vitakka) . Thinking can be kusala, wholesome, or akusala, unwholesome, and when there is unwholesome thinking there is no sati. We should know that sati is a sobhana cetasika (mental factor) which is heedful, aware of what is wholesome. We listen to the Dhamma at this moment, and if there comes to be more understanding of realities, it is due to sati which is aware, heedful with regard to what has been heard. When someone, however, is drowsy, takes no interest in the Dhamma, and thinks of something else, the citta is not kusala citta and thus there is no sati. From birth to death, throughout one's life, sati, thinking (vitakka) and other dhammas arise, but if one does not listen to the Dhamma which has been taught, there will be confusion about all realities. One can not distinguish different characteristics of realities from each other and one will take them for self. Some people may use terms from the teachings they believe they have already understood, such as sati, samadhi (concentration) or panna, but they do not know the meaning of these terms, or they give their own interpretation of them. If someone has studied the Dhamma he can have right understanding of these terms, he will know that sati is different from samadhi and different from panna, and he will not believe that these three realities are the same. He knows that when a particular reality arises it does so depending on several conditions. Nowadays some people believe that they practise the Dhamma, but they do not know whether they have right understanding of the practice or not. The Buddha taught the Dhamma he had realized himself at the moment of enlightenment, so that those who listened could also develop panna themselves. This shows the Buddha's incomparable compassion towards his followers. If someone teaches Dhamma it may happen that those who listen do not acquire any understanding from what they hear. If panna does not arise as a result of listenning to the Dhamma the listenning is not helpful. Buddhists pay respect to the Buddha because he taught them the Dhamma in such a way that they could develop panna themselves and penetrate the four noble Truths. When people listen to the Dhamma and they understand what has been taught, there will be panna which knows in what way the Dhammas should be practised. There is no self who practises, there are only different realities, dhammas. Sati is not self, it is a particular kind of dhamma. Samadhi is another kind of dhamma and panna is again another kind of dhamma. If there is no right understanding of what sati, samadhi, and panna are, people will mistakenly believe that they are practising the Dhamma.