Right Path and wrong Path

In the scriptures, the Tipitaka, the Buddha taught what the right Path is and what the wrong Path. A person who had studied the Dhamma and who had right understanding of it knows which way of practice is the wrong Path and which the right Path. He knows that the right Path is the development of panna which penetrates the true nature of the realities which are appearing. If someone believes that he can practise the Dhamma without understanding the realities which are appearing he is defenitely on the wrong way. Thus, the wrong Path is the practice without development of panna whereas the right Path is the practice which is the development of right understanding of realities.

If panna does not arise and one does not know in what way the characteristic of samadhi, concentration, is different from sati and from panna, and then one is on the wrong Path. From the beginning we should know whether we practise the Dhamma at this moment or not. If someone believes that he cannot practise the Dhamma at this moment, he does not follow the teachings as contained in the Tipitaka. Those who have penetrated the noble Truths have done so in their ordinary daily lives. Panna can penetrate whatever reality arises naturally in daily life. However, if there is no panna the truth of this moment cannot be understood. The Dhamma the Buddha taught is not something seperate from our ordinary daily life; the Buddha taught the truth about what appears through eyes, ears, nose, tongue, bodysense and mind, about lobha, dosa, kusala and metta (loving kindness) . The Buddha taught about all realities in detail.

We should understand in what way sati is different from samadhi. People are often confused as to these two realities, they take samadhi for sati. They mistakenly believe that they shoul concentrate on particular realities and that is the right Path. If someone develops the way leading to the realisation of the noble Truths he knows that at this moment sati can arise naturally in daily life. So long as there is no right understanding of the Dhamma there is no foundation for the right practice, and therefore, it would be better not to try to practise at all.

All those who were disciples of the Buddha had listened to the Dhamma. The degree of their understanding of the Dhamma was dependent on the extent they had accumulated the "perfections". If they had a great deal of understanding, right mindfulness, samma-sati, could be aware of the characteristics of realities and in this way their true nature could be penetrated in accordance with the Buddha's teaching.