First, you need to learn how to practice properly. That in itself is a kind of understanding.
Now, we have all these questions, right? We have confusion and we ask: ‘Sayadaw, at this time, what should I do; at that time what should I do?’ I give you some answers, but you have to practice. When you practice, you start getting your own answers. ‘Oh, at this time the mind will do this; when I practice like this, this happens.’ ‘When this happens, I should do this.’ You start to know how to practice correctly.
You’re doing something, ‘Oh, I’m getting tense’. Then you check: ‘Oh I have the wrong attitude’. You realized the tension goes away; then, you can continue to practice. This is when you’re becoming more skillful in your own practice.
Sayadaw’s teaching is mostly about pointing us to how to practice skillfully; that’s his main teaching.When we understand how to practice skillfully; because we’re practicing skillfully, that skillful practice will bring on other understanding. The main understanding that Sayadaw is trying to get us to have is the understanding of what skillful practice is.