Thank you for helpful suggestion about translating 'sammaa' as
'skilful'. It is certainly worth considering.
Now about reading MN 18, Madhupi.n.dikasutta.
Two translations I have read, at Access to Insight and metta.lk, are
rather strange.
I read suttas 'experientially' - i.e. when sutta says about
eye-consciousness, I put my attention on it. Usually suttas can be
experienced in such way with great benefit.
However how can I experience 'when the eye is not present' or 'when
there is no eye'?
I strongly suspect that 'sati' and 'asati' in this sutta refer not to
'presence' and 'absence', but rather to something like 'remembering' and
'not remembering', 'thinking' and 'not thinking about'. Such translation
would make sense.
However I would like to hear the expert's opinion in this matter.