Sahaayaa,

Next week I'll be on a 10 day retreat. The theme of the retreat is
the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. My question is:

"Ekaayano aya.m, bhikkhave, maggo sattaana.m visuddhiyaa,..."

Is this the "only way" for the purification of beings or the "direct
way"? I guess there are two questions here. One is textual, i.e.,
what is being said here in Pali. The other refers to Buddhist
practice:

My feeling is that whatever method you use you have to end up here
fully mindful and aware. So it is both the "only way" and
the "direct way". For example, you could say that the practice of
Jhaana is an "indirect way" of practice, and no less effective for
this, which should ultimately lead to a state of full awareness,
i.e., the "only way".

I'm fully aware that I could have this in a complete muddle :)

With Metta,
Paul