Golf as an analogy
In attempting to explain the meaning of the statement “ekāyano ayan bhikkhave maggo,” in relation tothe Supernormal Eightfold Way (ariya aṭṭhangika magga) we make use of the following analogy of the game of Golf:
Most of us are familiar with Golf where players use long metal sticks called clubs to hit a little white ball towards, and finally into, a small hole called cup, in a manicured lawn called a green. The final stage of this game is to strike the small golf ball so that the ball will slowly roll over and enter the tiny hole or cup. This is not everything in the game, however. This is only the last portion, or end of the game.
The game begins far away from the hole. The hole cannot even be seen at the starting point. Therefore a flagstaff is kept at the hole for the player to know where the hole is. It is only at the end of the game that the player sees the hole and hits the ball to go straight into the tiny hole, in one stroke. This game can be compared to the practice of the Supernormal Eightfold Way (ariya aṭṭhangika magga).
Just as in this game of Golf, the Supernormal Eightfold Way begins far away from the goal, which is Nibbāna (Nirvana). The beginning is the Harmonious Perspective (sammā diṭṭhi), which makes one aware of the goal to be sought, just as the flagstaff does in Golf. The Harmonious Perspective is an intellectual comprehension of the problem that we hope to solve, which is formulated as suffering, its cause, its end, and the way to its end. This problem and its solution is called the Fourfold Supernormal Reality (cattāri ariya saccāni), commonly translated as the Four Noble Truths.
The end of our game, which is comparable to the Golf ball slowly rolling over and falling into the tiny hole or cup, is the completion of the Seven Steps to Awakening (satta bojjhanga). The Seven Steps to Awakening begins with Introspection (satipaṭṭhāna), and ends at the fourth ecstasy with apperception (upekkha), resulting in Nirvāna (Nibbāna)
This is the end of the Supernormal Eightfold Way, which is the Harmonious Equilibrium (sammā samādhi). The step before this end is the harmonious attention (satipaṭṭhāna) that goes straight into the Harmonious Equilibrium by completing The Seven Steps to Awakening (satta bojjhanga). This is similar to the last step in the game of Golf, which is striking the small ball to go straight into the small hole or cup.