Translation - 向法次法

Dhammānudhamma paṭapajjati - 向法次法 translated as ‘to go from dhamma to dhamma’.

Can it also means to go forward from theoritical dhamma to practical dhamma?

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According to a few passages in the Samyukta Agama that give the expression context, it means to go from disillusionment to dispassion to cessation. So, in that case at least, it means to actually go through the stages leading to liberation (rather than simply learning doctrines or concepts). Most passages leave it undefined, so it’s difficult to know if that was considered what it means specifically in all traditions.

I wrote about it in more detail in this post: Going from One Thing to the Next (法次法向 / dhammanudhamma)

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it seems to be a process?

Yes, in the Samyukta sutras, I’d read dharma as “mental state” rather than “thing” or “teaching,” but specifically it means following the path to liberation. Which is probably why it’s interpreted in Theravada commentaries to mean “practicing in line with the Dharma.”

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