C-C dictionary

I just realized something funny - in the last several years, I've been struggling to understand my Chinese textbooks by looking up various terms in regular C->E dictionaries. Just now I looked up a term (主宰－“神是身体生命活动的主宰...") in a C-C dictionary...and I felt that I got a much better understanding of the term.

I can't put my finger on what the difference is, exactly...is it just that I didn't switch languages to understand it? Or was the meaning of the Chinese definition different from the English translation? Or was it the difference between looking at a definition as opposed to a simple translation?

I'm also wondering if I had gotten a copy of Wiseman/Feng's "Practical Dictionary" earlier in my studies would it have made a big difference in my understanding...