Hi there,
It seems to me that you have seen someone use the Ableton Live mode on the Minilab Mk2, which is enabled when selecting the 8th bank (on the controller, press Shift + Pad8 ). This mode maps pads and encoders to specific Ableton controls; the pads will trigger clips inside session view. When a track is armed, triggering an empty clip will start recording and if you press the pad when the clip is recording, the recording will stop and playback will begin. Keep in mind that the pads control only tracks 1-8. Since you have bought the controller, you have probably activated your free copy of Ableton Live Lite which is limited to only 8 tracks, so you don't have to worry about that. The 1st row of pads control the line of clips (also called a session) which is highlighted, and the 2nd row will control the next line. The pads' leds will also fire up to represent the clip's state.
For starters, you should learn as much as possible about Ableton to get a decent understanding of the workflow. Everything will become much simpler to understand afterwards.
Good luck!