The Buddha declares he did not claim unsurpassed awakening until he experientially understood the five aggregates in their four phases: their nature, their arising, their cessation, and the way of practice leading to their cessation.

The venerable Sāriputta delivers a comprehensive exposition on “Right View,” detailing sixteen ways a noble disciple achieves clarity in the Dhamma. By understanding the wholesome and unwholesome, nutriments, the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination, and the taints—including their arising and cessation—a disciple abandons underlying tendencies and realizes the end of suffering.

A series of questions and answers between the lay follower Visākha and bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā that clarify subtle yet important aspects of the teachings. Topics covered include personal existence, Noble Eightfold Path, intentional constructs, attainment of cessation of perception and what is felt, felt experience, underlying tendencies and various counterparts.

The Buddha outlines an approach to cross-examine other sects and their doctrines, and how to distinguish between the true Dhamma and the false Dhamma through the comprehension of the four kinds of clinging.

The Buddha explains the process of thoroughly investigating the arising and end of suffering through dependent co-arising.

The Buddha analyzes each of the twelve links of dependent co-arising, and explains how there is an arising and ending of the whole mass of suffering.

Venerable Kaccānagotta asks the Buddha about right view, and the Buddha explains how the world depends on a duality of existence and non-existence, and how the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma by the middle way.

When a misguided monk clings to the idea of an unchanging consciousness that “wanders through rebirths,” the Buddha corrects him, revealing the truth of dependent co-arising. Consciousness, like fire, arises only through conditions. Tracing the cycle of existence from the four nutriments and conception to the snare of sensory reaction, he shows the way to the complete exhaustion of craving.

After examining the impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and the changing nature of the five aggregates, the Buddha teaches how to see them with proper wisdom, as not being suitable to identify with.

Only after fully understanding the gratification, drawback, and escape in the case of form, feeling, perception, intentional constructs, and consciousness, the Buddha declared that he had attained the unsurpassed perfect awakening.

Various kinds of views arise in the world due to not knowing intentional constructs, the arising of intentional constructs, the cessation of intentional constructs, and the practice leading to the cessation of intentional constructs.

The Buddha explains how anxiety arises through clinging and how there is freedom from anxiety through non-clinging.

The Buddha describes how wrong view leads to unwholesome qualities and suffering, while right view leads to wholesome qualities and happiness and what kind of attention fuels what kind of view.

A disciple of the Noble Ones who has thoroughly seen dependent co-arising and dependently arisen phenomena with right wisdom will no longer be doubtful about who they were in the past, who they will be in the future, or who they are now.

Likening consciousness to a sunbeam entering through a window and becoming established on a wall or on the ground, the Buddha reveals how a future renewed existence comes to be through lust, delight, and craving.

The causes, supporting conditions for the arising of the five aggregates are impermanent, so then how could the five aggregates be permanent?

The Buddha explains the four kinds of nutriments that sustain beings that are existing and support those seeking birth, and how they arise from craving.

The Buddha employs five powerful metaphors to expose the coreless nature of the aggregates. He likens form to foam, feeling to a water bubble, perception to a mirage, intentional constructs to a hollow banana tree, and consciousness to a magician’s illusion.

Which things should a virtuous bhikkhu carefully attend to? Venerable Sāriputta explains how a bhikkhu at each stage of awakening should carefully attend to the five aggregates that are subject to clinging.

A teaching on the fearless resolve that severs the lower fetters, followed by the exact inquiry for the wearing away of the taints.

The Buddha explains four kinds of kamma: afflictive, non-afflictive, mixed, and the intention to abandon these deeds.

Refuting a claim that he teaches the annihilation of the world, the Buddha explains the four kinds of kamma to the brahmin Sikhāmoggallāna.

The Buddha explains four kinds of kamma: dark deeds (breaking precepts), bright deeds (keeping precepts), mixed deeds, and neither dark nor bright deeds. The fourth category uniquely leads to the wearing away of all deeds.

By mapping how suffering dynamically depends on internal conditions—including felt experience, craving, clinging, and perturbation—the Buddha demonstrates that liberating knowledge arises from seeing pairs of principles exactly as they are.