What has weighed down everything? Beyond what is there nothing further? What is the one thing that has everything under its sway?

The Buddha recounts how he attained full awakening by examining the principle of dependent co-arising. He likens this realization to a man discovering an ancient, forgotten city.

The venerable Ajita asks the Buddha a series of questions about the nature of the world, the currents of defilements, how to overcome name and form and the conduct of those who have comprehended the Dhamma.

The venerable Jatukaṇṇi asks the Buddha on how to attain the state of peace and abandon birth and old age. The Buddha advises him to remove greed for sensual pleasures by seeing renunciation as safety, and to cease all grasping related to name and form in the past, future, as well as present.