The Buddha explains how the notion of a personal existence emerges from the process of perception. A wide range of phenomena are considered, embracing naturalistic, cosmological and sense experiences. An uninstructed ordinary person interprets experience in terms of a self, while those who have understood the Dhamma have the same experiences without attachment.

On being asked about his teaching and what he proclaims, the Buddha describes non-conflict as the goal of his teaching and proclaims a state where perceptions do not lead to preoccupation. Venerable Mahākaccāna elaborates on this by thoroughly examining the dependent arising of phenomena, beginning with the six sense bases—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

The Buddha describes how diverse perceptions arise dependent on the diversity of elements, and how the arising of diverse intentions, desires, fevers, and quests depends on the diversity of perceptions.

The Buddha describes how dependent on the diversity of elements, there arises a diversity of perceptions, intentions, contacts, felt experiences connected with contact, desires, fevers, quests, and acquisitions.

The Buddha describes the seven elements of radiance, beauty, boundless space, boundless consciousness, nothingness, neither perception nor non-perception, and cessation of perception and what is felt, and how they can be discerned and realized.

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

The Buddha deconstructs speculative views about the past and future, revealing them as forms of clinging. He exposes subtle attachments within even exalted meditative states, showing that all conditioned experiences are unstable. True liberation lies not in constructed peace, but in non-clinging through full understanding of the six sense bases.

Seven perceptions, of 1) unattractiveness, 2) death, 3) unpleasantness of food, 4) non-delight in the whole world, 5) impermanence, 6) unsatisfactoriness in impermanence, and 7) not-self in unsatisfactoriness, that when cultivated and frequently practiced lead to the deathless, in brief.

Seven perceptions, of 1) unattractiveness, 2) death, 3) unpleasantness of food, 4) non-delight in the whole world, 5) impermanence, 6) unsatisfactoriness in impermanence, and 7) not-self in unsatisfactoriness, that when cultivated and frequently practiced lead to the deathless, in detail.

The Buddha describes these four inversions of perception, thought, and view, and the four non-inversions. An uninstructed ordinary person perceives permanence in the impermanent, pleasure in the unsatisfactory, a self in what is impersonal, and beauty in the unattractive.