The Buddha expounds the noble right collectedness complete with its supporting conditions, clarifying how the factors of the noble eightfold path give rise to either mundane or supramundane fruits. He shows how right view leads to the sequential development of the path, culminating in right knowledge and right liberation.

When Ānanda says that good friendship is half of the spiritual life, the Buddha corrects him, saying that it is the whole of the spiritual life. The Buddha explains that good friendship is the basis for the development of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Just as it is impossible to make the river Ganges flow against its natural course, so too is it impossible for a bhikkhu whose mind has long been inclined toward seclusion to abandon the Noble Eightfold Path and return to lay life.

The Buddha distinguishes pleasant abidings in the here and now from the way of effacement leading upwards to complete quenching. Effacement is shown as the gradual chipping away of defilements through restraint, cultivation of the noble eightfold path, and diligent training, culminating in the complete freedom of Nibbāna.

The Buddha affirms the Four Noble Truths as the core of his teaching and praises venerable Sāriputta’s deep understanding of them, who then expounds the truths, detailing suffering in all its forms, the arising of suffering rooted in craving, the end of suffering, and the Noble Eightfold Path as the way of practice leading to the end suffering.

Intending, planning, and underlying tendencies are the basis for the continuation of consciousness.

The Buddha distinguishes the wrong way of practice and the right way of practice.

The Buddha distinguishes the wrong way of practice and the right way of practice and their outcomes.

The Buddha outlines the four right strivings: striving for restraint, striving to abandon, striving to cultivate, and striving to protect.

Approaching wrongness leads to failure, not success. Approaching rightness leads to success, not failure.

The Buddha expresses an inspired utterance about the qualities of a person who falls under the sway of Māra and of one who overcomes all bad destinations.

DhammaPada verses 1-20 share on the power of the mind in shaping one’s experiences, the importance of letting go of resentment and hostility, the consequences of living without restraint and moderation, the distinction between essence and non-essence, the sorrow and joy tied to one’s actions, the importance of acting according to the Dhamma, and who partakes in the true ascetic life.