When venerable Ānanda inquires about the Buddha’s frequent abiding in emptiness, the Blessed One describes a gradual progression of abidings in ever-stiller perceptions, each seen as empty of what is absent while discerning what still remains, culminating in the unsurpassed abiding in emptiness.

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 feeling, felt experience, underlying tendencies and various counterparts.

The Buddha describes the three quests of sensual pleasure, renewed existence, and spiritual life.

The Buddha describes the three quests of sensual pleasure, renewed existence, and spiritual life as the result of holding tight to the thought ‘This is the truth’ and the accumulation of bases for views.

The Buddha describes the three defilements - the taint of sensual desire, the taint of becoming, and the taint of ignorance, and the way of practice leading to their cessation.

The Buddha describes the three defilements - the taint of sensual desire, the taint of becoming, and the taint of ignorance, and one who is free from them.

The Buddha describes the three kinds of craving - 1) craving for sensual pleasures, 2) craving for becoming, and 3) craving for non-becoming.

The Buddha shares the three unwholesome thoughts - 1) concerning one’s reputation, 2) concerning acquisitions, respect, and popularity, and 3) associated with inappropriate concern for others.

The Buddha explains how Devadatta, overcome by evil desires, bad friendship, and abandoning the training, arrived at a state of prolonged suffering. Though once esteemed, his envy led to ruin. The wise should associate with those whose path leads to the end of suffering.

The Buddha answers step-by-step to a series of questions starting with the source of quarrels and disputes, followed by the arising of various things such as hopes, aims, desires, possessions; leading all the way to the description of the ultimate purity of the spirit.

Among those entrenched in views, arguing “This alone is truth,” the Buddha calls praise won by such to be a small matter. Seeing safety in the ground of non-dispute, the wise do not seek purity by precepts and vows or by what is seen, heard, or sensed. The sage ends craving for various states of existence and stands equanimous.

When approached with abundant offerings, the Buddha expresses a heartfelt wish to avoid fame, and speaks of five contemplations which result in being established in dispassion and wisdom.

After his full awakening, the Buddha surveys the world, seeing beings aflame with passion, aversion, and illusion. He reflects on the nature of the world and the suffering inherent in existence. By seeing the world as it truly is, he points to the path of liberation.