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.

The Buddha shares in poignant terms his observations on the agitation all beings experience which led to his urgency to awaken. He then shares on the path to awakening and describes the dwelling of an awakened being.

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 describes the qualities of true disciples, and those who do not grow in the Dhamma.

The Buddha describes the conduct of a person who is said to be ‘peaceful’. Such a person is free from craving before the breakup of body. He is one who examines distinctions in all contacts, withdrawn, straightforward, unassuming, unmoved amid views, not holding to a construct, and for whom, there is no ‘mine’ in the world.