When the accountant Moggallāna asks if the Dhamma and Vinaya have a gradual training, gradual practice, and gradual progression like seen in many professions including his own, the Buddha describes a step-by-step training guideline starting with virtuous conduct all the way to dwelling in jhānas.

Using the role of food as nutriment that sustains and endures the body, the Buddha describes the nutriments for the arising and growth of the five hindrances and the seven factors of awakening.

The Buddha describes the six releases of mind, through 1) loving-kindness, 2) compassion, 3) appreciative joy, 4) equanimity, 5) the signless, and 6) the uprooting of the conceit “I am" - that assuredly lead to freedom from 1) ill will, 2) cruelty, 3) dissatisfaction, 4) passion, 5) following after signs, and 6) the conceit “I am" when cultivated and frequently practiced to fulfillment.

In reply to the headman Asibandhakaputta’s question about whether the Buddha could cause all beings to be reborn in heaven, the Buddha explains that destiny after death depends on one’s own deeds, not on others’ prayers or rituals. Using similes of a boulder sinking and ghee rising in water, he shows that virtue uplifts, while evil conduct leads to downfall.

The Buddha explains the five lower fetters and the way of practice for abandoning them.

The Buddha explains how he divided his thoughts into two kinds - 1) thoughts of sensual desire, ill will, and harm; and 2) thoughts of relinquishment, non-ill will, and non-harm. He explains how he abandoned harmful thoughts and cultivated wholesome thoughts, leading to the attainment of the four jhānas and the three knowledges.

The Buddha explains to the brahmin householders of Sālā the causes of rebirth in states of loss or in good destinations, emphasizing the importance of ethical and wholesome conduct. He outlines ten kinds of misconduct and ten kinds of wholesome conduct, illustrating how these actions lead to different outcomes after death.

The Buddha shares the consequences for a person acting with an upset mind based on his direct knowledge.

The three unwholesome thoughts are blinding, produce lack of clarity, cause ignorance, obstruct wisdom, and are troublesome and not conducive to Nibbāna. The three wholesome thoughts give sight, produce clarity and create insight, grow wisdom, and are trouble-free and conducive to Nibbāna.

The Buddha explains how the livelihood of subsisting on alms, although an extreme of livelihoods, is a sensible choice for those who hope to discern a complete end to the entire mass of suffering.

The Buddha explains how frequently paying attention to certain things can lead to the arising and expansion of hindrances and awakening factors.

The Buddha describes the nutriments for the sustenance of the five hindrances and the seven factors of awakening.

Six qualities to abandon to dwell in the first jhāna - 1) sensual desire, 2) ill will, 3) complacency, 4) restlessness, 5) doubt, 6) failure to clearly see the true danger in sensual pleasures with correct wisdom.

Six qualities to abandon to dwell in the first jhāna - 1) sensual desire, 2) ill will, 3) complacency, 4) restlessness, 5) doubt, 6) failure to clearly see the true danger in sensual pleasures with correct wisdom.

Six qualities to abandon to dwell in the first jhāna - 1) thoughts of sensual desire, 2) thoughts of ill will, 3) thoughts of harm, 4) perception of sensual desire, 5) perception of ill will, 6) perception of harm.