When King Pasenadi of Kosala asks the Buddha if he has also awakened to the unsurpassed perfect awakening, the Buddha affirms that he has.

Even if protected by an entire army, one who engages in misconduct is unprotected. But one who engages in good conduct protects themselves, even without external protection.

King Pasenadi of Kosala and Queen Mallikā ask each other who is more dearer to them than themselves.

The Buddha teaches King Pasenadi that good friendship is the entire spiritual life, fostering the Noble Eightfold Path. He then advises the king to rely on diligence in wholesome states to secure benefits in this life and the hereafter.

In response to a king’s grief over his queen's death, the Buddha teaches that aging, illness, death, and loss are inevitable. He contrasts the self-torment of an ordinary person who resists these truths with the peace a learned disciple of the Noble Ones finds through acceptance, thereby removing the “poisonous dart of sorrow.”

The Buddha explains to King Pasenadi of Kosala how to recognize the character of another person.