The Buddha clarifies the proper path of a true ascetic, illustrating that internal purification, not external practices, defines true asceticism. The Buddha also describes the wearing away of mental defilements, the cultivation of the four immeasurable states, and the taintless liberation of mind using similes of a concealed weapon and a cool pond.

The Buddha uses a simile of the water in the pond to illustrate the extent of suffering that is exhausted and overcome by a disciple of the Noble Ones who has attained right view.