Addressed by Sáriputta to Anáthapindika when he lay on his deathbed. It was an exhortation to him not to cling to mundane things. It is said that at the end of the sermon the banker wept aloud, never before having heard such a homily. Soon after, he died and was born as a deva, in which form he came to Jetavana and paid homage to the Buddha (M.iii.258-63).
In this sutta Sáriputta says that such sermons were not vouchsafed to the white-robed laity but reserved for the duly-ordained (M.iii.261), a statement sometimes quoted as evidence of an esoteric doctrine in Buddhism.
Anáthapindika makes a request that such suttas should also be preached to laymen because there are young men whose eyes are but slightly dimmed.