“Reverends, the Buddha gave this brief summary recital, then entered his dwelling without explaining the meaning in detail: ‘A mendicant should examine in whatever way such that, while examining, consciousness would neither be scattered nor diffused externally, nor stuck internally, and they would not be anxious because of grasping. When consciousness is neither scattered nor diffused externally, nor stuck internally, and they are not anxious because of grasping, there is no coming to be of the origin of suffering—of rebirth, old age, and death in the future.’ This is how I understand the detailed meaning of this summary recital.

How is consciousness said to be scattered and diffused externally? In this case, when a mendicant sees a sight with their eyes, and consciousness follows after the features of that sight—tied, attached, and fettered to gratification in its features—consciousness is said to be scattered and diffused externally. When they hear a sound with their ears … When they smell an odor with their nose … When they taste a flavor with their tongue … When they feel a touch with their body … When they know an idea with their mind, and consciousness follows after the features of that idea—tied, attached, and fettered to gratification in its features—consciousness is said to be scattered and diffused externally. That’s how consciousness is said to be scattered and diffused externally.