At the start of the sutra we hear from Ānanda, Mahākāśyapa and Maitreya:

“World-honored One! After you have passed away, O Tathāgata, how do living beings produce the bodhisattva mind, practice in accordance with the comprehensive sutras of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana), and, with right mindfulness, bring their thoughts into the realm of one reality? How do they avoid losing sight of the aspiration for ultimate enlightenment (bodhicitta)? Moreover, without cutting off worldly passions and without abandoning the five desires, how do they achieve purity of the sense faculties and eliminate accumulated impurities? Without giving up the five desires, how can they still become capable of seeing events and things free from encumbrance with the pure natural eyes received from their parents at birth?”

The Buddha addressed Ānanda:

“Hear me clearly! Hear me clearly, and consider this well! In the past, on Mount Vulture Peak and at other places, the Tathāgata has already expounded the one genuine path from many perspectives. And now, at this place, for the benefit of all living beings in the future who wish to follow the Supreme Way that is the Great Vehicle—and who wish to learn and follow the practice of Universal Sage,3 I will now expound the method4 for that, which I have kept in mind. Impurities, in any number, should be eliminated whether one perceives Universal Sage or not. This I will now explain to you, accordingly, in great detail.

Going forward I will focus on each of the senses and their karmic consequences – the sense faculty of sight, the sense faculty of hearing, the sense faculty of smell, the sense faculty of speech and the sense faculty of the body and mind, each of which is detailed in the Sutra of Contemplation of Dharma Practice of Universal Sage.

All without giving up the five desires.