See MN 121:3.3 and note. This discourse offers a different perspective on this meditation.

While the concept of a “great man” is familiar, the “meditation of a great man” (mahāpurisavihāra) appears only here and at Kd 22:2.5.10, which seems to borrow from this passage.

Here the contemplation of the six sense fields is taught in the context of sense restraint through the active development of wisdom or discernment.

The following sections may be a later addition, as they are absent from the parallel (SA 236 at T ii 57b24).

Even the arahant continues to meditate and practice since it is a happy way to live, and to set a good example.

This clarifies the overall purpose of the discourse, to set out a method for mendicants to reflect during their daily walk for almsfood, at which time they are likely to encounter distracting sights, sounds, and smells.