In 'Quiz' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2008/03/quiz.html and 'Saving Others' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2008/07/saving-others.html, I mentioned two 4 types of people mentioned by The Buddha.
In 'Cooking Rice' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2008/04/cooking-rice.html, I also came out with 4 kinds of people.
Now, I'm going to add 2 more :
1)
- Good people can stay as good, or become better (they follow the Right Path);
- Good people can also become bad/evil (they go the wrong way);
- Bad/evil people can become good;
- Bad/evil people can also stay as bad/evil, or become worst.
2)
- Those who do not love themselves and others;
- Those who love themselves but not others;
- Those who love others but not themselves;
- Those who love themselves and others. (eg. The Buddha)
In 'The Path to Arahantship' (page 78-79), Ajahn Maha Boowa lists down the following 4 types of people :
"Looking at the state of the world, I felt discouraged.
I saw people who lived in total darkness as being hopeless. Being so blind that they're worthless, The Buddha called such people padaparama.
Gazing further up the scale, I saw the types of people known as neyya and vipacitannu.
Persons in the neyya category are capable of being trained in the way of Dhamma.
Sometimes they make progress, sometimes they lose ground.
Neyya individuals are fully capable of understanding the Teaching and putting it into practice.
Should they be careless, however, they'll lose ground.
But, if they're earnest in their practice, they can progress rapidly. Depending on the degree of commitment, neyya can go either way.
Vipacitannu individuals always progress towards the goal; they never lose ground.
Still, their progress is slower than that of ugghatitannu - individuals whose intuitive wisdom is so sharp that they're always fully prepared to make a decisive breakthrough.
Ugghatitannu are capable of the kind of quick understanding that allows them to pass beyond in one moment of insight.
All living beings must fall into one of these four categories.
Ugghatitannu : they are fully prepared to cross beyond in an instant.
Vipacitannu : those progressing quickly toward the goal;
Neyya : whose desire to lie down and take it easy competes with their desire to be diligent.
Those 2 opposing forces are (always) vying for supremacy within their hearts.
And finally padaparama : those who are human in physical appearance only.
They have gained nothing at all to enhance their future prospects.
Death for such people is death without distinction.
There is only one possible direction they can go-down.
And they fall further and further with each successive death.
Their way up is blocked, for they have gained absolutely nothing beneficial to take along with them.
They can only go down.
Remember this Well !"
- Ajahn Maha Boowa, The Path to Arahantship, page 78-79.
Well, what can I say?
Except, "Remember this well !"
"It is to the one who feels that I teach the Dhamma;
Not to the one who does not feel."
- The Buddha
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" ........ Dhamma is timeless, not limited by time or place, except by a person's own laziness.
It is because of laziness that the Dhamma of the Buddha will be lost to the world."
- Venerable Chao Khun Upali
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"And for ignorant minds, vanity and self-delusion always do them a world of harm.
Their greatness lies in body, birth, name, rank or self-importance.
But never did their wisdom grow correspondingly large so that it would be conducive to bliss and peace, both for themselves and for others.
Worse still, wisdom is neglected and forgotten.
This is why there is so much trouble and turmoil everywhere."
- Venerable Ajahn Mun
"It is through not understanding, not realising four things, that I, disciples, as well as you, had to wander so long through this round of rebirths.
And what are these 4 things?
They are :
The Ariyan (Noble) Truth of Dukkha (Suffering),
The Ariyan (Noble) Truth of the Origin of Dukkha,
The Ariyan (Noble) Truth of Extinction of Dukkha,
The Ariyan (Noble) Truth of the Path that leads to the extinction of Dukkha."
- The Buddha, Digha Nikaya Sutta No.16
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"And I discovered that profound Truth,
So difficult to perceive, difficult to understand,
Tranquilizing and sublime,
Which is NOT to be gained by mere reasoning and is visible only to the wise.
The world, however, is given to pleasure, delighted with pleasure, enchanted with pleasure.
Truly such beings will hardly understand the Law of Conditionality, the Dependent Arising of Everything,
Incomprehensible to them will also be the end of existence conditions;
The forsaking of every substranum of rebirth; the fading away of craving; detachment, extinction, Nibbana.
Yet there are beings whose eyes are only a little covered with dust -
They will understand the Truth."
- The Buddha, Majjhima Nikaya Sutta no.26
