English
he, in the same way as before, is greedy, hateful, and deluded. But for whom at the moment of karma accumulation, non-greed, hatred, and delusion are strong, the others are weak, he, in the same way as before, is non-greedy, with few defilements, unshakeable even seeing divine objects, but he is hateful and dull-witted. But for whom at the moment of karma accumulation, non-greed, non-hatred, and delusion are strong, the others are weak, he, in the same way as before, is non-greedy, non-hateful, and virtuous, but he is dull. Likewise, for whom at the moment of karma accumulation, non-greed, hatred, and non-delusion are strong, the others are weak, he, in the same way as before, is non-greedy and wise, but he is hateful and angry. But for whom at the moment of karma accumulation, all three, non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion, are strong, greed and so on are weak, he, in the same way as before, like Elder Mahāsaṅgharakkhita, is non-greedy, non-hateful, and wise. And here, he who is called greedy, this one is of a lustful disposition. The hateful and dull are of a hatred and delusion disposition. The wise b pure-natured. Not greedy, not malicious, by nature serene, they are faith-natured. Just as the Buddha-nature is born from kamma accompanied by non-delusion, so the faith-nature is born from kamma accompanied by strong faith. The thought-nature is born from kamma accompanied by sensual thoughts and so on. The mixed-nature is born from kamma accompanied by a mixture of greed and so on. Thus, it should be understood that kamma generating rebirth, accompanied by any one of greed and so on, is the cause of these natures. 45. Now, as to what was said: "How is it to be known that this person is of a lustful nature, etc.?" Here is the method. From posture, from actions, from eating, from seeing, and so on; and from the course of Dhamma, one reveals the natures. Here, "from posture" means: A lustful-natured person, when walking in their usual manner, walks gracefully, places their foot slowly, places it evenly, lifts it evenly, and their footprint is deeply impressed. A hateful-natured person walks as if digging with their toes, places their foot quickly, lifts it quickly, and their footprint is dragged. A deluded-natured person walks with a confused gait, places their foot as if startled, lifts it as if startled, and their footprint is quickly pressed down. This was also said in the origin story of the Māgaṇḍiya Sutta – "Indeed, the footprint of one who is lustful is deeply impressed. Of one who is hateful, it is a dragged footprint; Of one who is deluded, it is quickly pressed down, but of one whose covering is removed, the footprint is of this kind." The standing posture of a lustful-natured person is pleasing and graceful, of a hateful-natured person, it is stiff, of a deluded-natured person, it is confused. The same method applies to sitting. And a lustful-natured person, without haste, arranges their bed evenly, lies down slowly, composes their limbs gracefully, and sleeps. When awakened, they do not rise quickly, but like one who is hesitant, they respond slowly. A hateful-natured person, in haste, arranges their bed haphazardly, lies with a thrown-down body, with a frown, and sleeps. When awakened And without respect, quickly rising, like one angry, he gives a reply. The delusion-natured one, having arranged his bed badly, with scattered limbs, mostly lies face down, and when made to rise, making a grunting sound, he rises slowly. But the faith-natured and others, since they are akin to the greed-natured and others, their postures are also similar. Thus, from postures, one should discern the temperaments. Regarding duties: in sweeping and other tasks, the greed-natured one, taking the broom well, without hurrying, not scattering sand, sweeps cleanly and evenly, as if spreading a bed of Sinduvara flowers. The hate-natured one, taking the broom firmly, appearing hurried, pushing sand on both sides, with a harsh sound, sweeps uncleanly and unevenly. The delusion-natured one, taking the broom loosely, swirling it around, sweeps uncleanly and unevenly. As in sweeping, so too in all tasks like washing and dyeing robes, the greed-natured one is skillful, gentle, even, and diligent. The hate-natured one is firm, stiff, and uneven in action. The delusion-natured one is unskillful, confused, uneven, and indecisive in action. And the wearing of robes for the greed-natured one is neither too tight nor too loose, it is pleasing and well-rounded. For the hate-natured one, it is too tight and not well-rounded. For the delusion-natured one, it is loose and disheveled. The faith-natured and others should be understood according to these, because of their similar nature. Thus, from duties, one should discern the temperaments. Regarding food: the greed-natured one is fond of rich and sweet food, and when eating, making a not-too-large, well-rounded mouthful, experiencing the taste, he eats without hurrying, and having obtained something delicious, he becomes joyful. The hate-natured one is fond of coarse and sour food, and when eating, making a mouth-filling mouthful, not experiencing the taste, he eats hurrying, and having obtained something unpalatable, he becomes displeased. The delusion-natured one has an unfixed preference, and when eating, a not-well-rounded, small mouthful... Making a lump, throwing it into the dish, smearing his mouth, with a distracted mind, thinking of this and that, he eats. Faith-temperament and others too should be understood in accordance with these, for they are of that nature. Thus, from eating, one should discern the temperaments. From seeing and so on: The lustful temperament, seeing even a slightly pleasing form, gazes for a long time as if astonished, clings to even slight qualities, does not grasp a fault even if it exists, even when departing, departs with longing, as if unwilling to let go. The hateful temperament, seeing even a slightly unpleasing form, does not gaze for long, as if wearied, is repelled by even slight faults, does not grasp a quality even if it exists, even when departing, departs without longing, as if eager to let go. The deluded temperament, seeing any form, becomes dependent on others, hearing others blame, he blames, hearing others praise, he praises, but he himself remains indifferent with the indifference of ignorance. This method applies to hearing sounds and so on. Faith-temperament and others, however, should be understood in accordance with these, for they are of that nature. Thus, from seeing and so on, one should discern the temperaments. And from the prevalence of qualities: For the lustful temperament, qualities like deceit, trickery, conceit, evil desires, great desires, discontent, flattery, and fickleness frequently arise. For the hateful temperament, anger, resentment, denigration, domineering, envy, and avarice. For the deluded temperament, sloth, torpor, restlessness, remorse, doubt, stubborn adherence, and difficulty in relinquishing. For the faithful temperament, generosity, desire to see noble ones, desire to hear the good Dhamma, abundance of joy, straightforwardness, non-deceitfulness, and confidence in inspiring places. For the intelligent temperament, easy teachability, good friendship, moderation in eating, mindfulness and clear comprehension, devotion to wakefulness, a sense of urgency in inspiring places, and proper exertion for one who is stirred. For the speculative temperament, abundance of talk, delight in company, aversion to wholesome practice, un the constant activity, smoking at night, burning during the day, running here and there— such qualities are frequently present. Thus, from the prevalence of these qualities, one should discern the temperaments. However, since this method of discerning temperaments is not found at all in the Pāli texts nor in the commentaries, but is merely stated according to the opinion of teachers, it should not be accepted as essential. For the actions like postures mentioned for one of lustful temperament can also be performed by those of hateful temperament, etc., who dwell with heedfulness. And for a person of mixed temperament, postures, etc., of different characteristics do not occur in a single individual. But what is stated in the commentaries as the method for discerning temperaments, that alone should be accepted as essential. For it is said: "A teacher who has attained the knowledge of discerning others' minds will know the temperament and teach the meditation subject; otherwise, the pupil should be questioned." Therefore, it should be known either by the knowledge of discerning others' minds or by questioning that person: "This person is of lustful temperament, this one is of one of the other temperaments like hatred." 46. For a person of what temperament, what is suitable? Here, first, for one of lustful temperament, a dwelling with an unplastered floor, on the ground, without a roof, a grass hut, or a leaf-hut, or any such, dusty, full of lice, dilapidated and crumbling, too high or too low, a wilderness, fearful, a path full of impurities and uneven, where even the bed and chair are full of bugs, ugly, discolored, which merely by looking at it, disgust arises— such a place is suitable. For robes, those torn inside, with dangling and trailing threads, like a net-cake, rough to the touch like sackcloth, dirty, heavy, difficult to maintain— such are suitable. The bowl too should be discolored, either a clay bowl struck with knots and lumps, or an iron bowl, heavy, ill-shaped, disgusting like a skull— such is suitable. The alms-round path too should be unpleasant, a village far away, uneven— such is suitable. The alms-round village too, where people walk as if not seeing, where even in one family, one does not obtain alms. having gone out, when he is departing, they say, "Come, venerable sir!" and make him enter the alms-hall, give him gruel and rice,