Four Classes of Individuals who encounter the Sasana
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Four Classes of Individuals who encounter the Sasana
(According to the Buddha as stated in the 'Puggala Pannatti' and the 'Anguttara Nikaya')
Maung Lwin
(Reference='Bodhipakkhiya Dipani' by Mahathera Ledi Sayadaw, Aggamahapandita, D. Litt.)
(1) A Ugghatitannu : an individual who
encounters a Buddha in person, and
who is capable of attaining the Holy Paths and the Holy Fruits through the mere hearing of a short concise discourse.
(2) A Vipancitannu: an individual who
encounters a Buddha in person, but
who is capable of attaining the Paths and the Fruits only when the short discourse is expounded to him at some length.
At the present day, only the following Neyya and Padaparama classes of individuals remain.
(3) A Neyya : an individual who needs
to study the sermon and the exposition, and then
to practice the provisions contained therein for 7 days to 60 years, to attain the Paths and the Fruits during this lifetime if he tries hard with guidance from the right teacher.
(4) A Padaparama : is an individual who
cannot attain the Paths and the Fruits within this lifetime.
can attain release from worldly ills in his next existence if he dies while practicing samatha or vipassana and attains rebirth either as a human being or a deva within the present Buddha Sasana.
Necessary Conditions of Practice for Neyya and Padaparama Individuals
Neyya-puggala
An individual of the Neyya class can become a Sotpanna in this present life, if he faithfully practices the bodhipakkhiya-dhamma comprising satipatthana (four Applications of Mindfulness), sammapadhana (Right Exertion), etc. If he is lax in his practice, he can become a Sotapanna only in his next existence after being reborn in the deva planes. If he dies while still aloof from these (bodhipakkhiya-Dhammas) he will become a total loss so far as the present Buddha Sasana is concerned, but he can still attain release from worldly ills if he encounters the Sasana of the next Buddha.
Padaparama-puggala
An individual of the Padaparama class can attain release only within the present Buddha Sasana after rebirth in the deva planes in his next existence, if he can faithfully practice the bodhipakkhiya-Dhammas in his present existence. The present Buddha Sasana will continue to exist so long as the Tipitakas remain in the world. The Padaparama class of individuals have to accumulate as much of the nuclei or seeds of Parami as they can within this lifetime.