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According to this Buddhist glossary (quoted below), there are six types of people i.e. people with six types of nature or temperaments. Apparently, it comes from the Visuddhimagga.

There is some information on the Buddhist personality types wikipedia page, but it doesn't have sufficient source citations. According to it, there are different recommended techniques for the different temperaments. Also, it claims this info is available in Visuddhimagga, Abhidhamma and Niddesa of KN.

My questions:

  1. Where can I find the references mentioned? (in Niddesa, Abhidhamma, Visuddhimagga)
  2. What are the recommended techniques for the different temperaments?
  3. Is this (#2) found in the scriptural sources? Please provide references.

From this Buddhist glossary:

carita [carita] nature, temperament. Carita denotes the intrinsic nature of a human being. The six types of temperament are:

  1. greedy temperament [rāga-carita],
  2. hateful temperament [doṣa-carita],
  3. dull temperament [moha-carita],
  4. devout temperament [śraddhā-carita],
  5. intellectual temperament [buddhi-carita],
  6. discursive temperament [vitarka-carita].

The six temperaments are combined with one another. The speculative temperament (dṛṣṭi carita) is added to them.

AS. I. 309. CMA. IX. 330-331. VM. III. 82-88.

2 Answers 2

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  1. Where can I find the references mentioned? (in Niddesa, Abhidhamma, Visuddhimagga)

Visuddhimagga > Chapter 3 KammatthanaggahanaNiddesa (Describing the way to recite and learn the meditation from the teacher) > cariyāvaṇṇanā (Describing the mental behavior [for stopping PariyutthanaKilesa] for the teacher to analysis his student behavior), and it's sub-commentary.

  1. What are the recommended techniques for the different temperaments?

In VisuddhiMagga recommend high quality teacher. There are many qualifications to be a teacher in Theravada.

  1. Is this (#2) found in the scriptural sources? Please provide references.

It is techniques for the meditation not theory or rule, no standard, so in Visuddhimagga...

yasmā pana idaṃ cariyāvibhāvanavidhānaṃ sabbākārena neva pāḷiyaṃ na aṭṭhakathāyaṃ āgataṃ, kevalaṃ ācariyamatānusārena vuttaṃ, tasmā na sārato paccetabbaṃ. rāgacaritassa hi vuttāni iriyāpathādīni dosacaritādayopi appamādavihārino kātuṃ sakkonti. saṃsaṭṭhacaritassa ca puggalassa ekasseva bhinnalakkhaṇā iriyāpathādayo na upapajjanti. yaṃ panetaṃ aṭṭhakathāsu cariyāvibhāvanavidhānaṃ vuttaṃ, tadeva sārato paccetabbaṃ. vuttañhetaṃ ‘‘cetopariyañāṇassa lābhī ācariyo cariyaṃ ñatvā kammaṭṭhānaṃ kathessati, itarena antevāsiko pucchitabbo’’ti. tasmā cetopariyañāṇena vā taṃ vā puggalaṃ pucchitvā jānitabbaṃ. ayaṃ puggalo rāgacarito, ayaṃ dosādīsu aññataracaritoti.

However, the six types of temperaments analysis neither come from Tipitaka nor Commentary. All are from many teachers' idea, so it's not standard. Actually, the proper gesture, etc., for greedful person might be proper for hateful person who having strong mindfulness, too. And the various guesture, etc., can't be in a person who having complex temperament (most people has one personal gesture, etc.) Actually, the six types of temperaments analysis from Commentary is standard whether "the teacher, who can know of other minds-Cetopariyanana, can know student's temperaments and teach the (proper) meditation. If not, the teacher can talk the student to get personal information." So, the temperaments can be known by these 2 ways.

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This is more of an addendum than a full answer, but I believe this also comes up in the Vimuttimagga, chapter 6.

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