The four types of being

[DharmaDefender]

Victorious over the four types of being who, though they are proud to be counted among Buddhists, have fallen into the crevasse of inferior views

Of course this comes from Dorje Shugden's prayer. What I find incredible is that the prayer was written so long ago but the basic premise has remained the same all these years - even those who call themselves Buddhist, are not necessarily Dharmic.

I wish I could tell every anti-DS person to look at the verses a little deeper, and see that they aren't about blood, skin and thigh bones, and harming others but a request from us, for us to lead a Dharma life. The prayers recognise that even when you're Buddhist and practising Dharma, obstacles can still exist because unless you're enlightened, your views can shift back and forth (from inferior to superior and back again). And these obstacles come from your own mind.

Question - what are the four types of being?

[WisdomBeing]

Victorious over the four types of being who, though they are proud to be counted among Buddhists, have fallen into the crevasse of inferior views

Of course this comes from Dorje Shugden's prayer. What I find incredible is that the prayer was written so long ago but the basic premise has remained the same all these years - even those who call themselves Buddhist, are not necessarily Dharmic.

I wish I could tell every anti-DS person to look at the verses a little deeper, and see that they aren't about blood, skin and thigh bones, and harming others but a request from us, for us to lead a Dharma life. The prayers recognise that even when you're Buddhist and practising Dharma, obstacles can still exist because unless you're enlightened, your views can shift back and forth (from inferior to superior and back again). And these obstacles come from your own mind.

Question - what are the four types of being?

Interesting question DharmaDefender. I have no idea but am hazarding a guess - could it be the four schools of Buddhism, i.e. Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug? I am not really convinced because not all from these schools "have fallen into the crevasse of inferior views" though some practitioners from each of these schools may qualify! Anyway, look forward to others' views on this.

[DSFriend]

Victorious over the four types of being who, though they are proud to be counted among Buddhists, have fallen into the crevasse of inferior views

Question - what are the four types of being?

If I'm not mistaken, they are :
Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, arhats and sentient beings

[WisdomBeing]

Victorious over the four types of being who, though they are proud to be counted among Buddhists, have fallen into the crevasse of inferior views

Question - what are the four types of being?

If I'm not mistaken, they are :
Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, arhats and sentient beings

Hmmm.. i don't think it can be Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats because they would definitely not "have fallen into the crevasse of inferior views" either.

Thanks for responding though. I'm now quite curious about what is the real answer.

[Losang_Tenpa]

I am not sure either, but here is one way to divide beings-

1-Ordinary being ie.-Non-Arya: a being who has not perceived emptiness directly
2-Arya: a being who has perceived emptiness directly but who has not yet eliminated all of their mental afflictions.
3-Arhat: a being who has perceived emptiness directly and has also eliminated all mental afflictions. This being has destroyed all affliction obstacles (nyon-drip), but not all obstacles to knowledge (she-drip) This being can be said to have achieved Nirvana.
4-Completely Enlightened being: a being who has perceived emptiness directly and removed all mental affliction obstacles as well as all obstacles to knowledge. This being has escaped samsara and can be said to have achieved the omniscient mind of perfect Enlightenment.

This is not the 4 that you are refering to, because these have not " fallen into the crevasse of inferior views",  but this is one way to classify beings that I have read in the scriptures.

[Zhalmed Pawo]

In the Suttas (or Sutras), the Buddha typically calls the totality of his followers as being a fourfold Sangha, a fourfold congregation: Bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upaasakas, and upaasikaas, that is, those men who have gone forth, those women who have gone forth, male householders, and female householders. All Buddhist humans belong to one of these groups of the Fourfold Sangha. If one is a follower of the Buddha, one is counted as belonging to one of these groups.

[triesa]

Thank you Zhalmed Pawo for your clarification. I think your answer is the most appropriate one so far

[pgdharma]

Thanks Zhalmed Pawo, I am not sure also but your answers  could be the right one.

[Small being]

I believe that 'the four types of beings who have fallen into the cravasse of wrong views' refer to the four types of proponents of Buddhist tenets which are:

Vaibashikas
Sautantrikas
Chittamatrins
Madhyamika Svatantrikas

Dorje Shugden bestows the wisdom of Buddha's ultimate view, the Madhyamika Prasangika view, on his faithful disciples. Compared to this view, the views of the lower schools are wrong views as they do not actually lead to liberation. More information see 'A Brief Summary of Buddhist Tenets' by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso which can be found in his book Ocean of Nectar.

SB

[WisdomBeing]

I believe that 'the four types of beings who have fallen into the cravasse of wrong views' refer to the four types of proponents of Buddhist tenets which are:

Vaibashikas
Sautantrikas
Chittamatrins
Madhyamika Svatantrikas

Dorje Shugden bestows the wisdom of Buddha's ultimate view, the Madhyamika Prasangika view, on his faithful disciples. Compared to this view, the views of the lower schools are wrong views as they do not actually lead to liberation. More information see 'A Brief Summary of Buddhist Tenets' by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso which can be found in his book Ocean of Nectar.

SB

i think that Zhalmed Pawo's reply seems most appropriate too. However, i wanted to ask SB - which are the lower schools you mention above?

[Small being]

Hi WB,

The so-called lower schools are the four mentioned ones: Vaibashikas, Sautantrikas, Chittamatrins and
Madhyamika Svatantrikas. They are called 'lower schools' because the view of emptiness taught in these school is inferior to Buddha's final view of the Madhyamika Prasangika school. We cannot attain liberation or Enlightenment without realising this correct view of emptiness of the Prasangikas. Hence it is Dorje Shugden's main job to bestow this wisdom upon us. Hope this is helpful.

Best wishes,
SB

[thaimonk]

Hi WB,

The so-called lower schools are the four mentioned ones: Vaibashikas, Sautantrikas, Chittamatrins and
Madhyamika Svatantrikas. They are called 'lower schools' because the view of emptiness taught in these school is inferior to Buddha's final view of the Madhyamika Prasangika school. We cannot attain liberation or Enlightenment without realising this correct view of emptiness of the Prasangikas. Hence it is Dorje Shugden's main job to bestow this wisdom upon us. Hope this is helpful.

Best wishes,
SB

Excellent. Simple straightforward and accurate. Thanks

[WisdomBeing]

Hi WB,

The so-called lower schools are the four mentioned ones: Vaibashikas, Sautantrikas, Chittamatrins and
Madhyamika Svatantrikas. They are called 'lower schools' because the view of emptiness taught in these school is inferior to Buddha's final view of the Madhyamika Prasangika school. We cannot attain liberation or Enlightenment without realising this correct view of emptiness of the Prasangikas. Hence it is Dorje Shugden's main job to bestow this wisdom upon us. Hope this is helpful.

Best wishes,
SB

Thanks SB for the clear explanation and link to Dorje Shugden too!

[kurava]

I believe what DS friend meant is the motivation of the 4 types of beings.

Ordinary beings who are concerned with :
1.   happiness of present life.
2.   happiness of future lives.
3.   happiness of self liberation
4.   happiness of enlightenment.

While we may hold such aspirations, we may not be practicing correctly to have commensurate results. If our purification is not effective , or our merits are exhausted, we can still fall into lower realms.

[DSFriend]

I believe what DS friend meant is the motivation of the 4 types of beings.

Ordinary beings who are concerned with :
1.   happiness of present life.
2.   happiness of future lives.
3.   happiness of self liberation
4.   happiness of enlightenment.

While we may hold such aspirations, we may not be practicing correctly to have commensurate results. If our purification is not effective , or our merits are exhausted, we can still fall into lower realms.

Yes, it is in terms of the motivation of beings being referred to.

Besides classifying beings based on motivation, beings can also be classified based on:
A)  4 Modes of birth:
Born via the womb, born via the form of an egg, born via moisture, born via spontaneously (ghosts and heavenly beings)

B) 4 suffering states (as a result of committing negative actions):
animals, demons, hungry ghosts, hell beings