[469] Bhikkhus, these three persons are found existing in the world. What three? The person with wisdom turned upside down (avakujjapañña), the person with wisdom like a lap (ucchaṅgapañña), and the person with broad wisdom (puthupañña).
And what, bhikkhus, is the person with wisdom turned upside down? Here, bhikkhus, a certain person frequently goes to the monastery to hear the Dhamma in the presence of the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus teach him the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end; they proclaim the holy life (brahmacariya) with its meaning and its phrasing, entirely complete and pure. While seated on that seat, he attends neither to the beginning of that talk, nor to the middle, nor to the end; and even when he has risen from that seat, he attends neither to the beginning of that talk, nor to the middle, nor to the end. Just as, bhikkhus, when a pot is turned upside down, water poured upon it runs off and does not remain, so too, bhikkhus, here a certain person frequently goes to the monastery to hear the Dhamma in the presence of the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus teach him the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end; they proclaim the holy life with its meaning and its phrasing, entirely complete and pure. While seated on that seat, he attends neither to the beginning of that talk, nor to the middle, nor to the end; and even when he has risen from that seat, he attends neither to the beginning of that talk, nor to the middle, nor to the end. This, bhikkhus, is called the person with wisdom turned upside down.
And what, bhikkhus, is the person with wisdom like a lap? Here, bhikkhus, a certain person frequently goes to the monastery to hear the Dhamma in the presence of the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus teach him the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end; they proclaim the holy life with its meaning and its phrasing, entirely complete and pure. While seated on that seat, he attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, and attends to the end; but when he has risen from that seat, he attends neither to the beginning of that talk, nor to the middle, nor to the end. Just as, bhikkhus, when various foodstuffs are strewn upon a man's lap — sesame seeds, rice grains, sweetmeats, and jujubes — rising from that seat he would scatter them through a lapse of mindfulness, so too, bhikkhus, here a certain person frequently goes to the monastery to hear the Dhamma in the presence of the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus teach him the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end; they proclaim the holy life with its meaning and its phrasing, entirely complete and pure. While seated on that seat, he attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, and attends to the end; but when he has risen from that seat, he attends neither to the beginning of that talk, nor to the middle, nor to the end. This, bhikkhus, is called the person with wisdom like a lap.
And what, bhikkhus, is the person with broad wisdom? Here, bhikkhus, a certain person frequently goes to the monastery to hear the Dhamma in the presence of the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus teach him the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end; they proclaim the holy life with its meaning and its phrasing, entirely complete and pure. While seated on that seat, he attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, and attends to the end; and even when he has risen from that seat, he attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, and attends to the end. Just as, bhikkhus, when a pot is set upright, water poured into it remains and does not run off, so too, bhikkhus, here a certain person frequently goes to the monastery to hear the Dhamma in the presence of the bhikkhus. The bhikkhus teach him the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end; they proclaim the holy life with its meaning and its phrasing, entirely complete and pure. While seated on that seat, he attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, and attends to the end; and even when he has risen from that seat, he attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, and attends to the end. This, bhikkhus, is called the person with broad wisdom.
These, bhikkhus, are the three persons found existing in the world.
The man with wisdom turned upside down, dull-witted and undiscerning,
even if he frequently goes into the presence of the bhikkhus,
such a one cannot learn the beginning of the talk,
the middle, and the end — for wisdom is not found in him.
The man with wisdom like a lap is said to be better than that one:
even if he frequently goes into the presence of the bhikkhus,
such a one, seated on that seat, having grasped the phrasing
of the beginning of the talk, the middle, and the end,
when he has risen does not understand — what he grasped is lost to him.
But the man with broad wisdom is said to be better than that one:
even if he frequently goes into the presence of the bhikkhus,
such a one, seated on that seat, having grasped the phrasing
of the beginning of the talk, the middle, and the end,
retains it; that man of most excellent intention, whose mind is undistracted,
practising in accordance with the Dhamma, would make an end of suffering (dukkha).
The Third Chapter: On Persons (Puggalavagga).
Its summary (uddāna):
Saviṭṭha, the sick, formations, of great benefit, and with the diamond,
one should associate with, the disgusting, the dung-speaker,
the blind, and the one turned upside down.
The Fourth Chapter: On the Divine Messengers (Devadūtavagga).
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.