ANSWER KEY: If most of your answers were A, you fall into the Greed/Faith category. You probably think of yourself as sensual or passionate rather than “greedy.” If most of your answers were B, you fall into the Aversive/Discerning Wisdom category. Don’t despair; it’s said that you will reach enlightenment the soonest (because of the wisdom that will come of all your suffering). If most of your answers were C, you fall into the Deluded/ Speculative category. You will doubt that this is the correct type for you and will believe you are probably something else. You can also use this quiz to determine your subtype. See page 79 to learn more about subtypes.

Spiritual Tasks: What’s Yours?

Each type has a spiritual task to accomplish. The spiritual task of the greedy type is to transform the desire for sense objects into a desire to know the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Greedy types need to balance their optimism with an awareness of suffering. Practices that can help the greedy type include: contemplation of old age, sickness, death, and impermanence, meditation on the 32 parts of the body; generosity; renunciation; noticing the ending of experiences; putting oneself in uncomfortable, unpleasant situations (in order to become disenchanted with sense pleasures); slowing down; and taking the Three Refuges.

The spiritual task of the aversive type is to transform the critical mind through wisdom and insight. Aversive types need to learn to relax, question their beliefs about being “right,” and notice joy in addition to suffering. Practices for the aversive type are: lovingkindness, compassion, mindfulness of mind, humor, faith, patience, open awareness, and putting oneself in pleasant surroundings in order to soften the heart and connect with life.

The spiritual task of the deluded type is to transform spaciousness into a state of rooted equanimity. Deluded types need to learn how to reel in their minds. Practices useful for a deluded type include: noting (labeling); mindfulness of the hindrance of doubt; body awareness; somatic experiencing; qigong or yoga; precision; mindfulness of the earth element, and putting oneself in safe and pleasant surroundings to prevent dissociation.

Fitting into More than One Category

If you feel that you fit in more than one category, this may be the influence of a subtype personality. Essentially, all three types are operating in each of us, to varying degrees, in each moment. However, in most situations, you will have a temperament that tends to dominate (your primary type) and a temperament that is a strong runnerup (your subtype). Sometimes meditators will playfully compare the type-subtype system to astrological signs (“I’m Aversion with Greed rising”).

You can use the quiz on page 76 to determine your secondary type. Go back over the questions again and see if there is a second answer, or runner-up, which also fits you, but you didn’t pick it the first time because it wasn’t quite as prevalent. Add up these answers and see which type they fall into. It’s occasionally possible to be a perfect balance of all three types, but generally you’ll find that two types will weigh more heavily in your character. A common combination is Aversion primary/Greed secondary. A real life example of this type is a meditation student who is the chief financial officer in an international company. She is a perfectionist, gets easily irritated with her coworkers, and often feels a low level of anger. A secondary issue for her is greed. She craves nice things, such as an $800 espresso maker, and she finds herself shopping on the internet for no apparent reason.

Another common pair is Delusion primary/Aversion secondary. An example of this type is an easygoing, compassionate young man who is a bit of a loner, forgets things, and isn’t good with directions. However, his vagueness is tempered with an aversive clarity. He is an excellent copy editor who remembers the phone numbers and birthdates of all his clients,, and he is painstakingly studying classical Tibetan.

Amita Schmidt is a Vipassana teacher and licensed clinical social worker. She is the author of Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master. For more about her, visit amitaschmidt.org. Rachel Lewis (http://ludricious.blogspot.com/) contributed to the quiz questions.

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