People are ...?

[binocular]

Greetings.


When interacting with other people in one way or another, one is operating with some basic, default assumptions about what people as such are. These default assumptions don't have anything to do with the particular person one is interacting with, but are a matter of one's general outlook on life and people.

Examples of default assumptions about people:
"People are basically good."
"People are basically bad."
"Each person is an enemy of every other person."
"Each person is a competitor of every other person."
Etc.

In Buddhism, what are the default assumptions about people as such?


Thank you.

[Sam Vara]

Khandhā?

[DooDoot]

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

People are papañca-saññā-sankhā

Metta,
Paul.

[sunnat]

Strange.. Yes

Humans are basically ignorant with an opportunity to become wise

[SarathW]

Greetings.


When interacting with other people in one way or another, one is operating with some basic, default assumptions about what people as such are. These default assumptions don't have anything to do with the particular person one is interacting with, but are a matter of one's general outlook on life and people.

Examples of default assumptions about people:
"People are basically good."
"People are basically bad."
"Each person is an enemy of every other person."
"Each person is a competitor of every other person."
Etc.

In Buddhism, what are the default assumptions about people as such?

Thinking good and bad is called Mana (conceit or measurement)
The others are called Dithi (views)

Because now I have learned Buddhism I think "people are ignorant"


Thank you.

[cappuccino]

The Vedas state … in Kali-yuga everyone is born as a Shudra


Still, one can become a Brahman

[JohnK]

...the owners of their actions

[Crazy cloud]

... not better, not worse, not the same.

[dharmacorps]

Too varied to make any general statement about, so this type of approach is unskillful.

[DNS]

Too varied to make any general statement about, so this type of approach is unskillful.

Why have any underlying assumptions? Just wait and see and you can decide based on their character, actions.

[Kim OHara]

Too varied to make any general statement about, so this type of approach is unskillful.

Why have any underlying assumptions? Just wait and see and you can decide based on their character, actions.

People are too varied for any assumptions to be particularly reliable, but our assumptions guide our own behaviour - quite strongly in some situations.
And if our assumptions are negative, they will firstly make us unhappy and secondly be expressed in our own negative behaviour - suspicious, fearful, anxious, mean, etc - which will usually generate negative responses from the other person.

That's a lose-lose-lose scenario, isn't it?

So I'm going to go one step further than dharmacorps and say that the skilful default assumption is that people are basically good.


Kim

[DooDoot]

In Buddhism, what are the default assumptions about people as such?

from MN 12:

14. (5) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is how beings have different inclinations. That too is a Tathagata's power...

15. (6) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the disposition of the faculties of other beings, other persons. That too is a Tathagata's power...

[SteRo]

In Buddhism, what are the default assumptions about people as such?

Eventually none.

[Srilankaputra]

... A mirror.