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Puggalapaññatti: Four Trees — Heartwood and Softwood in a Community
Everyday life

Puggalapaññatti: Four Trees — Heartwood and Softwood in a Community

Rukkhūpamā puggalā

A softwood tree may be surrounded by heartwood, and a heartwood tree by softwood — a simile reminding us that the quality of one person and the quality of those around them don't necessarily match.

5 points

In the Puggalapaññatti of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, in the section on groups of four, people are compared to four kinds of trees: softwood surrounded by heartwood, heartwood surrounded by softwood, softwood surrounded by softwood, and heartwood surrounded by heartwood.

The Puggalapaññatti is the fourth book of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, classifying types of persons in numbered groups. This set matches the Rukkha Sutta (Clouds Chapter, Book of the Fours) in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.

Heartwood here means someone ethical and of good character; softwood means someone unethical and of bad character. The surrounding trees are the following, the people around that person. The text only sets out the four kinds; it does not explain who causes a community to be that way.

These types are for looking at yourself and choosing your surroundings, not for judging people by the group they belong to.

  1. 1

    Four kinds of trees Cattāro rukkhā

    There are four kinds of trees: softwood surrounded by heartwood, heartwood surrounded by softwood, softwood surrounded by softwood, and heartwood surrounded by heartwood. So too there are four kinds of people, measured by their own ethics and the ethics of the following around them.

    Applying it in daily life

    Write the names of the five people you spend the most time with, and ask honestly whether being with them makes you more honest and kind, or less.

  2. 2

    Softwood, surrounded by heartwood Pheggu sāraparivāro

    Some people are unethical and of bad character, but their following is ethical and of good character — like a softwood tree surrounded by heartwood trees.

    Applying it in daily life

    If you're among good people but still careless yourself, don't hide behind the group's reputation. Use them as models for changing.

  3. 3

    Heartwood, surrounded by softwood Sāro phegguparivāro

    Some people are ethical and of good character, but their following is unethical and of bad character — like a heartwood tree surrounded by softwood trees.

    Applying it in daily life

    Don't judge a good person by the behaviour of those around them. And if this is you, keep your good intentions without drifting along with the group.

  4. 4

    Softwood, surrounded by softwood Pheggu phegguparivāro

    Some people are unethical and of bad character, and their following is also unethical and of bad character — like a softwood tree surrounded by softwood trees.

    Applying it in daily life

    If you realise both you and your group are drifting into wrongdoing, such as petty cheating that has become normal, be the first to stop, even if you're the only one.

  5. 5

    Heartwood, surrounded by heartwood Sāro sāraparivāro

    Some people are ethical and of good character, and their following is also ethical and of good character — like a heartwood tree surrounded by heartwood trees.

    Applying it in daily life

    When you find friends or a team who help each other stay good, look after that relationship seriously. Such surroundings are rare.

Try it in daily life

We often judge people by those around them, or judge a group by its leader. This simile warns that the two may not match. An organisation with a troubled leader may have an honest team, and a good person may live among people who are not.

For yourself, ask two questions: am I heartwood or softwood, and are the people I choose to be close to heartwood or softwood? The most stable kind is heartwood surrounded by heartwood.

If you're a leader or parent, don't blame yourself entirely when those around you behave badly, and don't take their goodness as proof that you're already good.

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