Nine classes， nine levels. Buddhist scriptural texts commonly define such things as afflictions， heavenly rebirths， faculties of sentient beings and so forth into nine categories 九品， which are the three categories of superior， middling， and inferior 上中下， further divided into the same three， resulting in nine. （1） Nine levels in the Abhidharmako/sa and in Pure Land doctrine: the great of the great， middling of the great， small of the great; great of the middling， middling of the middling and small of the middling; great of the small， middling of the small and small of the small. （2） Nine classes of affliction.