Appahāya Sutta
“Monks, without abandoning six habits
a person is unable to see and understand [the Dhamma] [1]
What are the six habits?
(1) The belief in a personal self,
(2) Doubt [in the Dhamma],
(3) Blind attachment to rites and rituals,
(4) Desires connected with [coarse mental] degradation,
(5) Hatred connected with [coarse mental] degradation,
(6) Delusion connected with [coarse mental] degradation. [2]
Without abandoning these six habits
one is unable to see and understand [the Dhamma].
Monks, when a person abandons six habits,
they are able to see and understand [the Dhamma].
What are the six habits?
(1) The belief in personal self,
(2) Doubt [in the Dhamma],
(3) Blind attachment to rites and rituals,
(4) Desires connected with [coarse mental] degradation,
(5) Hatred connected with [coarse mental] degradation,
(6) Delusion connected with [coarse mental] degradation.
When one abandons these six habits,
one is able to see and understand [the Dhamma].
[1] abhabbo diṭṭhisampadaṁ sacchikātuṁ: The more literal translation would be that one is unable to realize attainment in view or success in view.
[2] Apāya which is usually translated as ‘hell’ or ‘perdition’ can also mean something like: going away, departure; loss, decline; moral deterioration. This can help some understand the meaning better. Sakkāyadiṭṭhiṁ, vicikicchaṁ, sīlabbataparāmāsaṁ,apāyagamanīyaṁ rāgaṁ, apāyagamanīyaṁ dosaṁ, apāyagamanīyaṁ mohaṁ. One should note here that it is not by having blind faith and acceptance in the concept of impersonality or in abandoning doubt about the Dhamma or in blind attachment to rites and rituals do not lead to liberation or that any of the three roots conduce to coarser mental states but rather, it is through direct experience and understanding of each of these things that one can be called “attained to the view of the Awakened ones,” not the other way around as it is often understood by those with little knowledge about the path.
