diṭṭhi
Wrong view
[ DIT-thee ]
Seeing it in life
Diṭṭhi is the misapprehension of phenomena — chief among them the view of a self (sakkāya-diṭṭhi). It arises only in greed-rooted cittas.
In short
Distorted understanding accompanying greed.
The analysis
Diṭṭhi is distorted understanding that arises specifically in greed-rooted cittas — a misapprehension of how things actually are, chief among its forms being sakkāya-diṭṭhi, the view of a fixed self within the aggregates. Diṭṭhi arises only when greed is joined by a specific held view, which is why the eight lobha-rooted cittas split into view-associated and view-dissociated pairs.
Where it sits
Diṭṭhi is uprooted entirely at stream-entry — one of the ten fetters, specifically sakkāya-diṭṭhi, is severed at that point.
Holding tightly to a specific story about what a financial setback must mean about one's future, as though the story were simply how things are rather than one interpretation among many, is diṭṭhi.
Commonly mistaken for
Any opinion or belief. Diṭṭhi specifically names distorted view arising with greed, not ordinary provisional beliefs held lightly.
Something everyone has equally. It's uprooted at stream-entry specifically, unlike subtler defilements that persist longer.
Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha II; Sakkāya Sutta (SN 22.1).
Related terms