[116] Therein, householders, as for those ascetics and brahmins who hold such a doctrine, such a view: "There is no cause, there is no condition for the corruption of beings; without cause, without condition, beings are corrupted. There is no cause, there is no condition for the purification of beings; without cause, without condition, beings are purified. There is no power, no energy (vīriya), no human strength, no human exertion. All beings, all living things, all creatures, all souls are without mastery, without power, without energy; molded by destiny, by chance conjunction, and by nature, they experience pleasure and pain in the six classes of birth" — of them this is to be expected: that they will shun these three skillful qualities—good bodily conduct, good verbal conduct, good mental conduct—and, undertaking these three unskillful qualities—bad bodily conduct, bad verbal conduct, bad mental conduct—will conduct themselves accordingly. Why is that? Because those worthy ascetics and brahmins do not see the danger, the degradation, and the defilement of unskillful qualities, nor the benefit of renunciation, the aspect of cleansing, in skillful qualities.
Since cause really exists, when one holds the view "there is no cause," that view of his is wrong view. Since cause really exists, when one intends "there is no cause," that intention of his is wrong intention. Since cause really exists, when one utters the speech "there is no cause," that speech of his is wrong speech. Since cause really exists, when one says "there is no cause," he makes himself an opponent of those arahants who teach causality. Since cause really exists, when one convinces another that "there is no cause," that convincing of his is a convincing of what is not the true Dhamma; and by that convincing of what is not the true Dhamma he exalts himself and disparages others. Thus, indeed, his former good moral conduct is first abandoned and bad moral conduct established; and there are this wrong view, wrong intention, wrong speech, opposition to the noble ones, convincing of what is not the true Dhamma, exalting of oneself, and disparaging of others. Thus these many evil, unskillful qualities come into being with wrong view as their condition.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.