I hope you get better soon, Jorg!
The “Dovacassatā Sutta (AN 6.115)” is a short sutta. The English translation there is misleading.
In many cases, this and other modern translators provide the mundane meaning because they do not know the deeper meanings.
“Dovacassatā” and “pāpamittatā” essentially refer to asappurisa.
- “sovacassatā” and “kalyāṇamittatā” refer to sappurisa.
- As we know, sappurisa are Ariya (Noble Persons). See #7 of “Dhamma – Different Meanings Depending on the Context .”
I linked above to the verse “Dovacassatāya pahānāya sovacassatā bhāvetabbā, pāpamittatāya pahānāya kalyāṇamittatā bhāvetabbā, cetaso vikkhepassa pahānāya ānāpānassati bhāvetabbā.”
That verse is translated with the mundane meaning in the above link: “You should develop being easy to admonish to give up being hard to admonish, good friendship to give up bad friendship, and mindfulness of breathing to give up a distracted mind.”
It should be translated as: “You should associate with those who speak the correct Dhamma, not those who speak adhamma, a Noble Person and not an immoral person, and practice ānāpānassati to remove confusion/distracted-ness of the mind to get to samādhi“
Mindfulness of breathing CAN BE give up a distracted mind temporarily. It WILL NOT help remove any anusaya/bad gati!
- In the same way, “good friends” that one associates to have a good time, are, in most cases, asappurisa.