Dhammapada verse 157
Chapter 12, The Self (Attavagga) · verses 157–166
“If you knew your self as beloved, you’d look after it so well. In one of the night’s three watches, an astute person would remain alert.”
Attānañce piyaṁ jaññā, rakkheyya naṁ surakkhitaṁ; Tiṇṇaṁ aññataraṁ yāmaṁ, paṭijaggeyya paṇḍito.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 157 mean?
Verse 157 belongs to chapter 12, The Self (Attavagga), which gathers verses 157–166 on the self as one’s own responsibility. It is filed under no theme. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 156 and verse 158 are part of the same passage.
Ten verses on the self, understood here as one’s own responsibility rather than a permanent essence. The chapter says the self is the refuge and the self is the thing to train, and it warns against the person who is skilled at correcting others and not at correcting themselves.