Dhammapada 157

If you know yourself to be dear, keep yourself well guarded

If you know yourself to be dear, keep yourself well guarded. Let the wise keep watch during one of the three watches of the night.

Translated from the Pāli by Banya

In plain words

If you regard yourself as dear, guard yourself well. On the literal reading adopted here, a wise person should keep watch during one of the three watches of the night. One way to apply this: set aside time for heedfulness. This application does not require treating the note as a prescription to reduce sleep.

Key words

yāma

watch of the night — One of three night periods in the adopted literal reading.

The story behind the verse

Prince Bodhi and the magic bird

In the commentary, Prince Bodhi built a palace and invited the Buddha to its completion feast. He was childless and spread cloth for the Buddha to walk on, and he hoped the Buddha would step on it if he was destined to have children. The Buddha refused to tread on it, and the cloth was removed, and the prince asked about his childlessness. The Buddha told of a former life in which a shipwrecked couple survived by eating birds’ eggs, and he identified the prince and his wife with that couple and taught the importance of guarding oneself.

Retold by Banya from the traditional commentary, after E. W. Burlingame, Buddhist Legends (1921).

Explanation by Banya. Traditional readings vary.