All tremble before punishment, to all life is dear. Taking oneself as example, one should not kill nor cause to kill.

Sabbesaṃ jīvitaṃ piyaṃ — to all life is dear: the variation from the previous verse (129) is subtle but significant. Where 129 speaks of fear of death, 130 speaks of love for life. Two sides of the same coin: the instinct of preservation has both a negative aspect (fear) and positive (love of life).

The repetition of these two verses with minimal variation is pedagogical. The Pāli canon uses this technique so the teaching is memorized through repetition with nuances that enrich understanding.

Attānaṃ upamaṃ katvā — taking oneself as example: the fundamental ethical principle is identical in both verses. Empathy based on shared experience is the most solid basis for ethics because it requires no abstract doctrine.

This pair (129-130) is one of the most cited foundations of Buddhist ahiṃsā (non-violence) ethics. Its simplicity is its strength: it needs no philosophical elaboration — direct experience of one’s own fear of harm is sufficient to understand that the other feels the same.