Do not neglect your own welfare for that of others, however great. Having known your own welfare, dedicate yourself to your true good.

Attadatthaṃ paratthena bahunāpi na hāpaye — do not neglect your own welfare for that of others: attadattha is one’s own welfare, one’s own spiritual benefit. Parattha is the welfare of the other. This verse seems to contradict altruistic ethics but does not.

“One’s own welfare” here is one’s own spiritual practice, one’s own purification. If you neglect your practice by compulsively helping others, you end up unable to help anyone — including yourself.

Attadatthamabhiññāya — having known your own welfare: abhiñña is knowing directly, understanding deeply. First know what is truly beneficial for oneself — not gratification but practice.

Sadatthapasuto siyā — dedicate yourself to your true good: sadattha is the true good, the real good. The teaching is that spiritual self-protection is the necessary foundation for any genuine help to others. It is not selfishness — it is the infrastructure of compassion.