[759] When this was said, bhikkhus, the apprentice Medakathālikā said this to the bamboo acrobat (caṇḍālavaṃsika): "That, teacher, is not how it will be. You, teacher, protect yourself, and I shall protect myself. Thus, each guarded by ourselves, each protected by ourselves, we shall display our skills, receive our fee, and come down safely from the bamboo pole." "That is the right method (ñāya) in that case," the Blessed One said, "just as the apprentice Medakathālikā said to the teacher. Bhikkhus, thinking, 'I shall protect myself,' the establishment of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna) should be practiced; thinking, 'I shall protect others,' the establishment of mindfulness should be practiced. Bhikkhus, protecting oneself, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.