What does Buddha mean with '' to not sacrifice one's life for another' (Dhp 166)? What did Buddha mean when he told not to sacrifice?

Does "sacrifice" mean the same thing as in the Jewish or Christian traditions?

Btw: don't feel offended when I compares some things, I'm just wondering the differences.
I like this reference to the Dhammapada, because it includes the &quot;story&quot; behind each verse (note that it's the verse itself that should be treated as &quot;Gospel&quot;, the story is commentary, sometimes allegorical).
So verse 166 can be found here: Dhammapada Verse 166 ... from which I take the following to be the essential message:

The Buddha then said to the bhikkhus,

&quot;Bhikkhus, those who love and revere me should act like Attadattha. You are not paying me homage by just offering flowers, perfumes and incense and by coming to see me; you pay me homage only by practising the Dhamma I have taught you, i.e., the Lokuttara Dhamma.&quot;


In other words, the Buddha taught what he did to let each person to attain liberation. That's what the Buddha wants: for each person to attain liberation. So if you do something other than that, &quot;for the sake of another's benefit&quot;, then you're missing the point of the Buddha's message.

Also, &quot;not sacrifice your life&quot; is a paraphrase or extrapolation of the verse, not a quote; actually it says,

Verse 166: For the sake of another's benefit, however great it may be, do not neglect one's own (moral) benefit. Clearly perceiving one's own benefit one should make every effort to attain it.


Also there are stories (fables) of the Buddha having sacrificed his own life, in past lives: for example, there's the story of the tigress (here's the short version and a longer version). Actually that story is told as admirable and perhaps even as a necessary step in the Bodhisattva's evolution towards birth as a Buddha. The Jataka tales are not entirely canonical though.

Also Buddhist are taught that generosity is a virtue (perhaps the first virtue; or maybe the second virtue after &quot;harmlessness&quot;).
I'm not sure that generosity is seen as &quot;sacrifice&quot; though.
And literal &quot;sacrifice&quot; (perhaps using fire?) was a feature of the contemporary (pre- and post-Buddhist) religion: performed by priests of the &quot;Brahmin&quot; caste.
I think that the whole last chapter of the Dhammapada is on that topic: saying that what makes a person &quot;holy&quot; isn't sacrifice and so on, but self-restraint and so on.
There are some similar doctrine addressed to a Brahmin in the suttas also.