Indian stream·Tao Te Ching·Chapter 79 — Settling Without Resentment
Reconciling great grievances leaves residual resentment
To reconcile great grievances inevitably leaves some resentment behind — how can this be considered good? Therefore the sage holds the left tally and does not press his claim against others. He who has virtue attends to the tally; he who lacks virtue attends to collection. Heaven's Way has no favorites; it sides always with the good.
Source context
- Theme
- residual grievance after conflict resolved, and the impartial operation of heaven's way
- Soul-faculty
- Consciousness Soul
Steiner
not engaged in the GA corpus
Cross-tradition
- Stoic ethicsThe Stoic principle that the sage acts without reactive emotion and that cosmic logos distributes outcomes without partiality parallels the Daoist claim that heaven favors no party but aligns with those who embody the good.
- Vedantic karma doctrineThe Vedantic understanding of karma as an impersonal balancing principle — independent of human grievance or favor — exhibits cross-tradition congruence with Chapter 79's assertion that heaven's tally-stick operates without personal preference.
- Biblical wisdom literature (Proverbs / Ecclesiastes)The motif in Hebrew wisdom literature that divine justice acts impartially regardless of human complaint shows cross-tradition congruence with the chapter's teaching that the sage holds the debtor's side of the contract without demanding settlement.
Chapter 79
When a reconciliation is effected (between two parties) after a great animosity, there is sure to be a grudge remaining (in the mind of the one who was wrong). And how can this be beneficial (to the other)?
Therefore (to guard against this), the sage keeps the left-hand portion of the record of the engagement, and does not insist on the (speedy) fulfilment of it by the other party. (So), he who has the attributes (of the Tao) regards (only) the conditions of the engagement, while he who has not those attributes regards only the conditions favourable to himself.
In the Way of Heaven, there is no partiality of love; it is always on the side of the good man.