Taoist Philosophy - Chapter 77

[Marblehead]

Patching Up Or Fixing Guilt

 

To make peace where there has been great resentment,
There is bound to be resentment left over.

Patching up a great hatred
Is sure to leave some hatred behind.
How could this be regarded as good?

The Sage holds the left tally,
The sign of inferiority in an agreement,
And does not put the guilt on the other party
And makes no demands of others.
For this reason,
The virtuous man is for patching up;
The vicious man is for fixing guilt.


On The Futility Of Treaties

To make a peace settlement which is unjust will result only in an unpeaceful peace. To pledge faith with the faithless will result only in a faithless pledge. The clever people become lost in their own desires, while the divine man can go straight to the truth. It has long been established that the clever people cannot pitch themselves against the spiritual man, but the fools stick to their prejudices and are submerged in the events of the day. As a result, all their accomplishments concern the external details. Is this not sad indeed?

Edited March 6, 2013 by Marblehead