Volume II — Te

Settling Great Grievances

Chapter 79 of the Tao Te Ching

和大怨，必有餘怨，安可以為善？是以聖人執左契，而不責於人。有德司契，無德司徹。天道無親，常與善人。

When settling great grievances, some resentment always remains. How can this be considered good? Therefore the sage holds the left tally but does not demand payment from others. Those with virtue keep the tally. Those without virtue demand the debt. Heaven's way has no favorites, yet it always sides with the good.

Commentary

This verse addresses the nature of conflict resolution and the cosmic economy of virtue. "When settling great grievances, some resentment always remains"—he da yuan, bi you yu yuan (和大怨，必有餘怨). He (和) is to harmonize, settle, make peace; yuan (怨) is grievance, resentment, grudge; yu (餘) is remaining, leftover. Even when great conflicts are officially resolved, the seeds of future conflict remain. The settlement leaves residue; the peace contains the next war. "How can this be considered good?"—an ke yi wei shan (安可以為善)? The question is rhetorical: no forced settlement is truly good because force plants resentment. The very act of imposing resolution creates the conditions for future disruption. "The sage holds the left tally but does not demand payment from others"—shi yi sheng ren zhi zuo qi, er bu ze yu ren (是以聖人執左契，而不責於人). Qi (契) is tally, contract—in ancient China, agreements were recorded on split tallies, each party keeping half. Zuo (左) is left; the creditor held the left half. Zhi (執) is to hold, retain. Ze (責) is to demand, blame, exact payment. The sage retains the evidence of what is owed but does not use it to extract compliance. "Those with virtue manage agreements"—you de si qi (有德司契). Si (司) is to manage, oversee, be in charge of. The virtuous person is concerned with the agreement itself—with maintaining relationship, honoring commitments, upholding the spirit of exchange. "Those without virtue manage collections"—wu de si che (無德司徹). Che (徹) is to collect taxes, exact dues. The person without virtue focuses on extraction—getting what is owed, enforcing payment, using the letter against the spirit. "Heaven's way has no favorites"—tian dao wu qin (天道無親). Qin (親) is close, intimate, related. Heaven plays no favorites; cosmic law operates without partiality. "Yet it always sides with the good"—chang yu shan ren (常與善人).

The full commentary continues with deeper analysis of internal cultivation, classical perspectives, and cross-references. Read the complete chapter →

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