Seventy-Ninth Chapter

Seventy-Ninth Chapter

Seventy-Ninth Chapter
Tao Te-Ching

After a bitter quarrel, some resentment remains.
What can one do about it?
Being content with what you have
is always best in the end.

Someone must risk returning injury with kindness,
or hostility will never turn to goodwill.
So wise always give without expecting gratitude.

One with true virtue
always seeks a way to give.
One who lacks virtue
always seeks a way to get.
To the giver comes the fullness of life;
to the taker, just an empty hand.
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As I Understand It:
When we hold on to resentments we give away our inner power. Whoever in your life stirs negative emotions in you–boss, ex-husband, mother-in-law, son or sibling-it drains your energy. “Hostility will never turn to goodwill” unless you reverse the feeling and return hurtful feelings with forgiveness. Those who follow the way of the Tao have seeds of tranquility set up in their hearts, there is no place for resentment or anger.

Leave your ego behind and you’ll be on your way to wisdom. Your ego insists on showing superiority. It wants to put others down, insult and disrespect them. But its victory is a temporary high. When the thrill is over the negative emotion is back. Ego squeezes your inner stability and after one thrill is over, it begins to think of the next attack. The Tao cannot combat it. It watches and regrets. Only you have power over your ego. Control your ego. Develop an authentic inner-self by doing the right things when no one is watching. A healthy intuitive-self always points you towards the right direction.

Your intuitive self is the same as the inner Tao. When you pay attention to what is happening within, the universe responds and astounds with its daily pleasures and epiphanies.
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Dyer, W. Wayne. Change Your Thought–Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao. Hay House, Inc. 2007.
The Way of Lao Tzu (Tao-te Ching), Translated, with introductory essays, comments, and notes by Chan, Wing-Tsit. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. 1963.