Tao Te Ching, Chapter 49, Verse 1, Translations

Daodejing by Laotzu
Chapter 49
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter Order in Wang Bi's Daodejing Commentary in 246 CE

Translations into English of Chapter 49, Verse 1



The Wise Person has no Ego,
He identifies himself with the universe.

The Sage has no set heart.
Ordinary people's hearts
Become the Sage's heart.

The wise man has no fixed opinions to call his own.
He accommodates himself to the minds of others.

The sage has no mind of his own.
He takes the minds of the people as his own.

A wise ruler has no preconceived ideas,
He adopts the people's ideas as his own.

The sage has no mind of his own.
He is aware of the needs of others.

Sages never have a mind of their own;
they consider the minds of the common people to be their mind.

The sage has no mind of her own.
She is at one with all of humanity.

The Tao–Master does not have his heart set on anything in particular.
He wants to understand the hearts of the people.

The Sage is free of the law of fixed belief;
It reflects the heart of every seeker.

The Complete Thinker has no interests of their own,
But takes the interests of the people as their own.

The Sage is without a set mind.
He makes the mind of the people his own.

The Taoist has no opinions
He simply listens, and acts

The wise man has no fixed opinions to call his own.
He accommodates himself to the minds of others.

sheng ren wu chang xin.
yi bai xing xin wei xin.

shêng jên wu ch'ang hsin.
yi pai hsing hsin wei hsin.

The Sage has no decided opinions and feelings,
But regards the people's opinions and feelings as his own.

The wise leader does not impose a personal agenda or value system on the group.
The leader follows the group's lead and is open to whatever emerges.

The sage's heart is not unchangeable,
He makes his own the people' s heart and will,

The Sage has no interests of his own,
But takes the interests of the people as his own.

The sage has no set mind.
She adopts the concerns of others as her own.

The Saint has no fixed mind.
He makes the mind of the people his own,

The sage is never opinionated,
He listens to the mind of the people.

Sages have no mind-set.
They take common people's concerns as theirs.

The wise man hath no fixed principle;
he adapted his mind to his environment.

The Heart of the self-controlled man is always in the Inner Kingdom.
He draws the hearts of all men into his Heart.

The Sage’s heart is not immutable;
he regards the people’s heart as his own.

The wise have no mind-set.
They regard the people's minds as their own.

Der Berufene hat kein eigenes Herz.
Er macht das Herz der Leute zu seinem Herzen.

Der Weyse hat kein selbstsüchtiges Herz,
unvoreingenommen nimmt er die Herzen
der anderen in sich auf.

The great men did not have a fixed will;
they made the people's will their own.

The Sage has no self to call his own.
He makes the self of the people his self.

El Sabio no tiene intereses propios,
Hace suyos los intereses del pueblo.

El Sabio no tiene intereses propios,
pero hace suyos los interesesde la gente.

A sound man's heart is not shut within itself
But is open to other people's hearts:

Evolved Individuals have no fixed mind;
They make the mind of the People their mind.

Le Saint n'a point de sentiments immuables.
Il adopte les sentiments du peuple.

El sabio es constante en su mente,
hace de la mente del pueblo su propia mente.

El sabio carece siempre de espíritu propio,
hace suyo el espíritu del pueblo.

The best ruler has no personal ideas
And what the people think is what he/she thinks.

The sage has no invariable mind of his own;
he makes the mind of the people his mind.


Process Philosophy

Positive Psychology



Mind, Self, and Society: The Definitive Edition. By George Herbert Mead. Originally published in 1934 by his students. Edited by Charles W. Morris. Annotated Edition by Daniel R. Huebner and Hans Joas. University of Chicago Press, 2015, index, bibliography, appendix, supplementary essays, notes, 515 pages.

Reality as a Social Process: Studies in Metaphysics and Religion. By Charles Hartshorne. Free Press, 1953, 223 pages.

Reenchantment Without Supernaturalism: A Process Philosophy of Religion. By David Ray Griffin. Cornell University Press, 2000, 440 pages. 

Our minds are, indeed, formed and evolved from our habits of body-mind and our existing social/educational life.
Your family is one key root of your personality.    
We need to have an open, flexible, modifiable approach to learning and knowing.
Our changing personal needs are furthered by good social relations.
We ride the surf of change in life always with others.
Avoid inflexible and "certain" attitudes and opinions.    
Adapt your thinking to your environment.  

-  Michael P. Garofalo, Chapter 49, Verse 1

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage includes a Google Translate option menu for reading the entire webpage in many other languages.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching [246 CE Wang Bi version] includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms (concordance) for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, links, research leads, translator sources, and other resources for that Chapter.  

     A Top Tier online free resource for English and Spanish readers, researchers, Daoist devotees, scholars, students, fans and fellow travelers on the Way. 

Chapter 49, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu  Chapter 49

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

Process Philosophy

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Daodejing  Chapter Number Index Standard Traditional Chapter Arrangement of the Daodejing Chapter Order in Wang Bi's Daodejing Commentary in 246 CE Chart by Mike Garofalo Index
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70
71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80
81

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 79

Daodejing, Laozi
Chapter 79

"Compromise with great resentment will surely yield lingering resentment;
How can this be seen as good?
For this reason,
The sage holds the debtor's side of a contract and does not make claims upon others.
Therefore,
The man of integrity attends to his debts;
The man without integrity attends to his exactions.
The Way of heaven is impartial, yet is always with the good person."
-  Translated by Victor H. Mair, 1990, Chapter 79 

"harmonizing great resentments and injuries
requires a soft but steady equilibrium
but even in a gentle balancing of the scales
some friction and pain will always remain
harmony can still be reached
if the sage wise man doesn't push
for complete unity
the sage wise man come to understand that flawless justice
is impossible
so he holds an even temperament instead
great knowledge comes from the left hand
holding something broken an flawed
accept the small inequities
a bodymind embracing the tao way of life
doesn't need perfection
a bodymind rejects the tao way of life
striving for perfection
remember
heaven lends its strength to those who
follow the natural laws of the universe."
-  Translated by John Bright-Fey, Chapter 79  


"Reconciliation of a great grudge
Surely will leave some ill-will.
How can this be considered as good?
Therefore, the sage holds the left-hand part of the contract and does not blame the other person.
The man with virtue is likely to keep the contract;
The man without virtue is likely to collect the tax.
The way of Heaven has no favor;
It is constantly with the good man."
-  Translated by Yi Wu, Chapter 79 


"Return love for great hatred.
Otherwise, when a great hatred is reconciled, some of it will surely remain.
How can this end in goodness?
Therefore the Sage holds to the left half of an agreement, but does not exact what the other holder ought to do.
The virtuous resort to agreement.
The virtueless resort to exaction.
The Tao of heaven shows no partiality;
It abides always with good men."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 79  


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.-  Chinese characters, Chapter 79, Tao Te Ching


he da yuan, bi you yu yuan,
an ke yi wei shan?
shi yi sheng ren zhi zuo qi
er bu ze yu ren.
you de si qi,
wu de si che.
tian dao wu qin,
chang yu shan ren.
-  Pinyin Romanization, Chapter 79, Daodejing

"There's little good in making peace
If resentment lingers
You'll never see an end to blame
If everyone is pointing fingers

It's better to be pointing
At the peaceful and creative place
Where you see naught but emptiness
And others say they see your face."
-  Translated by Jim Clalfelter, 2000, Chapter 79 


"You can resolve great rancor, but rancor always lingers on.
Understanding the more noble way,
a sage holds the creditor's half of contracts
and yet asks nothing of others.
Those with Integrity tend to such contracts;
those without Integrity tend to the collection of taxes.
The Way of heaven is indifferent, always abiding with people of nobility."
-  Translated by David Hinton, Chapter 79  


"When the principle of a dispute has been settled some accessory grievances always remain,
and things do not return to the state they were in before.
Therefore, the Sage never questions it, despite his right.
Keeping his half of the agreement, he does not exact the execution of what is written.
He who knows how to conduct himself after the Virtue of the Principle, lets his written agreements sleep.
He who does not know how to conduct himself thus, exacts his due.
Heaven is impartial.
If it were capable of some partiality, it would give advantage to good people.
It would overwhelm them, because they ask for nothing."
-  Translated by Derek Bryce, 1999, Chapter 79 


"El que consigue apaciguar un gran resentimiento, siempre deja subsistir algún resentimiento.
¿Esto puede considerarse un bien?
Por esto, el santo guarda la mitad izquierda de la talla, pero no reclama nada a los demás.
El que tiene la virtud no tiene interés más que por la talla,
El que no tiene la virtud not tiene interés más que por percibir lo que se le debe.
El camino del cielo ignora el favoritismo, recompensa siempre al hombre de bien."
-  Translated by Alba, 1998, Capítulo 79  


"When a bad grudge is settled,
Some enmity is bound to remain.
How can this be considered acceptable?
Therefore the Sage keeps to his side of the contract
But does not hold the other party to their promise.
He who has Virtue will honour the contract,
Whilst he who is without Virtue expects others to meet their obligations.
It is the Way of Heaven to be impartial;
It stays always with the good man."
-  Translated by Keith Seddon, Chapter 79

"When a great wound is healed,
There will still remain a scar.
Can this be a desirable state of affairs?
Therefore, the Sage, holding the left-hand tally,
Performs his part of the covenant,
But lays no claims upon others.
The virtuous attends to his duties;
The virtueless knows only to levy duties upon the people.
The Way of Heaven has no private affections,
But always accords with the good."
-  Translated by John C. H. Wu, 1961, Chapter 79 

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin Romanization of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 79, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 79

Daodejing, Laozi
Chapter 79

"Compromise with great resentment will surely yield lingering resentment;
How can this be seen as good?
For this reason,
The sage holds the debtor's side of a contract and does not make claims upon others.
Therefore,
The man of integrity attends to his debts;
The man without integrity attends to his exactions.
The Way of heaven is impartial, yet is always with the good person."
-  Translated by Victor H. Mair, 1990, Chapter 79 


"Give love in return for fierce hatred.
Otherwise, when the fierce hatred is forgotten,
A little of it will still remain.
And how can this end well?
Therefore the sage keeps the left half of a contract,
And does not check what the other holder has to do.
The virtuous person acts according to the contract,
The person who is not virtuous resorts to lawsuits and disputations.
The superior Tao is not biased,
It always accompanies the virtuous person."
- Translated by Chou-Wing Chohan, Chapter 79

"harmonizing great resentments and injuries
requires a soft but steady equilibrium
but even in a gentle balancing of the scales
some friction and pain will always remain
harmony can still be reached
if the sage wise man doesn't push
for complete unity
the sage wise man come to understand that flawless justice
is impossible
so he holds an even temperament instead
great knowledge comes from the left hand
holding something broken an flawed
accept the small inequities
a bodymind embracing the tao way of life
doesn't need perfection
a bodymind rejects the tao way of life
striving for perfection
remember
heaven lends its strength to those who
follow the natural laws of the universe."
-  Translated by John Bright-Fey, Chapter 79  


"Reconciliation of a great grudge
Surely will leave some ill-will.
How can this be considered as good?
Therefore, the sage holds the left-hand part of the contract and does not blame the other person.
The man with virtue is likely to keep the contract;
The man without virtue is likely to collect the tax.
The way of Heaven has no favor;
It is constantly with the good man."
-  Translated by Yi Wu, Chapter 79 


"Return love for great hatred.
Otherwise, when a great hatred is reconciled, some of it will surely remain.
How can this end in goodness?
Therefore the Sage holds to the left half of an agreement, but does not exact what the other holder ought to do.
The virtuous resort to agreement.
The virtueless resort to exaction.
The Tao of heaven shows no partiality;
It abides always with good men."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 79  


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.-  Chinese characters, Chapter 79, Tao Te Ching


he da yuan, bi you yu yuan,
an ke yi wei shan?
shi yi sheng ren zhi zuo qi
er bu ze yu ren.
you de si qi,
wu de si che.
tian dao wu qin,
chang yu shan ren.
-  Pinyin Romanization, Chapter 79, Daodejing

"There's little good in making peace
If resentment lingers
You'll never see an end to blame
If everyone is pointing fingers

It's better to be pointing
At the peaceful and creative place
Where you see naught but emptiness
And others say they see your face."
-  Translated by Jim Clalfelter, 2000, Chapter 79 


"You can resolve great rancor, but rancor always lingers on.
Understanding the more noble way,
a sage holds the creditor's half of contracts
and yet asks nothing of others.
Those with Integrity tend to such contracts;
those without Integrity tend to the collection of taxes.
The Way of heaven is indifferent, always abiding with people of nobility."
-  Translated by David Hinton, Chapter 79  


"When the principle of a dispute has been settled some accessory grievances always remain,
and things do not return to the state they were in before.
Therefore, the Sage never questions it, despite his right.
Keeping his half of the agreement, he does not exact the execution of what is written.
He who knows how to conduct himself after the Virtue of the Principle, lets his written agreements sleep.
He who does not know how to conduct himself thus, exacts his due.
Heaven is impartial.
If it were capable of some partiality, it would give advantage to good people.
It would overwhelm them, because they ask for nothing."
-  Translated by Derek Bryce, 1999, Chapter 79 


"El que consigue apaciguar un gran resentimiento, siempre deja subsistir algún resentimiento.
¿Esto puede considerarse un bien?
Por esto, el santo guarda la mitad izquierda de la talla, pero no reclama nada a los demás.
El que tiene la virtud no tiene interés más que por la talla,
El que no tiene la virtud not tiene interés más que por percibir lo que se le debe.
El camino del cielo ignora el favoritismo, recompensa siempre al hombre de bien."
-  Translated by Alba, 1998, Capítulo 79  


"When a bad grudge is settled,
Some enmity is bound to remain.
How can this be considered acceptable?
Therefore the Sage keeps to his side of the contract
But does not hold the other party to their promise.
He who has Virtue will honour the contract,
Whilst he who is without Virtue expects others to meet their obligations.
It is the Way of Heaven to be impartial;
It stays always with the good man."
-  Translated by Keith Seddon, Chapter 79

"When a great wound is healed,
There will still remain a scar.
Can this be a desirable state of affairs?
Therefore, the Sage, holding the left-hand tally,
Performs his part of the covenant,
But lays no claims upon others.
The virtuous attends to his duties;
The virtueless knows only to levy duties upon the people.
The Way of Heaven has no private affections,
But always accords with the good."
-  Translated by John C. H. Wu, 1961, Chapter 79 


"To harmonize great enemies
We must possess that which far surpasses enmity.
We must be able to be at peace
In order to be active in Love.
That is why the self-controlled man holds the left-hand portion of the contract, but does not insist upon the other man producing his portion.
He who is virtuous may rule by a contract,
He whose virtue is within may rule by destroying it.
Akin to Heavenly Tao is Inner Life.
A constant giver is the man who loves."
- Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 79


A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.  These are hypertext documents, and available online under Creative Commons 4.

  
Chapter 79, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  Compiled and indexed by Mike Garofalo.  

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

A Solitary Daoist Neopagan's Final Journey  

An Old Philosopher's Notebooks

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons