On Laozi's Thought of"Repaying Grievances With Gains"
:The initial part of Chapter 63 of Lao-tzu(《老子》)reads as follows:"Act without action(为无为),manage without meddling(事无事),taste without tasting(味无味),no matter how big and how many grievances are(daxiao duoshao,大小多少),repay grievances with gains(baoyuan yide,报怨以德)."As to the meaning of"baoyuan yide",scholars of the past and the present are widely divided in their opinions.Some believe it refers to repaying grievances with kindness or virtue;others believe it refers to the fact that the sage has achieved unity with"Tao"(道),thus having no grievances to repay;and still others believe it refers to the fact that the sage has no intention to repay grievances.To this day,no consensus view has been achieved.The precise meaning of"baoyuan yide"has long failed to receive a reasonable explanation,and an important reason for this is the lack of a careful examination of the meanings of its components"yuan"(怨)and"de"(德),and the lack of an in-depth revelation of its relationship with the preceding context.In fact,"Yuan"(怨)in"baoyuan yide"refers to"grievances",instead of"hatred"or"resentment",while"de"(德)is equivalent to"de"(得),which is in the sense of"gains",rather than"kindness"or"virtue".It implies the result or the state achieved through the practice of"acting without action,managing without meddling,and tasting without tasting".Therefore,"baoyuan yide"means repaying grievances with gains achieved through spiritual practice.It is a specific embodiment of Laozi's core idea that flexibility overcomes rigidity(柔弱胜刚强).And"daxiao duoshao"refers to the size and amount of grievances.
Laozi(老子)grievancevirtue/gainrepay grievances with gains(baoyuan yide,报怨以德)no matter how big and how many grievances are(daxiao duoshao,大小多少)
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