Tao Te Ting 49 phrasing
"To those who are good (to me), I am good; and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good; - and thus (all) get to be good."
Something about the paranthesis are making this feel harder to decipher than I feel it needs to be. Which is likely me over thinking it.
But on the surface I really like this passage and want to better understand it.
I have a few sort of interpretations I'm wrestling with. One is that by being good to everyone regardless of how they are towards me, I am good.
Or is it by being good to all that they all get to be good?
Or is it by being good to all that we all collectively are good?
Like I said the paranthesis make it feel more complicated because I don't totally understand how they're being used here. So I'd love to hear other people's interpretations. I've only recently started studying the philosophy of Taoism as of this year.
Posted Mar 2, 2026, 4:04 PM UTC