Lao Tzu Quotes
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Goodie-goodies are the thieves of virtue.
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Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.
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The very highest is barely known. Then comes that which people know and love, Then that which is feared, Then that which is despised. Who does not trust enough will not be trusted.
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In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.
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The Master observes the world, but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. His heart is as open as the sky.
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Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.
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A good runner leaves no footprints.
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Thirty spokes meet in the hub, but the empty space between them is the essence of the wheel. Pots are formed from clay, but the empty space within it is the essence of the pot. Walls with windows and doors form the house, but the empty space within it is the essence of the home.
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He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.
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Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.
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He (the Sage) does not show off, therefore he shines.
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It is as though he listened and such listening as his enfolds us in silence in which at last we begin to hear what we are meant to be.
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The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.
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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe.
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Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
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Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind become still. The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return. They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.
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An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.
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A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.
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From caring comes courage.
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Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.
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Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.
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Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretch her fingers to touch the heavens.
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By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.
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The Wise Man is square but not sharp, honest but not not malign, straight but not severe, bright but not dazzling.