Lao Tzu Quotes
-
Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.
-
If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.
-
Filling life exceedingly is called ominous.
-
My words have an origin. My deeds have a sovereign. Truly, because people do not understand this, they do not understand me.
-
He who has no faith in others shall find no faith in them.
-
To retreat after a work well done is Heaven's Way.
-
Be humble and you will remain entire. The sages do not display themselves, therefore they shine. They do not approve themselves, therefore they are noted. They do not praise themselves, therefore they have merit. They do not glory in themselves, therefore they excel.
-
Mold clay into a bowl. The empty space makes it useful.
-
Abandon benevolence, discard duty, and people will return to the family ties.
-
To rejoice in conquest is to rejoice in murder.
-
The ancients said: Hulk to be whole.
-
Things exalted then decay. This is going against the Way. What goes against the Way meets an early end.
-
Use the light that is in you to recover your natural clearness of sight.
-
Open yourself to the truth, then trust in your natural responses, and everything will fall into place.
-
When the ancient Masters said, "If you want to be given everything, give everything up," they weren't using empty phrases. Only in being lived by the Tao can you be truly yourself.
-
Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.
-
Displaying riches and titles with pride brings about one's downfall.
-
The rigid tree will be felled.
-
That which shrinks must first expand.
-
ALL things in Nature work silently. They come into being and possess nothing. They fulfil their functions and make no claim.
-
When the emperor is crowned or the three dukes are appointed, rather than sending a gift of jade carried by four horses, remain still and offer the Way.
-
The inner is the foundation of the outer. The still is master of the restless. The Sage travels all day yet never leaves his inner treasure.
-
The wise man does not lay up treasure. The more he expends on others, the more he gains for himself. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.
-
The Tao is unpredictable to those that live according to plans. Only those who have no agenda are in harmony with the Tao.