Lao Tzu Quotes
-
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.
-
Open yourself to the truth, then trust in your natural responses, and everything will fall into place.
-
The softest of stuff in the world, penetrates quickly the hardest, insubstantial, it enters where there is no room.
-
The Master keeps her mind always at one with the Tao; that is what gives her her radiance. The Tao is ungraspable. How can her mind be at one with it? Because she doesn't cling to ideas. The Tao is dark and unfathomable. How can it make her radiant? Because she lets it. Since before time and space were, the Tao is. It is beyond is and is not. How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.
-
Superior leaders get things done with very little motion. They impart instruction not through many words, but through a few deeds. They keep informed about everything but interfere hardly at all. They are catalysts, and though things would not get done as well if they were not there, when they succeed they take no credit. And, because they take no credit, credit never leaves them.
-
Those who are content suffer no disgrace.
-
We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.
-
A skillful commander is not overbearing. A skillful fighter does not become angry. A skillful conqueror does not compete with people. One who is skillful in using men puts himself below them. This is called the strength to use men. This is called matching Heaven, The highest principle of old.
-
When the hares have all been caught, the hunting dogs are cooked.
-
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.
-
Holding on to the weak is called strength.
-
Those who die without being forgotten get longevity.
-
Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.
-
The high must make the low its base.
-
The best soldiers are not warlike; the best fighters do not lose their temper. The greatest conquerors are those who overcome their enemies without strife. The greatest directors of men are those who yield place to others. This is called the Virtue of not striving, the capacity for directing mankind; this is being the compeer of Heaven. It was the highest goal of the ancients.
-
To know you have enough is to be rich.
-
Filling life exceedingly is called ominous.
-
The rigid tree will be felled.
-
If you never assume importance, you never lose it.
-
Conduct your triumph as a funeral.
-
The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to. It is content with the low places that people disdain. Thus it is like the Tao. In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.
-
Heaven's Way is like stretching a bow. The high is lowered and the low is raised. Excess is reduced and deficiency is replenished. Heaven's Way reduces excess and replenishes deficiency. People's Way is not so. They reduce the deficient and supply the excessive.
-
We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it liveable.
-
There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war.