Lao Tzu Quotes
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Weapons are the tools of violence;all decent men detest them.Weapons are the tools of fear;a decent man will avoid themexcept in the direst necessityand, if compelled, will use themonly with the utmost restraint.Peace is his highest value.If the peace has been shattered,how can he be content?His enemies are not demons,but human beings like himself.He doesn't wish them personal harm.Nor does he rejoice in victory.How could he rejoice in victoryand delight in the slaughter of men?He enters a battle gravely,with sorrow and with great compassion,as if he were attending a funeral.
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To rejoice in conquest is to rejoice in murder.
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Governing a large state is like boiling a small fish.
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Holding on to the weak is called strength.
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When people are unsettled, loyal ministers arise.
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The soft and weak can overcome the hard and strong.
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Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.
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The ancients said: Hulk to be whole.
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Yet mystery and imagination arise from the same source. This source is called darkness ... Darkness within darkness, the gateway to all understanding.
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To know you have enough is to be rich.
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Know honor, Yet keep humility. Be the valley of the universe! Being the valley of the universe, Ever true and resourceful, Return to the state of the uncarved block.
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But in the present day men cast off gentleness, and are all for being bold; they spurn frugality, and retain only extravagance; they discard humility, and aim only at being first. Therefore they shall surely perish.
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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.
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Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao. It springs into existence, unconscious, perfect, free, takes on a physical body, lets circumstances complete it. That is why every being spontaneously honors the Tao. The Tao gives birth to all beings, nourishes them, maintains them, cares for them, comforts them, protects them, takes them back to itself, creating without possessing, acting without expecting, guiding without interfering. That is why love of the Tao is in the very nature of things.
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The more clever and cunning people are, the stranger the events will be.
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There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war.
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Those who praise themselves do not prevail.
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ALL things in Nature work silently. They come into being and possess nothing. They fulfil their functions and make no claim.
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Use the light that is in you to recover your natural clearness of sight.
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That, which others compress - will widen up and open. That, which others weaken - will strengthen. That, which others destroy - will blossom. Whoever wished to take something from the other, will inevitably loose his own.
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All things carry yin and embrace yang. They reach harmony by blending with the vital breath.
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Those who know are wise. Those who know themselves are enlightened.
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True words are not pleasing. Pleasing words are not true.
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He who possess virtue in abundance may be compared to an infant.