Lao Tzu Quotes
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Misery is what happiness rests upon. Happiness is what misery lurks beneath.
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Do not make them (people) weary at their work. If you do not make them weary, they will not be weary of you.
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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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To know others is to have knowledge. To know yourself is to be enlightened.
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Stillness is the ruler of haste.
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When people are unsettled, loyal ministers arise.
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Those who praise themselves do not prevail.
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Governing a large state is like boiling a small fish.
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A good calculator does not need artificial aids.
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The soft and weak can overcome the hard and strong.
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Those who know are wise. Those who know themselves are enlightened.
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If you close your mind in judgements and traffic with desires, your heart will be troubled. If you keep your mind from judging and aren't led by the senses, your heart will find peace.
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He who possess virtue in abundance may be compared to an infant.
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When the great Tao is forgotten, goodness and piety appear. When the body's intelligence declines, cleverness and knowledge step forth. When there is no peace in the family, filial piety begins. When the country falls into chaos, patriotism is born.
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There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted. It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am forced to give It a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.
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Water benefits the ten thousand things and does not oppose them.
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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.
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Though (the Tao) is uncreated itself, it creates all things. Because it has no substance, it can enter into where there is no space. Exercising by returning to itself, winning victories by remaining gentle and yielding, it is softer than anything, and therefore overcomes everything hard.
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The wise man is one who knows what he does not know.
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Be truly whole, and all things will return to you.
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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 value of teaching without words and accomplishing without action is understood by few in the world.