Lao Tzu Quotes
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To rejoice in conquest is to rejoice in murder.
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There was something that finished chaos, born before Heaven and Earth.
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If you want to shrink something, you must first allow it to expand. If you want to get rid of something, you must first allow it to flourish. If you want to take something, you must first allow it to be given. This is called the subtler perception of the way things are. The soft overcomes the hard. The slow overcomes the fast. Let your workings remain a mystery. Just show people the results.
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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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An integral being knows without going, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing.
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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.
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The best soldier does not attack. The superior fighter succeeds without violence. The greatest conqueror wins without struggle. The most successful manager leads without dictating. This is intelligent non aggressiveness.
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Those who know are wise. Those who know themselves are enlightened.
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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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When people are unsettled, loyal ministers arise.
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Governing a large state is like boiling a small fish.
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It is the child that sees the primordial secret in Nature and it is the child of ourselves we return to. The child within us is simple and daring enough to live the Secret.
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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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Every human being's essential nature is perfect and faultless, but after years of immersion in the world we easily forget our roots and take on a counterfeit nature.
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The weak overcomes the strong. The soft overcomes the hard. Everybody in the world knows this, still nobody makes use of it.
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All things carry yin and embrace yang. They reach harmony by blending with the vital breath.
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Covetousness is the greatest misfortune. One who does not know what is enough will never have enough.
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Use the light that is in you to recover your natural clearness of sight.
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A tree trunk the size of a man grows from a blade as thin as a hair. A tower nine stories high is built from a small heap of earth.
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To know others is to have knowledge. To know yourself is to be enlightened.
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The sage does not strive to be great. Thereby he can accomplish the great.
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Those who praise themselves do not prevail.
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The value of teaching without words and accomplishing without action is understood by few in the world.
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That which offers no resistance, overcomes the hardest substances.