Lao Tzu Quotes
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Because he (the Sage) demands no honor, he will never be dishonored.
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Do nondoing, strive for nonstriving, savor the flavorless, regard the small as important, make much of little, repay enmity with virtue; plan for difficulty when it is still easy, do the great while it is still small. The most difficult things in the world must be done while they are easy; the greatest things in the world must be done while they are small.
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The sage never strives for greatness, and can therefore accomplish greatness.
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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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Heaven's net is very vast. It is sparsely meshed, yet nothing slips through.
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The eternal void is filled with infinite possibilities.
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Those who take long steps cannot keep the pace.
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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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When people do not dread authorities, then a greater dread descends.
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Worlds and particles, bodies and beings, time and space: All are transient expressions of the Tao.
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Tao loves and nourishes all things, but does not dominate it over them.
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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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The ten thousand things flourish and then each returns to the root from which it came. Returning to the root is stillness. Through stillness each fulfils its destiny.
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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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The sage honors his part of the settlement, but does not exact his due from others.
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The living are soft and yielding; the dead are rigid and stiff. Living plants are flexible and tender; the dead are brittle and dry.
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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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Take [preventive] action before things happen. Establish order before disorder has begun.
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Weapons are instruments of fear; they are not a wise man's tools. He uses them only when he has no choice.
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The most fundamental seems fickle.
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The truly great man dwells on what is real and not what is on the surface.
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Does one scent appeal more than another? Do you prefer this flavor, or that feeling? Is your practice sacred and your work profane? Then your mind is separated: from itself, from oneness, from the Tao.
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Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose.
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The reality of the building does not consist in the roof and walls, but in the space within to be lived in.