Lao Tzu Quotes
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Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river.
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To delight in conquest is to delight in slaughter.
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Be truly whole, and all things will return to you.
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The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes consumed by their superiors. It is through this that they suffer famine.
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Moderation means prevention. Prevention means achieving much virtue.
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The rigid and big belong below. The soft and weak belong above.
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Stillness is the ruler of haste.
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The sage honors his part of the settlement, but does not exact his due from others.
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Worlds and particles, bodies and beings, time and space: All are transient expressions of the Tao.
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If your virtue is especially radiant, it can be possible to open a pathway to the subtle realm and receive these celestial teachings directly from the immortals.
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We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it liveable.
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Be merciful, moderate, and modest.
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The greatest revelation is stillness.
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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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What Heaven detests, who knows why? Even the sage considers it difficult.
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The truly great man dwells on what is real and not what is on the surface.
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The sage governs by emptying senses and filling bellies.
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In stillness the muddied water returns to clarity.
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The Tao never acts with force, yet there is nothing that it can not do.
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The best leaders are those their people hardly know exist. The next best is a leader who is loved and praised. Next comes the one who is feared. The worst one is the leader that is despised ... The best leaders value their words, and use them sparingly. When they have accomplished their task, the people say, "Amazing! We did it, all by ourselves!
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I have three treasures that I cherish. The first is compassion. The second is moderation. The third is not claiming to be first in the world.
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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 stand on their toes are not steady.
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Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose.