Lao Tzu Quotes
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Worlds and particles, bodies and beings, time and space: All are transient expressions of the Tao.
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We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it liveable.
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Not praising the deserving prevents envy.
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The rigid and big belong below. The soft and weak belong above.
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The truly great man dwells on what is real and not what is on the surface.
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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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The sage honors his part of the settlement, but does not exact his due from others.
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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 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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To delight in conquest is to delight in slaughter.
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The greatest revelation is stillness.
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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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True words are not pleasing. Pleasing words are not true.
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Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose.
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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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The soft and weak can overcome the hard and strong.
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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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Moderation means prevention. Prevention means achieving much virtue.
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In stillness the muddied water returns to clarity.
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Be merciful, moderate, and modest.
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The Tao never acts with force, yet there is nothing that it can not do.
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The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.
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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.