Lao Tzu Quotes
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In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple.
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The great Way is easy, yet people prefer the side paths. Be aware when things are out of balance. Stay centered within the Tao.
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The hard and stiff are death's companions. The soft and weak are life's companions.
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Tao loves and nourishes all things, but does not dominate it over them.
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Rushing into action, you fail. Trying to grasp things, you lose them. Forcing a project to completion, you ruin what was almost ripe.
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Those who take long steps cannot keep the pace.
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Good Government is not intrusive the people are hardly aware of it; the next best is felt yet loved; then comes that which is known and feared; the worst government is hated.
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Do not conquer the world with force, for force only causes resistance. Thorns spring up when an army passes. Years of misery follow a great victory. Do only what needs to be done without using violence.
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True power is stillness within motion.
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Chanting is no more holy than listening to the murmur of a stream, counting prayer beads no more sacred than simply breathing. . . . If you wish to attain oneness with the Tao, don't get caught up in spiritual superficialities.
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Do you think that you can clear your mind by sitting constantly in silent meditation? This makes your mind narrow, not clear. Integral awareness is fluid and adaptable, present in all places and at all times. That is true meditation. ... The Tao is clear and simple, and it doesn't avoid the world.
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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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The wise man is one who knows what he does not know.
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A good manager is best when people barely know that he exists. Not so good when people obey and acclaim him. Worse when they despise him.
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The generals have a saying: "Rather than make the first move it is better to wait and see. Rather than advance an inch it is better to retreat a yard." This is called going forward without advancing, pushing back without using weapons. There is no greater misfortune than underestimating your enemy. Underestimating your enemy means thinking that he is evil. Thus you destroy your three treasures and become an enemy yourself. When two great forces oppose each other, the victory will go to the one that knows how to yield.
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The forceful and violent will not die from natural causes.
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If princes and kings were not exalted they might be overthrown.
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He (the sage) is good to those who are good. He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue of good.
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Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things?
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A good wanderer leaves no trace.
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Because every portion of the body, mind, and spirit yearns for the integration of yin and yang, angelic intercourse is led by the spirit rather than the sexual organs. . . . Where ordinary intercourse unites sex organs with sex organs, angelic cultivation unites spirit with spirit, mind with mind, and every cell of one body with every cell of the other body.
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No disaster is worse than being discontented.
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Those who know when it is enough will not perish.
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{The cleansing of spiritual contamination} is accomplished by offering one's talent, resources, and life to the world.