Lao Tzu Quotes
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In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.
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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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{The cleansing of spiritual contamination} is accomplished by offering one's talent, resources, and life to the world.
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Deal with the small before it becomes large.
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The wise man is one who knows what he does not know.
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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 sage does not attempt anything very big, and thus achieves greatness.
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He who stands on tiptoe is not steady. He who strides cannot maintain the pace. He who makes a show is not enlightened. He who is self-righteous is not respected. He who boasts achieves nothing. He who brags will not endure. According to followers of the Tao, "These are extra food and unnecessary luggage." They do not bring happiness, therefore followers of the Tao avoid them.
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If Heaven were not clear it might rend. If Earth were not firm it might crumble.
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Those who know when it is enough will not perish.
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Although there are weapons for tens and hundreds of soldiers, they will not be used.
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Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit.
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The True Person governs by emptying the heart of desire and filling the belly with food, weakening ambitions and strengthening bones.
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. . . These are notions of the mind, which is like a knife, always chipping away at the Tao, trying to render it graspable and manageable. But that which is beyond form is ungraspable, and that which is beyond knowing is unmanageable. There is, however, this consolation: She who lets go of the knife will find the Tao at her fingertips.
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Knowing constancy, the mind is open. With an open mind, you will be openhearted. Being openhearted you will act royally. Being royal, you will attain the divine. Being divine, you will be at one with the Tao. Being at one with the Tao is eternal. Though the body dies, the Tao will never pass away.
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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 Master views the parts with compassion, because he understands the whole. His constant practice is humility. He doesn't glitter like a jewel but lets himself be shaped by the Tao, as rugged and common as a stone.
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In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart.
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No disaster is worse than being discontented.
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The best people are like water, which benefits all things and does not compete with them. It stays in lowly places that others reject. This is why it is so similar to the Way.