Lao Tzu Quotes
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Heaven and Earth last for ever. Why do Heaven and Earth last for ever? They are unborn, so ever living. The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead. He is detached, thus at one with all. Through selfless action, he attains fulfillment.
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A brave and passionate man will kill or be killed. A brave and calm man will always preserve life. Of these two which is good and which is harmful?
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The universe is deathless; Is deathless because, having no finite self, it stays infinite. A sound man by not advancing himself stays the further ahead of himself, By not confining himself to himself sustains himself outside himself: By never being an end in himself he endlessly becomes himself.
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Is not the action of nature like the stretching of a bow? The high, it pulls down; the low, it lifts up; It takes from what is in excess In order to make good of what is deficient. Who can take what they have in excess and offer it to others?
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If princes and kings were not exalted they might be overthrown.
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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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He who loves does not dispute: He who disputes does not love.
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The real art of governing consists, so far as possible, in doing nothing.
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In the end, The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on and gained by those who let go.
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Heaven is eternal, earth everlasting. they endure this way because they do not live for themselves. in the same way, the wise person puts himself last, and thereby finds himself first, holds himself outside, and thereby remains at the center, abandons himself, and is thereby fulfilled.
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A man is born gentle and weak. At death he is hard and stiff.
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Those who are highly evolved, maintain an undiscriminating perception. Seeing everything, labeling nothing, they maintain their awareness of the Great Oneness. Thus they are supported by it.
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Clay is used to make vases, but it is the emptiness they contain that makes them useful.
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Your name or your body, what is dearer? Your body or your wealth, what is worthier?
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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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He who acts, spoils; he who grasps, lets slip.
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With that gentleness I can be bold; with that economy I can be liberal; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a vessel of the highest honour.
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The greatest revelation is stillness.
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The Tao principle is what happens of itself.
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When the uncarved wood is split, its parts are put to use. When the sage is put to use, he becomes the head.
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As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it.
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If you wish to become a divine immortal angel, then restore the angelic qualities of your being through virtue and service. This is the only way to gain the attention of the immortals... These angelic teachers cannot be sought out; it is they who seek out the student. When you succeed in connecting your energy with the divine realm through high awareness and the practice of undiscriminating virtue, the transmission of the ultimate subtle truths will follow.
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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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Conquering others requires force. Conquering oneself requires strength.