Lao Tzu Quotes
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The Master doesn't seek fulfillment. For only those who are not full are able to be used which brings the feeling of completeness.
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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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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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Peace and quiet are preferred. Victory should not be praised.
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To the good I would be good; to the not-good I would also be good, in order to make them good.
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Other people are joyous, like on the feast of the ox, like on the way up to the terrace in the spring. I alone am inert, giving no sign, like a newborn baby who has not learned to smile.
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The female always surpasses the male with stillness. In her stillness she is yielding.
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Stillness is easy to maintain.
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Happiness perches on misery. Misery crouches beneath happiness.
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In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple.
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True words aren't eloquent; eloquent words aren't true. Wise men don't need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point aren't wise. The Master has no possessions. The more he does for others, the happier he is. The more he gives to others, the wealthier he is. The Tao nourishes by not forcing. By not dominating, the Master leads.
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A follower of the Way (Tao) loses something each day. Loss after loss until arriving at Non Action (Wu Wei).
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An integral being knows without going, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing.
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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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Returning is the movement of the Way.
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The higher the sun ariseth, the less shadow doth he cast; even so the greater is the goodness, the less doth it covet praise; yet cannot avoid its rewards in honors.
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To know people is wisdom, but to know yourself is enlightenment. to master people takes force, but to master yourself takes strength. to know contentment is wealth, and to live with strength resolve. to never leave whatever you are is to abide, and to die without getting lost- that is to live on and on.
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In the world there are four greats, and the king is one of them.
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Eliminate mental muddiness and obscurity; keep your mind crystal clear. Allow your pure original insight to emerge. Quiet your emotions and abide in serenity. Don't go crazy with the worship of idols, images, and ideas; this is like putting a new head on top of the head you already have. Remember: if you can cease all restless activity, your integral nature will appear.
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If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart.
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Speaking with kindness creates confidence, thinking with kindness creates profoundness, giving with kindness creates love.
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The one who can dissolve her mind will suddenly discover the Tao at her feet.
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Acting without design, occupying oneself without making a business of it, finding the great in what is small and the many in the few, repaying injury with kindness, effecting difficult things while they are easy, and managing great things in their beginnings; this is the method of Tao.
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Wear down to be renewed.