Lao Tzu Quotes
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He does not feel pity for himself - thus he can successfully develop.
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He who prides himself upon wealth and honor hastens his own downfall.
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The sage wears coarse clothes, concealing jade.
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When many people are killed, they should be mourned and lamented. Those who are victorious in war should follow the rites of funerals.
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Return animosity with virtue.
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Act without doing; work without effort. Think of the small as large and the few as many. Confront the difficult while it is still easy; accomplish the great task by a series of small acts. The Master never reaches for the great; thus she achieves greatness. When she runs into a difficulty, she stops and gives herself to it. She doesn't cling to her own comfort; thus problems are no problem for her.
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I will be fond of keeping still, and the people will of themselves become correct.
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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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Those who would take over the earth and shape it to their will, never, I notice succeed.
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Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream.
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Thus it is that "Some things are increased by being diminished, others are diminished by being increased." What others have taught, I also teach; verily, I will make it the root of my teaching.
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If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart.
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Wear down to be renewed.
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That the soft overcomes the hard, and the yielding overcomes the resistant, is a fact known by all, but practiced by few.
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The sage knows without traveling, perceives without looking, completes without acting.
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Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery.
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Those who have hardened, have a covenant with Death. Those who remain gentle are conjoined with Life.
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The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. Through this I know the advantage of taking no action.
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The more laws and orders are multiplied, the more theft and violence increase.
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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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The True Person avoids extremes, self-indulgence, and extravagance.
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The mark of a moderate man is freedom from his own ideas. Tolerant like the sky, all-pervading like sunlight, firm like a mountain, supple like a tree in the wind, he has no destination in view and makes use of anything life happens to bring his way.
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The way to use life is to do nothing through acting, The way to use life is to do everything through being.
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There is no greater fault than sensual indulgence. There is no greater misfortune than malcontent. There is no greater calamity than greed.