Lao Tzu Quotes
-
What is and what is not create each other.
-
Knowing that we don't know it's humility; thinking that we know what we don't know, is sickness.
-
Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil.
-
The one who is filled by virtue is like a newborn baby.
-
Ancient masters of excellence had a subtle essence, and a depth too profound to comprehend.
-
When you let go of what you are, you become what you might be.
-
The Tao gives birth to One. One gives birth to Two. Two gives birth to Three. Three gives birth to all things. All things have their backs to the female and stand facing the male. When male and female combine, all things achieve harmony. Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe.
-
Find a teacher who is an integral being, a beacon who extends his light and virtue with equal ease to those who appreciate him and those who don't. Shape yourself in his mold, bathe in his nourishing radiance, and reflect it out to the rest of the world.
-
There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.
-
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.
-
What has no substance can penetrate what has no opening.
-
If you scramble about in search of inner peace, you will lose your inner peace.
-
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.
-
Nurture the spontaneous peaceful life.
-
What is well rooted cannot be pulled up. What is firmly grasped will not slip loose. It will be honoured from generation to generation.
-
When many people are killed, they should be mourned and lamented. Those who are victorious in war should follow the rites of funerals.
-
Loss is not as bad as wanting more.
-
Cut out doors and windows for the house. The holes make it useful.
-
Rule your mind with serenity rather than with force and manipulation.
-
A good traveler leaves no tracks. Good speech lacks fault-finding.
-
I alone have the mind of a fool, and am all muddled and vague. The people are so smart and bright. While I am just dull and confused.
-
Happiness perches on misery. Misery crouches beneath happiness.
-
When one gives whatever one can without restraint, the barriers of individuality break down. It no longer becomes possible to tell whether it is the student offering himself to the teacher, or the teacher offering herself to the student. One sees only two immaculate beings, reflecting one another like a pair of brilliant mirrors.
-
Filling all the way to the brim is not as good as halting in time.