Lao Tzu Quotes
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In order to contract, It is necessary first to expand. In order to weaken, It is necessary first to strengthen. In order to destroy, It is first necessary to promote. In order to grasp, It is necessary first to give. This is called subtle light. The weak and the tender overcome the hard and the strong.
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There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.
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Always without desire we must be found, If its deep mystery we would sound; But if desire always within us be, Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.
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Loss is not as bad as wanting more.
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All things issue from it; all things return to it. To find the origin, trace back the manifestations. When you recognize the children and find the mother, you will be free of sorrow. If you close your mind in judgements and traffic with desires, your heart will be troubled. If you keep your mind from judging and aren't led by the senses, your heart will find peace. Seeing into darkness is clarity. Knowing how to yield is strength. Use your own light and return to the source of light. This is called practicing eternity.
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A sage is skilled at helping people without excluding anyone.
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It's hard to keep your balance standing tip-toe.
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That which offers no resistance can enter where there is no space.
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A good person is the bad person's teacher. A bad person is the good person's task.
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The world is a sacred vessel that cannot be changed. He who changes it will destroy it. He who seizes it will lose it.
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One's own self or material goods, which has more worth? Loss (of self) or possession (of goods), which is the greater evil? He who loves most, spends most, He who hoards much loses much.
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Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return. Each separate being in the universe returns to the common source. Returning to the source is serenity. If you don't realize the source, you stumble in confusion and sorrow. When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused, kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king. Immersed in the wonder of the Tao, you can deal with whatever life brings you, and when death comes, you are ready.
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The world is a sacred vessel. It should not be meddled with. It should not be owned. If you try to meddle with it you will ruin it. If you try to own it you will lose it.
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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.
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The eye with which you see God is the same eye with which God sees you; one in seeing; one in knowing; one in loving.
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Prepare while it's easy.
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Harmony is called the eternal. Knowing the eternal is called clarity.
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The leader is a teacher who succeeds without taking credit. And, because credit is not taken, credit is received.
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The female always surpasses the male with stillness. In her stillness she is yielding.
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Not all spiritual paths lead to the harmonious Oneness. Indeed, most are detours and distractions, nothing more.
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Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
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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.
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Attending fully and becoming supple, Can you be as a newborn babe?
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Failure is the foundation of success: success is the lurking place of failure.