Lao Tzu Quotes
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Use the Light that dwells within you to regain your natural clarity of sight.
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Great talents ripen late; the highest notes are hard to hear.
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The Tao gives birth to One. One gives birth to yin and yang. Yin and yang give birth to all things... The complete whole is the complete whole. So also is any part the complete whole... But forget about understanding and harmonizing and making all things one. The universe is already a harmonious oneness; just realize it.
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What is and what is not create each other.
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That which offers no resistance can enter where there is no space.
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I do not act, and people become reformed by themselves.
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Filling all the way to the brim is not as good as halting in time.
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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.
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I will be fond of keeping still, and the people will of themselves become correct.
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Rule your mind with serenity rather than with force and manipulation.
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Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself.
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A good traveler leaves no tracks. Good speech lacks fault-finding.
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What is well rooted cannot be pulled up. What is firmly grasped will not slip loose. It will be honoured from generation to generation.
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It's hard to keep your balance standing tip-toe.
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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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I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.
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If lightning is the anger of the gods, then the gods are concerned mostly about trees.
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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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Meandering leads to perfection.
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The True Person avoids extremes, self-indulgence, and extravagance.
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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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When wisdom and knowledge appear, great pretense arises.
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Knowing that you do not know is the best. Not knowing that you do not know is an illness.
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Excellent leaders of people lower themselves.