Lao Tzu Quotes
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Whatever one cultivates, is what one becomes.
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If the majority doesn't laugh at you, beware that you must be saying something wrong. When the majority thinks you are a fool, only then is there some possibility of you being a wise man.
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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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When the Way governs the world, the proud stallions drag dung carriages. When the Way is lost to the world, war horses are bred outside the city.
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Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.
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We desire to understand the world by giving names to the things we see, but these things are only the effects of something subtle.
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Kindness in words creates confidence.
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Its name-what passes not away.
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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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When wisdom and knowledge appear, great pretense arises.
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He does not struggle with anyone - thus no one can vanquish him.
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When the highest type of people hear Tao (Truth), they diligently practice it. When the average type of people hear Tao, they half believe in it. When the lowest type of people hear Tao, they laugh at it. If they did not laugh, it would not be Tao.
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If you overesteem great men, people become powerless. If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal. The Master leads by emptying people's minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve. He helps people lose everything they know, everything they desire, and creates confusion in those who think that they know. Practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place.
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The more laws and restrictions there are, The poorer people become. The sharper men's weapons, The more trouble in the land.
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Every human being's essential nature is perfect and faultless, but after years of immersion in the world we easily forget our roots and take on a counterfeit nature.
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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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Don't think you can attain total awareness and whole enlightenment without proper discipline and practice. This is egomania. Appropriate rituals channel your emotions and life energy toward the light. Without the discipline to practice them, you will tumble constantly backward into darkness.
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Only I am clumsy, like drifting on the waves of the sea, without direction.
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The way is light and fluid for the man with no preferences.
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If you have really attained wholeness, everything will flock to you.
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Use justice to rule a country. Use surprise to wage war. Use non-action to govern the world.
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Covetousness is the greatest misfortune. One who does not know what is enough will never have enough.
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What has not yet emerged is easy to prevent.
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Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.