Lao Tzu Quotes
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Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.
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The career of a sage is of two kinds: He is either honored by all in the world, Like a flower waving its head, Or else he disappears into the silent forest.
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When they lose their sense of awe, people turn to religion. When they no longer trust themselves, they begin to depend upon authority. Therefore the Master steps back so that people won't be confused. He teaches without a teaching, so that people will have nothing to learn.
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Abandon knowledge and your worries are over.
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There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, which existed before Heaven and Earth. Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and does not change. It operates everywhere and is free from danger. It may be considered the mother of the universe. I do not know its name; I call it Tao.
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He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
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Once upon a time a man whose ax was missing suspected his neighbor's son. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief and spoke like a thief. But the man found his ax while digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked and spoke like any other child.
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He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.
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Heaven is long-enduring, and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves.
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One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him.
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Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
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The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days.
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How can a man's life keep it's course If he will not let it flow, Those who flow as life flows know They need no other force: They feel no wear, they feel no tear, They need no mending, no repair.
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My teachings are easy to understand and easy to put into practice. Yet your intellect will never grasp them, and if you try to practice them, you'll fail. My teachings are older than the world. How can you grasp their meaning? If you want to know me, look inside your heart.
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The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.
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Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
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Why are the people starving?- Because their grain is being eaten up by the taxes That's why they're starving Why are people rebellious?- Because those above them meddle in their lives That's why they're rebellious Why do people regard death so lightly?- Because they are so involved with their own living That's why they regard death so lightly In the end, The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on and gained by those who let go.
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The world's big things only can be done by paying attention to their humble beginnings.
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A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
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Man's enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself.
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Don't imagine that you'll discover {the truth} by accumulating more knowledge. Knowledge creates doubt, and doubt makes you ravenous for more knowledge. You can't get full eating this way.
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Rituals are the end of fidelity and honesty, and the beginning of confusion.
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The world is won by those who let it go.
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To become learned, each day add something. To become enlightened, each day drop something.