Lao Tzu Quotes
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The Tao of the sage is work without effort.
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The master understands that the universe is forever out of control.
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A good mooring needs no knot, still no one can untie it.
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The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.
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Mastering others is strength. Mastering oneself makes you fearless.
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The Tao doesn't take sides; it gives birth to both good and evil. The Master doesn't take sides; she welcomes both saints and sinners. The Tao is like a bellows: it is empty yet infinitely capable. The more you use it, the more it produces; the more you talk of it, the less you understand. Hold on to the center.
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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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The more you know the less you understand.
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The True Person benefits yet expects no reward, does the work and moves on. There is no desire to be considered better than others.
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When wisdom and knowledge appear, great pretense arises.
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Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment; Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength.
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The Tao is like a well; used but never used up.
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Pounding an edge to sharpness will not make it last.
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The way is light and fluid for the man with no preferences.
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Deal with difficult tasks while they are easy. Act on large issues while they are small.
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What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job? If you do not remember this, You will get lost, No matter how intelligent you are. It is the great secret.
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The Way is eternal. Until your last day, you are free from peril.
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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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What has not yet emerged is easy to prevent.
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Other people are joyous, like on the feast of the ox, like on the way up to the terrace in the spring. I alone am inert, giving no sign, like a newborn baby who has not learned to smile.
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The sage never strives for the great, and thereby the great is achieved.
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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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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.
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A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants.