Lao Tzu Quotes
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The sage regards things as difficult, and thereby avoids difficulty.
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Without law or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony.
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The leader's main job is to make themselves obsolete.
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A man's excellence is like that of water; It benefits all things without striving; It takes to the low places shunned by men. Water is akin to Tao. . . . In all the earth nothing weaker than water, Yet in attacking the hard, nothing superior, Nothing so certain in wearing down strength: There is no way to resist it. Note then: The weak conquer the strong, The yielding outlast the aggressors.
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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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There is no illusion great than fear.
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No misfortune is worse than underestimating the enemy. Underestimating the enemy, I risk losing my treasure.
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The Tao is like a well; used but never used up.
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Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short and long, life and death? Can you let go of all these dualities and embrace the Tao without skepticism or panic? If so, you can reach the heart of the Integral Oneness.
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The way is light and fluid for the man with no preferences.
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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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Good words shall gain you honor in the marketplace, but good deeds shall gain you friends among men.
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I alone am different from the others, because I am nourished by the great mother.
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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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Those who praise victory relish manslaughter. Those who relish manslaughter cannot reach their goals in the world.
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A sage is skilled at helping people without excluding anyone.
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The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.
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Stay at the center and let all things take their course.
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The softest in the world surpasses the hardest in the world.
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Because he (the Sage) opposes no one, no one in the world can oppose him.
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Peace is our natural state of being.
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A great country needs more people to serve it. A small country needs more people to serve. So, if both shall get what they need, the great country ought to yield.
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Abandon fancy theologies and imaginary ideas and do some ordinary daily work... {Engage in this work with} unswerving kindness and unending patience.
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Gain or loss, what is worse?