Lao Tzu Quotes
-
Don't impose your will through manipulation of aggressive emotions and actions.
-
He does not struggle with anyone - thus no one can vanquish him.
-
If people live in constant fear of death, and if breaking the law is punished by death, then who would dare?
-
Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear. What does it mean that success is a dangerous as failure? Whether you go up the ladder or down it, you position is shaky. When you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance. What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear? Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear? See the world as your self. Have faith in the way things are. Love the world as your self; then you can care for all things.
-
Even the longest journey must begin where you stand.
-
It is wisdom to know others. It is enlightenment to know oneself.
-
Thirty spokes are joined in the wheel's hub. The hole in the middle makes it useful.
-
In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. In speech, be true. In ruling, be just. In daily life, be competent. In action, be aware of the time and the season.
-
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.
-
For knowledge, add something every day. For wisdom....subtract.
-
The one who does not stray away from her/his nature will live long.
-
Do you think you can make the world a better place? I do not think you can. It is already perfect.
-
Learn from the people. Plan with the people. Begin with what they have. Build on what they know.
-
Arms are instruments of ill omen.... When one is compelled to use them, it is best to do so without relish. There is no glory in victory, and to glorify it despite this is to exult in the killing of men.... When great numbers of people are killed, one should weep over them with sorrow. When victorious in war, one should observe mourning rites.
-
The Way is eternal. Until your last day, you are free from peril.
-
The seed of mystery lies in muddy water. How can I perceive this mystery? Water becomes clear through stillness. How can I become still? By flowing with the stream.
-
When taxes are too high, people go hungry.
-
The usefulness of the pot lies in its emptiness.
-
No weapon is sharper than will.
-
The master accomplishes more and more by doing less and less until finally he accomplishes everything by doing nothing.
-
Being satisfied with little, you can gain much. Seeking much you will go astray. The wise heeds this precept. If it could be so with all people!
-
Movement overcomes cold.
-
He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that is worn out shall be renewed. He who has little shall succeed. He who has much shall go astray.
-
The wise leader settles for good work and then lets others have the floor.