Lao Tzu Quotes
-
The truly great ones rely on substance, and not on surface, hold on to the fruit, and not to the flower.
-
There is no illusion great than fear.
-
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.
-
As it acts in the world, the Tao is like the bending of a bow. The top is bent downward; the bottom is bent up. It adjusts excess and deficiency so that there is perfect balance.
-
For knowledge, add something every day. For wisdom....subtract.
-
Quiet your mind and stop judging and resisting and manipulating the natural way.
-
Take care of what is difficult while it is still easy, and deal with what will become big while it is yet small.
-
Fame of self: Which matters more? Self or wealth: Which is more precious? Gain or loss: Which is more painful?
-
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.
-
The reason for great distress is the body. Without it, what distress could there be?
-
Keep behind, and you shall be put in front; keep out, and you shall be kept in.
-
Be still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity.
-
Knowing the future is the flower of the Way, and the beginning of folly.
-
I let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes as common as the grass.
-
Follow diligently the Way in your own heart, but make no display of it to the world.
-
Be as the still mountain; Move like the great river.
-
The longer you travel, the less you know.
-
Keep your mouth shut, and close up the doors of sight and sound, and as long as you live you will have no vexation. But open your mouth, or become inquisitive, and you will be in trouble all your life long.
-
A tree as wide as a man's embrace grows from a tiny shoot.
-
The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnamable is the eternally real. Naming is the origin of all particular things. Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations. Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.
-
The group will not prosper if the leader grabs the lion's share of the credit for the good work that has been done.
-
True perfection seems imperfect, yet it is perfectly itself. True fullness seems empty, yet it is fully present. True straightness seems crooked. True wisdom seems foolish. True art seems artless. The Master allows things to happen. She shapes events as they come. She steps out of the way and lets the Tao speak for itself.
-
Though tightly the net of words forms, how surely truth slips out.
-
Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.