Lao Tzu Quotes
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Not knowing of the eternal leads to unfortunate errors.
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Hold on to the ancient Way to master the present, and to learn the distant beginning.
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The best of all teachers is the one who helps people so that eventually they don't need him.
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Make the small big and the few many.
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In work, do what you enjoy.
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All streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power.
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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.
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Simple, like uncarved wood.
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Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory. - Diane Arbus By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.
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Pounding an edge to sharpness will not make it last.
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Face the simple fact before it comes involved. Solve the small problem before it becomes big.
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The value of actions lies in their timing.
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The transformation toward eternal life is gradual. The heavy gross energy of body, mind, and spirit must first be purified and uplifted. When the energy ascends... then self mastery can be sought.
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Truly, only those who see illness as illness can avoid illness.
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Let the country be small, and the inhabitants few.
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People who have to fight for their living and are not afraid to die for it are higher persons than those who, stationed high, are too fat to dare to die.
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...the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
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Find a teacher who is an integral being, a beacon who extends his light and virtue with equal ease to those who appreciate him and those who don't. Shape yourself in his mold, bathe in his nourishing radiance, and reflect it out to the rest of the world.
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What people loathe the most is to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy. But this is what princes and kings call themselves.
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When the sage stands above people, they are not oppressed. When he leads people, they are not obstructed. The world will exalt him and not grow tired of him.
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The grandest virtue seems deficient.
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People aren't against you; they are for themselves. The most dangerous risk of all - the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later. He who conquers others is strong, he who conquers himself is mighty.
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Do not attempt to conquer the world with force, for force only causes resistance.
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Be content with an ordinary life.