Lao Tzu Quotes
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Let people return to making knots on ropes, instead of writing.
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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.
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The superior student listens to the Way and follows it closely. The average student listens to the Way and follows some and some not. The lesser student listens to the Way and laughs out loud. If there were no laughter it would not be the Way.
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Know the white, But keep the black, Be an example to the world! Being an example to the world, Ever true and unwavering, Return to the infinite.
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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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Develop the strength of a man, but live as gently as a woman.
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When everyone in the world sees beauty, then ugly exists.
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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.
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If people live in constant fear of death, and if breaking the law is punished by death, then who would dare?
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Other people have more than they need, I alone seem wanting.
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He who defends with love will be secure; Heaven will save him, and protect him with love.
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Throw away sacredness and wisdom and people will be one hundred times happier.
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...the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
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The group will not prosper if the leader grabs the lion's share of the credit for the good work that has been done.
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Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner.
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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.
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To lead, one must follow.
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By not claiming to be first in the world one can rule.
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To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease.
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He who has achieved this state Is unconcerned with friends and enemies, With good and harm, with honor and disgrace. This therefore is the highest state of man.