Lao Tzu Quotes
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When good thing are accomplished, it does not claim (or name) them. This is Te, which is close in meaning to power or virtue. It is something within a person, and it is enhanced by following the Tao, or 'that from which nothing can deviate'.
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Words have divided man from woman, one from another, this from that, until only sages know how to put things together. Without words, without even understanding, lovers find each other. The moment of finding is always a surprise, like meeting an old friend never before known.
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The purpose of life is the investigation of the Sun, the Moon, and the heavens.
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Without going outside, you may know the whole world, without looking through the window, you may see the ways of heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. Thus the sage knows without traveling; he sees without looking; he works without doing.
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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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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.
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. . . integral wisdom involves a direct participation in every moment: the observer and the observed are dissolved in the light of pure awareness, and no mental concepts or attitudes are present to dim that light.
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If I have just an ounce of sense, I follow the great Way, and fear only to stray from it.
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Your own positive future begins in this moment. All you have is right now. Every goal is possible from here.
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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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Movement overcomes cold.
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The value comes from what is there, but the use comes from what is not there.
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Let the country be small, and the inhabitants few.
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Some help others in order to receive blessings and admiration. This is simply meaningless. Some cultivate themselves in part to serve others, in part to serve their own pride. They will understand, at best, half of the truth. But those who improve themselves for the sake of the world - to these, the whole truth of the universe will be revealed.
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...the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
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There is no greater mistake than to make light of an enemy By making light of an enemy many a kingdom has been lost.
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What man has more than enough and gives it to the world? Only the man of Tao.
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. . . Intelligence is not the same thing as wisdom.
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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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The tree which needs two arms to span its girth sprang from the tiniest shoot. Yon tower, nine stories high, rose from a little mound of earth. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.