Lao Tzu Quotes
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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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He who knows how to be aggressive, and yet remains patient, becomes a receptacle for all of Nature's lessons.
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...the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
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The sense organs, which are limited in scope and ability, randomly gather information. This partial information is arranged into judgments, which are based on previous judgments, which are usually based on someone else's foolish ideas. These false concepts and ideas are then stored in a highly selective memory system.
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The truly great ones rely on substance, and not on surface, hold on to the fruit, and not to the flower.
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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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To rule by knowledge ravages the country.
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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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Throw away sacredness and wisdom and people will be one hundred times happier.
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As long as we have hope, we have direction, the energy to move, and the map to move by. We have a hundred alternatives, a thousand paths and an infinity of dreams. Hopeful, we are halfway to where we want to go; hopeless, we are lost forever.
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Keep behind, and you shall be put in front; keep out, and you shall be kept in.
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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.
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Only he who does not seek to be ahead of others is capable of living in harmony with everyone.
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A winner listens, a loser just waits until it is their turn to talk.
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Those who boast are not respected.
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No thought, no action, no movement, total stillness: only thus can one manifest the true nature and law of things from within and unconsciously, and at last become one with heaven and earth.
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Free from desire, you realize the mystery, caught in the desire, you see only the manifestations.
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Without stepping out the door, you can know the world.
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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.
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Letting the mind control the vital breath is called force.
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If you can let go of (the Tao) with your mind and surround it with your heart, it will live inside you forever.
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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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As soon as rules were made, names were given. There are already many names. One must know when it is enough.
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Let people return to making knots on ropes, instead of writing.