Lao Tzu Quotes
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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.
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If you really want everything, then give up everything.
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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 nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of all things.
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Why not simply honor your parents, love your children, help your brothers and sisters, be faithful to your friends, care for your mate with devotion, complete your work cooperatively and joyfully, assume responsibility for problems, practice virtue without first demanding it of others, understand the highest truths yet retain an ordinary manner? That would be true clarity, true simplicity, true mastery.
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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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The leader is best, When people are hardly aware of his existence, Not so good when people praise his government, Less good when people stand in fear, Worst, when people are contemptuous. Fail to honor people, and they will fail to honor you. But of a good leader, who speaks little, When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, The people say, 'We did it ourselves.'
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Praise leads to weakness. Getting it causes fear, losing it causes fear.
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A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants. A good scientist has freed himself of concepts and keeps his mind open to what is.
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All action begins in rest... This is the ultimate truth.
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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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Knowing the bright, but clinging to the dark, you become a model to the world.
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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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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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Therefore: In dwelling, choose modest quarters, in thinking, value stillness, in dealing with others, be kind, in choosing words, be sincere, in leading, be just, in working, be competent, in acting, choose the correct timing. Follow these words and there will be no error.
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The great Way is very straight, but people prefer to deviate.
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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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Lightly given promises must meet with little trust.
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Hold on to the center and make up your mind to rejoice in this paradise called life.
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Great, it passes on (in constant flow).
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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 Tao is told is not the Tao.
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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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Be content with an ordinary life.