Lao Tzu Quotes
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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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Your own positive future begins in this moment. All you have is right now. Every goal is possible from here.
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Without the tao, Kindness and compassion are replaced by law and justice; Faith and trust are supplanted by ritual and ceremony.
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Praise leads to weakness. Getting it causes fear, losing it causes fear.
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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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Fame of self: Which matters more? Self or wealth: Which is more precious? Gain or loss: Which is more painful?
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Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know.
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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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Much knowledge will corrupt the heart,/When partly understood,/And so the people grow too smart,/But neither wise nor good.
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Develop the strength of a man, but live as gently as a woman.
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By compassion one can be brave.
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Let the country be small, and the inhabitants few.
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The great Way is easy, yet people prefer the side paths. Be aware when things are out of balance. Stay centered within the Tao. When rich speculators prosper While farmers lose their land; when government officials spend money on weapons instead of cures; when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible while the poor have nowhere to turn- all this is robbery and chaos. It is not in keeping with the Tao.
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Weapons are not proper instruments for gentle people; they use them only when they have no other choice. Peace and quiet are what they value. They do not glory in victory.
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Things are not worth attending to, yet they have to be attended to.
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The Tao is great. The universe is great. Earth is great. Man is great. These are the four great powers. Man follows the earth. Earth follows the universe. The universe follows the Tao. The Tao follows only itself.
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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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Fine words are traded. Noble deeds gain respect. But people who are not good, why abandon them?
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Distortion upon distortion: . . . the more one uses the mind, the more confused one becomes.
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Can you care for the people and rule the country and not be cunning?
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Knowing the future is the flower of the Way, and the beginning of folly.
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If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.
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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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He who treasures his body as much as the world can care for the world.