Lao Tzu Quotes
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People aren't against you; they are for themselves. The most dangerous risk of all - the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later. He who conquers others is strong, he who conquers himself is mighty.
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Truly, only acting without thought of one's life is superior to valuing one's life.
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Being a model to the world, eternal virtue will never falter in you, and you return to the boundless.
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Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.
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He who treasures his body as much as the world can care for the world.
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Practice not-doing and everything will fall into place.
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The Tao is told is not the Tao.
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Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed.
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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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The difficult problems in life always start off being simple. Great affairs always start off being small.
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By following this simple path, you become extraordinary, unfathomable, a being of profound cosmic subtlety. You outlive time and space by realizing the subtle truth of the universe.
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The Sage expects no recognition for what he does; he achieves merit but does not take it to himself; he does not wish to display his worth.
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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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The Way of Heaven does not complete, and yet it skillfully achieves victory. It does not speak, and yet it skillfully responds to things. It comes to you without your invitation.
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Let the country be small, and the inhabitants few.
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All streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power.
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To be of few words is natural.
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Wise travelers always stop short before they come to danger.
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True words seem false.
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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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If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.
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If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you aren't afraid of dying, there is nothing you can't achieve. Trying to control the future is like trying to take the master carpenter's place. When you handle the master carpenter's tools, chances are that you'll cut your hand.
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Not knowing of the eternal leads to unfortunate errors.
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To know how little one knows is to have genuine knowledge. Not to know how little one knows is to be deluded. Only those who know when they are deluded can free themselves from such delusion. The intelligent people are not deluded, because they know and accept their ignorance as ignorance, and thereby have genuine knowledge.