Lao Tzu Quotes
-
The great Way is very straight, but people prefer to deviate.
-
Loving, hating, having expectations: all these are attachments. Attachment prevents the growth of one's true being.
-
Man is ruled by Earth. Earth is ruled by Heaven. Heaven is ruled by the Way. The Way is ruled by itself.
-
The surest test if a person be sane, is if she accepts life whole, as it is.
-
Going forward seems like retreat.
-
If you can find true contentment, it will last forever.
-
Greed for enlightenment and immortality is no different than greed for material wealth. It is self-centered and dualistic, and thus an obstacle to true attainment. Therefore these states are never achieved by those who covet them; rather, they are the reward of the virtuous.
-
Peacefulness is an inner sense of calm - it comes from becoming still - in order to reflect and meditate on our inner wisdom and receive answers. A peaceful heart is one that is free from worry and rouble. It's becoming quiet so we can look at things quietly so we can more clearly understand them and thus come up with creative solutions. It is learning to live in the present. Freedom from desire leads to inner peace.
-
When bitter enemies make peace, surely some bitterness remains.
-
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.
-
The difficult problems in life always start off being simple. Great affairs always start off being small.
-
Tao is beyond words and beyond understanding. Words may be used to speak of it, but they cannot contain it. Tao existed before words and names, before heaven and earth, before the ten thousand things. It is the unlimited father and mother of all limited things. Therefore, to see beyond boundaries to the subtle heart of things, dispense with names, with concepts, with expectations and ambitions and differences. Tao and its many manifestations arise from the same source: subtle wonder within mysterious darkness. This is the beginning of all understanding.
-
The Tao is told is not the Tao.
-
The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of all things.
-
Let the country be small, and the inhabitants few.
-
Knowing others is to be clever. Knowing yourself is to be enlightened. Overcoming others requires force. Overcoming yourself requires strength.
-
Truly, only acting without thought of one's life is superior to valuing one's life.
-
He who treasures his body as much as the world can care for the world.
-
Pain and happiness are simply conditions of the ego. Forget the ego.
-
Wise travelers always stop short before they come to danger.
-
There is no greater mistake than to make light of an enemy By making light of an enemy many a kingdom has been lost.
-
Fine words are traded. Noble deeds gain respect. But people who are not good, why abandon them?
-
Excellent soldiers are not furious.
-
The most complete seems lacking. Yet in use it is not exhausted.