Lao Tzu Quotes
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Supreme good is like water. Water greatly benefits all things, without conflict. It flows through places that people loathe. Thereby it is close to the Way.
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Simplicity has no name is free of desires. Being free of desires it is tranquil. And the world will be at peace of it's own accord.
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Man is ruled by Earth. Earth is ruled by Heaven. Heaven is ruled by the Way. The Way is ruled by itself.
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True words seem false.
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Whatever is flexible and living will tend to grow; whatever is rigid and blocked will wither and die.
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The highest tone is hard to hear.
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That which is achieved the most, still has the whole of its future yet to be achieved.
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Knowing others is to be clever. Knowing yourself is to be enlightened. Overcoming others requires force. Overcoming yourself requires strength.
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Water does not force its way.
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Do not strive for the shine of jade, but clatter like stone.
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Try to change it and you will ruin it. Try to hold it and you will lose it.
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. . . the mind is desperate to fix the river {of events} in place: Possessed by ideas of the past, preoccupied with images of the future, it overlooks the plain truth of the moment.
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The sage is one with the world, and lives in harmony with it.
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Marriage is three parts love and seven parts forgiveness of sins.
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There is no greater crime than desire.
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When family ties are disturbed, devoted children arise.
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There are many paths to enlightenment. Be sure to take the one with a heart.
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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.
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High and low rest on each other.
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If you can find true contentment, it will last forever.
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The world's beginning is its mother. To have found the mother is also to know the children. Although you know the children, cling to the mother. Until your last day you will not be harmed.
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The most difficult in the world must be easy in its beginning.
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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.
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The Way to do is to be.