Lao Tzu Quotes
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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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There is something obscure which is complete before heaven and earth arose; tranquil, quiet, standing alone without change, moving without peril. It could be the mother of everything. Not knowing its name, I call it Tao.
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Wise travelers always stop short before they come to danger.
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Giving birth and nourishing, Bearing yet not possessing, Working yet not taking credit, Leading yet not dominating, This is the Primal Virtue.
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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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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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Knowledge studies others, wisdom is self known.
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Practice not-doing and everything will fall into place.
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Countless words count less than the silent balance between yin and yang
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High and low rest on each other.
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Distortion upon distortion: . . . the more one uses the mind, the more confused one becomes.
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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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Knowing others is to be clever. Knowing yourself is to be enlightened. Overcoming others requires force. Overcoming yourself requires strength.
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What makes a kingdom great is its being like a down-flowing river,--the central point towards which all the smaller streams under Heaven converge; or like the female throughout the world, who by quiescence always overcomes the male. And quiescence is a form of humility.
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Not knowing of the eternal leads to unfortunate errors.
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Creating without claiming, Doing without taking credit, Guiding without interfering, This is Primal Virtue.
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Can you let go of words and ideas, attitudes and expectations? If so, then the Tao will loom into view.
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Going forward seems like retreat.
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Every step is on the path.
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Do not imagine that an integral being has the ambition of enlightening the unaware or raising worldly people to the divine realm. To her, there is no self and other, and hence no one to be raised; no heaven and hell, and hence no destination.
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The more laws that are written, the more criminals are produced.