Lao Tzu Quotes
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First and last follow each other.
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When leading people and serving Heaven, nothing exceeds moderation.
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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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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.
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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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Throw away holiness and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times happier. Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing. Throw away industry and profit, and there won't be any thieves. If these three aren't enough, just stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course.
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Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.
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If you really want everything, then give up everything.
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Do not strive for the shine of jade, but clatter like stone.
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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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Act without expectation.
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By the accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time, but by virtue of love and kindness he may rule the world forever.
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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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The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be. Try to make people moral, and you lay the groundwork for vice.
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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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Approach your own inner life with a loving quality that accepts who you are without trying to change who you are.
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In ancient times, people said that imperfect moves to becoming perfect. Are these words vain? No! Truly, by gaining Unity you come to Perfection!
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The sage is one with the world, and lives in harmony with it.
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The Tao is infinite, eternal. Why is it eternal? It was never born; thus it can never die. Why is it infinite? It has no desires for itself; thus it is present for all beings. The Master stays behind; that is why she is ahead. She is detached from all things; that is why she is one with them. Because she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled.
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I do not know its name. I call it the Way. For the lack of better words I call it great.
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The cords of passion and desire weave a binding net around you. Worldly confrontation makes you stiff and inflexible. The trap of duality is tenacious. Bound, rigid, and trapped, you cannot experience liberation.
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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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Do you imagine the universe is agitated? Go into the desert at night and look out at the stars. This practice should answer the question..... The master settles her mind as the universe settles the stars in the sky. By connecting her mind with the subtle origin, she calms it. Once calmed, it naturally expands, and ultimately her mind becomes as vast and immeasurable as the night sky.
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The wise are not learned, the learned are not wise.