Lao Tzu Quotes
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A violent wind does not outlast the morning; a squall of rain does not outlast the day. Such is the course of Nature. And if Nature herself cannot sustain her efforts long, how much less can man!
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We put thirty spokes to make a wheel: But it is on the hole in the center that the use of the cart hinges. We make a vessel from a lump of clay; But it is the empty space within the vessel that makes it useful. We make doors and windows for a room; But it is the empty spaces that make the room livable. Thus, while existence has advantages, It is the emptiness that makes it useful.
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The fish cannot leave the deep waters. The state's weaponry should not be displayed.
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If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.
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Life is going forth; death is returning home.
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Obscure, like muddy waters.
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The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.
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Great acts are made up of small deeds.
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Dignified, like a guest.
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Clay is fashioned into vessels; it is on their empty hollowness that their use depends. Doors and windows are cut out to make a dwelling, and on the empty space within, its use depends. Thus, while the existence of things may be good, it is the non-existence in them that makes them serviceable.
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Can you comprehend everything in the four directions and still do nothing?
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He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.
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The best way to carve is not to split.
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He who steals a hook shall be hanged; while he who steals the state shall be crowned as prince.
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The best way to live / is to be like water / For water benefits all things / and goes against none of them.
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Weapons are ominous tools. They are abhorred by all creatures. Anyone who follows the Way shuns them.
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The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
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Because of a great love, one is courageous.
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If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.
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The words of truth are always paradoxical. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
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He who accounts all things easy will have many difficulties.
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If you understand others you are smart. If you understand yourself you are illuminated. If you overcome others you are powerful. If you overcome yourself you have strength. If you know how to be satisfied you are rich. If you can act with vigor, you have a will. If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting. If you die without loss, you are eternal.
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Of the best rulers, The people only know that they exist; the next best they love and praise the next they fear; and the next they revile. When they do not command the people's faith, some will lose faith in them, and then they resort to oaths! But of the best when their task is accomplished, their work done, the people all remark, We have done it ourselves.
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People are born soft and weak. They die hard and stiff.