Lao Tzu Quotes
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I observe myself and I come to know others.
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To realize that you do not understand is a virtue; Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.
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The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
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Give up your relentless moralizing, the continual pinpricks which pierce the skin of your fellows. The distinction between good and evil is the sickness of the mind. Give up your morals, and the people will regain a love of their fellows.
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If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
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If you go searching for the Great Creator, you will come back empty-handed. The source of the universe is ultimately unknowable, a great invisible river flowing forever through a vast and fertile valley. Silent and uncreated, it creates all things.
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All things in the world come from being. And being comes from non-being.
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Rule a kingdom as though you were cooking a small fish - don't overdo it.
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Dignified, like a guest.
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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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People are hard to govern. The rulers interfere with too much. That is why people are hard to govern.
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He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.
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If you wish to be out front, then act as if you were behind.
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The fish cannot leave the deep waters. The state's weaponry should not be displayed.
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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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Simply see that you are at the center of the universe, and accept all things and beings as parts of your infinite body. When you perceive that an act done to another is done to yourself, you have understood the great truth.
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Words spoken about the Way have no taste. When looked at, there's not enough to see. When listened to, there's not enough to hear. When used, it is never exhausted.
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Life is going forth; death is returning home.
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Great acts are made up of small deeds.
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The best way to carve is not to split.
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People are difficult to govern because they have too much knowledge.
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Profound virtue is indeed deep and wide. It leads all things back to the great order.
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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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The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.