Explore the most impactful and insightful quotes and sayings by Lao-Tzu, and enrich your perspective with the wisdom. Share these inspiring Lao-Tzu quotes pictures with your friends on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or your personal blogs, completely free. Here are the top 629 Lao-Tzu quotes for you to read and share.

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Attain complete emptiness,
Hold fast to stillness.
Understanding the ordinary:
Mind opens.
Mind opening leads to compassion,
Compassion to nobility,
Nobility to heavenliness,
Heavenliness to TAO.
TAO endures.
Your body dies.
There is no danger. -- Lao-Tzu
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Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing). -- Lao-Tzu
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When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven. -- Lao-Tzu
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That which is meddling, touching everything, -- Lao-Tzu
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The gentlest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.
Teaching without words,
performing without actions:
that is the Master's way. -- Lao-Tzu
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Any good person who is motivated to attain awareness of the whole truth should follow the Universal Way to calm his mind and harmonize it with all aspects of life. -- Lao-Tzu
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The Way to do is to be. -- Lao-Tzu
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Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Other call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep. -- Lao-Tzu
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Ruling a large kingdom is like cooking a small fish ... -- Lao-Tzu
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When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you. -- Lao-Tzu
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The wise person acts but does not take credit. Leads, but does not rule. -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and manifests it to all the world. -- Lao-Tzu
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When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe. -- Lao-Tzu
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If I were suddenly to become known, and (put into a position to) conduct (a government) according to the Great Tao, what I should be most afraid of would be a boastful display. -- Lao-Tzu
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When the Great Tao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. -- Lao-Tzu
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The great Tao is universal like a flood ... All creatures depend on it, and it denies nothing to anyone. It does its work, but it makes no claims for itself. It clothes and feeds all, but it does not lord it over them. -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore the sage desires what (other men) do not desire, and does not prize things difficult to get; he learns what (other men) do not learn, and turns back to what the multitude of men have passed by. -- Lao-Tzu
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Stop thinking, and end your problems. -- Lao-Tzu
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Thus it is that the Great man abides by what is solid, and eschews what is flimsy; dwells with the fruit and not with the flower. -- Lao-Tzu
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Evanescent like ice that is melting away; -- Lao-Tzu
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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. -- Lao-Tzu
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Fishes should not be taken from the deep; instruments for the profit of a state should not be shown to the people. -- Lao-Tzu
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The ruler attains wholeness in the correct governance of the people. -- Lao-Tzu
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To understand the limitation of things, desire them. -- Lao-Tzu
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The skilful binder uses no strings or knots, while to unloose what he has bound will be impossible. -- Lao-Tzu
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If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence. -- Lao-Tzu
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Used gently, and without the touch of pain. -- Lao-Tzu
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Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? -- Lao-Tzu
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A bad man is a good man's job -- Lao-Tzu
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What is a good man but a bad man's teacher. What is a bad man but a good man's job. -- Lao-Tzu
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Hence the sage puts away excessive effort, extravagance, and easy indulgence. -- Lao-Tzu
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Care about people's view and you will be their prisoner -- Lao-Tzu
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Life must be poetry, a song, a dance, like a flower on the roadside, blossoming for no one in particular, but spreading its fragrance in the wind, and sending it anywhere. -- Lao-Tzu
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Possessing rare treasures brings about harmful behavior. -- Lao-Tzu
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Do you imagine the universe is agitated? Go into the desert at night and look at the stars. This practice should answer the question. -- Lao-Tzu
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If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed. -- Lao-Tzu
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All things return (to their root and disappear), and do not know that it is it which presides over their doing so; - it may be named in the greatest things. -- Lao-Tzu
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My teachings are easy to understand
and easy to put into practice.
Yet your intellect will never grasp them,
and if you try to practice them,you'll fail.
My teachings are older than the world.
How can you grasp their meaning?
If you want to know me,
Look inside your heart. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; -- Lao-Tzu
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Your own positive future begins in this moment. All you have is right now. Every goal is possible from here. -- Lao-Tzu
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Thus it is said:
The path into light seems dark,
the path forward seems to go back,
the direct path seems long,
true power seems weak ...
the greatest love seems indifferent,
the greatest wisdom seems childish. -- Lao-Tzu
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With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One. -- Lao-Tzu
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True words are not fancy. Fancy words are not true. The good do not debate. Debaters are not good. -- Lao-Tzu
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If a country is governed with repression, the people are depressed and crafty. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who feels punctured
Must once have been a bubble,
He who feels unarmed
Must have carried arms,
He who feels belittled
Must have been consequential,
He who feels deprived
Must have had privilege. -- Lao-Tzu
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Kind prince there is nothing in the realm of ideas that is absolute, therefore all efforts to form ideologies are ultimately futile. -- Lao-Tzu
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Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing. -- Lao-Tzu
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Revere the unity of all-that-is
carry out your daily activities with compassion;
if you do not limit your compassion,
you yourself will not be limited. -- Lao-Tzu
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Seek not happiness too greedily, and be not fearful of happiness. -- Lao-Tzu
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Thirty spokes
Share one hub.
Make the nothing therein appropriate, and you will have the use of the cart. -- Lao-Tzu
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Constant action overcomes cold; being still overcomes heat. -- Lao-Tzu
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The knowledge of that unchanging rule produces a (grand) capacity and forbearance, and that capacity and forbearance lead to a community (of feeling with all things). -- Lao-Tzu
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With those who are kind
the sage is kind
With those who are not kind
the sage is also kind
because the way of Tao is kindness -- Lao-Tzu
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The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout; the tower of nine storeys rose from a (small) heap of earth; the journey of a thousand li commenced with a single step. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who conquers other has force; he who conquers himself has strength. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who conquers others is strong;
He who conquers himself is mighty. -- Lao-Tzu
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The more laws and restrictions there are,
The poorer people become.
...
The more rules and regulations,
The more thieves and robbers. -- Lao-Tzu
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Thus it was that when faith (in the Tao) was deficient (in the rulers) a want of faith in them ensued (in the people). -- Lao-Tzu
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He who defends with love will be secure; Heaven will save him, and protect him with love. -- Lao-Tzu
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To lead people, you must follow behind. -- Lao-Tzu
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Shrinking looked they like those who wade through a stream in winter; -- Lao-Tzu
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Thirty spokes share one hub in non-being lies the use of the cart knead clay to make vessels in non-being lies the use of the vessel cut out doors and windows to make a house
therefore form being comes what is usable and from non-being comes what is essential. -- Lao-Tzu
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A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live. -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honouring it as he honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be entrusted with it. -- Lao-Tzu
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When superior people hear guidance, they carry it out diligently and ably. When mediocre people hear guidance, it seems vague and uncertain. When lesser people hear guidance, they laugh. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will. -- Lao-Tzu
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The (state of) vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree, and that of stillness guarded with unwearying vigour. -- Lao-Tzu
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Wasting energy to obtain rare objects only impedes one's growth. -- Lao-Tzu
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A skilful (commander) strikes a decisive blow, and stops. -- Lao-Tzu
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From self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority. -- Lao-Tzu
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That (the ideas of) height and lowness arise from the contrast of the one with the other; -- Lao-Tzu
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If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it. -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore the sages got their knowledge without travelling; -- Lao-Tzu
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If you are untrustworthy, people will not trust you. -- Lao-Tzu
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From this community of feeling comes a kingliness of character; and he who is king-like goes on to be heaven-like. -- Lao-Tzu
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When there is silence one finds the anchor of the universe within oneself -- Lao-Tzu
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A man is born into certain relationships and as a result has certain duties. For instance, he has a duty of loyalty to his lord, a filial duty to his parents, a duty to help his friends, and a duty of common humanity towards his fellow beings. -- Lao-Tzu
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May not the space between heaven and earth be compared to a bellows? -- Lao-Tzu
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You render the small vast and few many,
use integrity to repay hatred,
see the complexity in simplicity,
find the vast in the minute. -- Lao-Tzu
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A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar. -- Lao-Tzu
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When virtue is lost, benevolence appears, when benevolence is lost right conduct appears, when right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder. -- Lao-Tzu
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No one can insult me, because I do not want respect.
No one can defeat me, because I have given up the idea of winning.
How can you defeat me? You can only defeat someone who wants to win. -- Lao-Tzu
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It is the child that sees the primordial secret of Nature and it is the child of ourselves we return to. the child within us is simple and daring enough to live the Secret. -- Lao-Tzu
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Water is fluid, soft & yielding but water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield ... what is soft is strong. -- Lao-Tzu
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To know that you do not know is the best.
To think you know when you do not is a disease.
Recognizing this disease as a disease is to be free of it. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who talks more is sooner exhausted. -- Lao-Tzu
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The difficult problems in life always start off being simple. Great affairs always start off being small. -- Lao-Tzu
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Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the patience to wait! Be still and allow the mud to settle. -- Lao-Tzu
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Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. -- Lao-Tzu
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Earth rendered thereby firm and sure; -- Lao-Tzu
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If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present. -- Lao-Tzu
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The getting that (favour) leads to the apprehension (of losing it), and the losing it leads to the fear of (still greater calamity): - this is what is meant by saying that favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared. -- Lao-Tzu
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When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe. -- Lao-Tzu
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He will strike the blow, but will be on his guard against being vain or boastful or arrogant in consequence of it. -- Lao-Tzu
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For regulating the human (in our constitution) and rendering the (proper) service to the heavenly, there is nothing like moderation. -- Lao-Tzu
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In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is acquired. In pursuit of wisdom, every day something is dropped. -- Lao-Tzu
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(Then) appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy. -- Lao-Tzu
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Big trees grow from sprouts, tall buildings rise from mounds of earth; the loftiest heights start at your feet. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened. -- Lao-Tzu
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Who thinks his great achievements poor
Shall find his vigour long endure.
Of greatest fulness, deemed a void,
Exhaustion ne'er shall stem the tide.
Do thou what's straight still crooked deem;
Thy greatest art still stupid seem,
And eloquence a stammering scream. -- Lao-Tzu
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When a person puts on a show, trying to appear great, their mediocrity is soon exposed. -- Lao-Tzu
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When one knows that he is his mother's child, and proceeds to guard (the qualities of) the mother that belong to him, to the end of his life he will be free from all peril. -- Lao-Tzu
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At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. -- Lao-Tzu
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Not asserted, therefore known, Not boasted of, therefore of worth, Not contentious, so enduring. It's because the wise do not contend, That no one can contend with them. -- Lao-Tzu
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In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who is self-conceited has no superiority allowed to him. -- Lao-Tzu
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Gently eliminating all obstacles to his own understanding, he constantly maintains his unconditional sincerity. His humility, perseverance, and adaptability evoke the response of the universe and fill him with divine light. -- Lao-Tzu
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There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it; - for there is nothing (so effectual) for which it can be changed. -- Lao-Tzu
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Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous! -- Lao-Tzu
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We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it 'the Inaudible. -- Lao-Tzu
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It carries them through their processes and does not vaunt its ability in doing so; -- Lao-Tzu
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All in the world think themselves great, but the great are not concerned. Indeed, only by not being concerned can they be great. If they cared about being great, they'd eventually become petty. -- Lao-Tzu
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The stiff and unyielding are the companions of death, while the yielding and tender are the companions of life. Therefore we see that unbending armies cannot conquer, and the strongest tree feels the axe. The mighty will fall down low, but the humble will rise up. -- Lao-Tzu
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We meet it and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see its Back. -- Lao-Tzu
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Countless words
count less
than the silent balance
between yin and yang -- Lao-Tzu
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The way that is bright seems dull. The way forward seems to lead back. The smooth way seems rough. The highest virtue seems a valley. The purest whiteness seems stained. Excessive virtue seems defective. Solid virtue seems inactive. -- Lao-Tzu
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He is free from self- display, and therefore he shines; -- Lao-Tzu
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Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil. -- Lao-Tzu
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But I have heard that he who is skilful in managing the life entrusted to him for a time travels on the land without having to shun rhinoceros or tiger, and enters a host without having to avoid buff coat or sharp weapon. -- Lao-Tzu
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The road you can talk about is not the road you can walk on -- Lao-Tzu
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To bear and not to own; to act and not lay claim; to do the work and let it go: for just letting it go is what makes it stay. -- Lao-Tzu
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Great talents mature slowly. -- Lao-Tzu
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Plan for the difficult while it is still easy. The greatest things in the world are done while still slight. So wise leaders never do big things; that's how they achieve greatness. -- Lao-Tzu
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Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it. -- Lao-Tzu
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Allow the heart to empty itself of all turmoil! Retrieve the utter tranquility of the mind from which you issued.
Although all forms are dynamic,and we all grow and transform,each of us is compelled to return to our root. Our root is quietude. -- Lao-Tzu
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If lightning is the anger of the gods, then the gods are concerned mostly about trees. -- Lao-Tzu
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Too much brightness blinds the eyes. Too much sound deafens the ears. Too much flavour ruins the tongue. Chasing desires to excess turns your mind towards madness, and valuing precious things impairs good judgment. -- Lao-Tzu
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The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
While the tender and weak dance on the breeze above. -- Lao-Tzu
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Learn from the people
Plan with the people
Begin with what they have
Build on what they know
Of the best leaders
When the task is accomplished
The people will remark
We have done it ourselves. -- Lao-Tzu
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If I had just a little bit of wisdom I should walk the great path and fear only straying from it. -- Lao-Tzu
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If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged; -- Lao-Tzu
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Not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder. -- Lao-Tzu
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Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretch her fingers to touch the heavens. -- Lao-Tzu
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Perfect tranquillity is the way of heaven and earth. -- Lao-Tzu
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Misery! - happiness is to be found by its side! -- Lao-Tzu
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To lead people, walk beside them. -- Lao-Tzu
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If the people must be ever fearful of death, then there will always be an executioner. -- Lao-Tzu
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The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. -- Lao-Tzu
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To lead the people, walk behind them. -- Lao-Tzu
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The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms. -- Lao-Tzu
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Simplicity without a name
Is free from all external aim.
With no desire, at rest and still,
All things go right as of their will. -- Lao-Tzu
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A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. -- Lao-Tzu
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We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of things; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others. -- Lao-Tzu
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Boasting of wealth and virtue brings your demise. -- Lao-Tzu
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Great acts are made up of small deeds. -- Lao-Tzu
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The space between Heaven and Earth
is it not like a bellows? -- Lao-Tzu
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Creating without claiming. Doing without taking credit. Guiding without interfering. This is primal virtue. -- Lao-Tzu
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The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be. -- Lao-Tzu
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Racing and hunting madden our minds. -- Lao-Tzu
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Giving birth without possessing,
animating without subjecting,
fostering without dominating. -- Lao-Tzu
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Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy. -- Lao-Tzu
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To want to rule the world is to want to pamper this body. When you don't prize this body, you don't want to rule the world. -- Lao-Tzu
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Moved by deep love, a man is courageous.
And with frugality, a man becomes generous,
And he who does not desire to be ahead of the
world becomes the leader of the world. -- Lao-Tzu
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This is a subtle insight: the flexible overcomes the strong and unyielding. -- Lao-Tzu
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Govern large countries
like you cook little fish. -- Lao-Tzu
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Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory (by force of arms) is to him undesirable. -- Lao-Tzu
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A good traveler leaves no tracks. Good speech lacks fault-finding. -- Lao-Tzu
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Stand before it and there is no beginning. Follow it and there is no end. Stay with the ancient Tao, Move with the present. -- Lao-Tzu
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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. -- Lao-Tzu
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I do not concern myself with gods and spirits either good or evil nor do I serve any. -- Lao-Tzu
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Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt with. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000674910
Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000680088
Not-knowing is true knowledge.
Presuming to know is a disease.
First realize that you are sick;
then you can move toward health. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000681065
Obscure as muddied water. But, with stillness, muddy waters clear. Can you also act while remaining still? -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000681071
Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000681081
Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000681547
He who, being a man, remains a woman, becomes a universal channel. Eternal virtue will flow through him. He will become a child again. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000683949
If the one did not honour his master, and the other did not rejoice in his helper, an (observer), though intelligent, might greatly err about them. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000690346
Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000695093
Having arrived at this point of non-action, there is nothing which he does not do. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000696209
Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000698167
The perception of what is small is (the secret of clear- sightedness; the guarding of what is soft and tender is (the secret of) strength. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000703407
The master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. He prefers what is within to what is without. -- Lao-Tzu
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When men lost their understanding of the Tao, intelligence came along, bringing hypocrisy with it. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000709819
So it is that some things are increased by being diminished, and others are diminished by being increased. -- Lao-Tzu
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When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil on itself. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000714006
The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000716531
that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000719492
But if desire always within us be, -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000722894
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000723287
Contentment alone is enough Indeed, the bliss of eternity can be found in your contentment -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000724417
How can one know the eternal origin?
By letting go of ideas
and allowing it to reveal itself -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000724719
The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000727458
When a nation is filled with strife, then do patriots flourish. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000732749
How know I that it is so with all the beauties of existing things? -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000733302
Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self requires strength;
He who knows he has enough is rich.
Perseverance is a sign of will power. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000735276
Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her. -- Lao-Tzu
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A good traveler leaves no tracks. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000743435
The higher the sun ariseth, the less shadow doth he cast; even so the greater is the goodness, the less doth it covet praise; yet cannot avoid its rewards in honours. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000743847
We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it 'the Subtle. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000745138
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000751629
Allow your life to unfold naturally Know that it too is a vessel of perfection Just as you breathe in and breathe out Sometimes you're ahead and other times behind Sometimes you're strong and other times weak Sometimes you're with people and other times alone -- Lao-Tzu
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Those who do not lose their base endure. Those who die but do not perish have longevity. -- Lao-Tzu
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Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle of
softness overcoming hardness. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758059
There is
a time to live
and a time to die
but never to reject the moment. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758065
Too many words cause exhaustion
[In the mind or from the mouth]
Better to abide in stillness -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758068
When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758070
To know non-knowing is optimal
to imagine one knows
is affliction of mind -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758079
Earth is a divine organism
it cannot be successfully manipulated
Who attempts manipulation will encounter defeat -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758088
Who acts in stillness finds stillness in his life. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758091
Peace is our original state -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758092
Emptiness appears barren
yet is infinite fullness -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758095
One who practices virtue and selflessness should not hold any particular idea in his mind about how to fulfill his virtue, for virtue is the very nature of one's being. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000758109
For the sage
Heaven and Earth join
in bestowing the greatest gifts -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000759287
This is what is called 'The mysterious Quality' (of the Tao). -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000761096
When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000763961
When the people have many weapons, the nation grows more benighted. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000783918
The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself, The more he gives to others, the more he gets himself. The Way of Heaven does one good but never does one harm. The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000786011
When I let go of who I am, I become who I might be. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000789823
No calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000789835
What calamity is greater than no contentment,
and what flaw greater than the passion for gain. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000789849
What makes me liable to great calamity is my having the body (which I call myself); if I had not the body, what great calamity could come to me? -- Lao-Tzu
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Heaven is long-enduring, and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves. -- Lao-Tzu
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A man who knows how little he knows is well, a man who knows how much he knows is sick. If, when you see the symptoms, you can tell, Your cure is quick.
A sound man knows that sickness makes him sick and before he catches it his cure is quick. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000797103
The tree too thick to embrace
emerges from a seedling.
A nine-storey tower rises from a brick.
A thousand-mile journey begins under your feet. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000804907
262."Be square but do not cut; be sharp but do not stab; be straight forward but do not unrestrained; be bright but do not dazzle. -- Lao-Tzu
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De wijze heeft geen onwrikbare beginselen. Hij past zich aan anderen aan.
(Free translation into English: The wise man has no firm principles. He adapts to others.) -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000808366
If the Great Way perishes there will morality and duty. When cleverness and knowledge arise great lies will flourish. When relatives fall out with one another there will be filial duty and love. When states are in confusion there will be faithful servants. -- Lao-Tzu
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he who knows himself is intelligent. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000814096
The Sage sees the world
as an expansion of his own self
So what need has he to accumulate things? -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000814279
Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000830131
The moral man does something,
and when no one responds
he rolls up his sleeves and uses force. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000830700
He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000833210
Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000835488
The slaying of multitudes should be mourned with sorrow. A victory should be celebrated with the funeral rite. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000845107
The people starve because those in authority over them devour too many taxes; that is why they starve. -- Lao-Tzu
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The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000847622
For to be over-developed is to hasten decay, and this is against Tao, and what is against Tao will soon cease to be. -- Lao-Tzu
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Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000852960
All things in the world come from being. And being comes from non-being. -- Lao-Tzu
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To consider this desirable would be to delight in the slaughter of men; and he who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the kingdom. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000858455
If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000859780
When things (in the vegetable world) have displayed their luxuriant growth, we see each of them return to its root. -- Lao-Tzu
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Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000864627
Will work but ill, and disappointment bring. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000864829
One who understands others has knowledge; one who understands himself has wisdom. Mastering others requires force; mastering the self needs strength. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000866154
Your inner being guard, and keep it free. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000866593
Something can be beautiful, if something else is ugly.
Someone can be good, if someone else is bad. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000869637
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000870948
An ocean of ink in a single drop,
Trembling at the tip of my brush.
Poised above stark white paper,
A universe waits for existence. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000871637
What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000884999
That the musical notes and tones become harmonious through the relation of one with another; and that being before and behind give the idea of one following another. -- Lao-Tzu
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Three men in ten conserve life; three men in ten pursue death. Three men also in ten desire to live, but there acts hasten their journey to the house of death. Why is this? Because of their efforts to preserve life. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000897368
It brings them to maturity and exercises no control over them; - -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000897407
Higher good is like water:
the good in water benefits all,
and does so without contention.
It rests where people dislike to be,
so it is close to the Way.
Good ground;
profound is the good in its heart,
Benevolent the good it bestows. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000898539
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000899779
The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000905390
In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000905394
Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that of what is soft and weak is above. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000905486
He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000908645
The more people have weapons, the more the state is in confusion. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000910303
The work is done, but how no one can see;
'Tis this that makes the power not cease to be. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000910926
Heaven and Earth (under its guidance) unite together and send down the sweet dew, which, without the directions of men, reaches equally everywhere as of its own accord. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000915331
Nature never hurries, yet everything is accomplished -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000930341
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000931381
There is no greater illusion than fear,
no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself,
no greater misfortune than having an enemy. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000933007
The strong wind cannot last the whole morning, the torrential rain cannot last all day. It is nature that causes these things, but even nature cannot cause them to go on forever. If nature cannot do this, then certainly man cannot do so. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000940902
The highest excellence is like (that of) water. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000951372
For the wise man looks into space and he knows there is no limited dimensions. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000954198
Many historians contend that Laozi actually lived in the 4th century BC, which was the period of Hundred Schools of Thought and Warring States Period, while others contend he was a mythical figure. Laozi was credited with -- Lao-Tzu
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Pursue that which is not meddlesome. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000955785
They shall wear elegant and ornamented robes, carry a sharp sword at their girdle, pamper themselves in eating and drinking, and have a superabundance of property and wealth; - such (princes) may be called robbers and boasters. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000959121
To know others is wisdom;
To know yourself is enlightenment;
To master others requires force;
To master yourself requires true strength. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000963814
Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000964408
There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, which existed before Heaven and Earth. Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and does not change. It operates everywhere and is free from danger. It may be considered the mother of the universe. I do not know its name; I call it Tao. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000965645
Stop leaving and you will arrive. Stop searching and you will see. Stop running away and you will be found. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000965669
It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000965895
Just remain in the center; watching. And then forget that you are there. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000971326
The Master is her own physician.
She has healed herself of all knowing.
Thus she is truly whole. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000971895
A skillful soldier is not violent, an able fighter does not rage, a mighty conqueror does not give battle, a great commander is a humble man -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000975502
Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and unchanging sufficiency. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000987483
155. The secret waits for eyes unclouded by longing. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000988690
The inner is foundation of the outer
The still is master of the restless
The Sage travels all day
yet never leaves his inner treasure -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000990333
The person of superior integrity
does not insist upon his integrity.
For this reason, he has integrity.
The person of inferior integrity
never loses sight of his integrity;
For this reason, he lacks integrity. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000991077
As you live, so you die -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000994522
The giant tree starts out as the tiniest shoot, the tallest tower starts out as a single brick, the longest journey starts with the first step. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000996550
To avoid disappointment, know what is sufficient. To avoid trouble, know when to stop. If you are able to do this, you will last a long time. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 000997459
When we can lay hold of the Tao of old to direct the things of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of Tao. -- Lao-Tzu
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The sage puts herself last and is first. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001002352
Live in a good place. Keep your mind deep. Treat others well. Stand by your word. Make fair rules. Do the right thing. Work when it's time. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001006057
The Tao is hidden, and has no name; but it is the Tao which is skilful at imparting (to all things what they need) and making them complete. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001007731
Of what, when seen, shall then be told. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001010741
All things under heaven sprang from It as existing (and named); that existence sprang from -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001013460
Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001013980
The best fighter is never angry. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001024437
Love is a decision - not an emotion! -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001027362
The skilful traveller leaves no traces of his wheels or footsteps -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001029656
Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001029883
Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear? -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001030191
We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds
whatever we want. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001035527
Those essences the truth enfold -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001037232
With a wall all around
A clay bowl is moulded;
But the use of the bowl
Will depend on the part
Of the bowl that is void. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001038015
To know that unchanging rule is to be intelligent; not to know it leads to wild movements and evil issues. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001045121
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001049675
Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy. -- Lao-Tzu
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Why do the people starve? It is because those at the top eat too much, and taxes are too high. This is why the people starve. Why are the people difficult to lead? It is because those in authority are meddlesome in their affairs. This is why the people are difficult to lead. -- Lao-Tzu
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Very few are aware of the highest. Then comes that which they know and love, -- Lao-Tzu
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Having to live on, one knows better than to value life too much. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001064860
Silence is a source of great strenght. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001068408
To hold, you must first open your hand. Let go -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001084258
The people are difficult to govern because of the (excessive) agency of their superiors (in governing them). -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001084266
The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes consumed by their superiors. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001086251
In the next age they loved them and praised them. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001088312
An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001088810
Free from desire, you realize the mystery
caught in the desire, you see only the manifestations. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001091860
The master dwells in the substantial and not in the superficial. Rests in the fruit and not in the flower. -- Lao-Tzu
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From self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged; -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001102809
The sage gives more than he takes;
how can he do this?
because he has the richness of Tao -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001106024
The wise consider themselves "orphaned," "widowed," and "worthless." Their humility is the source of their strength. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001106033
Silence is a source of Great Strength. -- Lao-Tzu
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Only those who do not use life as a reason for artificialities are intelligently valuing life. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001110654
The ten thousand things rise and fall while the self watches their return. -- Lao-Tzu
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Make the earth a dwelling place. Cultivate the heart and mind. Practice benevolence. Stand by your word. Govern with equity. Serve skillfully. Act in a timely way, without contentiousness, free of blame. -- Lao-Tzu
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If you become whole, everything will come to you. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who has little can only gain, but gain too much and the way will be lost. -- Lao-Tzu
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There is no disaster greater than not being content; There is no misfortune greater than being covetous. -- Lao-Tzu
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The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. -- Lao-Tzu
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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. LaoTzu. Just make sure that you step in the right direction. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much. -- Lao-Tzu
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f you don't realize the source, you stumble in confusion and sorrow. When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused, kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king -- Lao-Tzu
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Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001144043
Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides. -- Lao-Tzu
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Its outer fringe is all that we shall see. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who overcomes himself is mighty. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001153847
The master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001157900
Action should be taken before a thing has made its appearance; order should be secured before disorder has begun. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001166193
Mastering others is strength. Mastering oneself makes you fearless. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001167157
Knowing constancy is enlightenment. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001168589
So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other; -- Lao-Tzu
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When things are murky, quiet down, and they will gradually clear. Proceed, and momentum gradually builds. -- Lao-Tzu
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Laozi was an ancient Chinese philosopher. According to Chinese tradition, Laozi lived in the 6th century BC, however many historians contend that Laozi -- Lao-Tzu
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Misery and fortune share a trust.
Happiness hides in misery. -- Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu Quotes : pic 001177418
Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to. -- Lao-Tzu
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The people make light of dying because of the greatness of their labours in seeking for the means of living. -- Lao-Tzu
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It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who knows he has enough, is rich -- Lao-Tzu
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One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him. -- Lao-Tzu
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And that of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness. -- Lao-Tzu
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The (method of) correction shall by a turn become distortion, and the good in it shall by a turn become evil. -- Lao-Tzu
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With virtue and quietness one may conquer the world. -- Lao-Tzu
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You don't have to go out the door to know what goes on in the world. You don't have to look out the window to see the way of heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. So the wise soul doesn't go, but knows; doesn't look, but sees; doesn't do, but gets it done. -- Lao-Tzu
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If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness. -- Lao-Tzu
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An over sharpened sword cannot last long. -- Lao-Tzu
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Those who speak do not know.
Those who know do not speak. -- Lao-Tzu
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One can not reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others. -- Lao-Tzu
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Possessed of the Tao, he endures long; and to the end of his bodily life, is exempt from all danger of decay. -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness. -- Lao-Tzu
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Peace in Every step -- Lao-Tzu
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The door and windows are cut out (from the walls) to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its use depends. -- Lao-Tzu
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Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment. -- Lao-Tzu
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The best runner leaves no tracks -- Lao-Tzu
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Upon disaster depends good fortune;
within good fortune hides disaster.
Where will it end?
For nothing is certain;
what is correct goes astray;
what is right goes wrong.
Our confusion goes on and on. -- Lao-Tzu
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The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself. -- Lao-Tzu
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The first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking from taking precedence of others. -- Lao-Tzu
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To Know others is perceptive,
to know yourself is wise.
To conquer others is forceful,
to conquer yourself is strong. -- Lao-Tzu
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There is no calamity greater than lavish desires.There is no greater guilt than discontentment.And there is no greater disaster than greed. -- Lao-Tzu
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Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window One can see the way of heaven. The further one goes The less one knows. -- Lao-Tzu
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Do not conquer the world with force, for force only causes resistance. Thorns spring up when an army passes. Years of misery follow a great victory. Do only what needs to be done without using violence. -- Lao-Tzu
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The world's most difficult affairs
begin in easiness.
The world's greatest affairs
always begin in the small. -- Lao-Tzu
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There is nothing like moderation. -- Lao-Tzu
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Keep life and lose those other things; -- Lao-Tzu
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The Wise Man is square but not sharp, honest but not not malign, straight but not severe, bright but not dazzling. -- Lao-Tzu
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When pure sincerity forms within, it is outwardly realized in other people's hearts. -- Lao-Tzu
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It is only by this moderation that there is effected an early return (to man's normal state). -- Lao-Tzu
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The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. -- Lao-Tzu
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People in their handlings of affairs often fail when they are about to succeed. If one remains as careful at the end as he was at the beginning, there will be no failure. -- Lao-Tzu
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The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with. -- Lao-Tzu
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Every journey begins with a single step. -- Lao-Tzu
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If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers. -- Lao-Tzu
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Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. -- Lao-Tzu
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Let him keep his mouth closed, and shut up the portals (of his nostrils), and all his life he will be exempt from laborious exertion. -- Lao-Tzu
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Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong. -- Lao-Tzu
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Loss is not as bad as wanting more. -- Lao-Tzu
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Nature does not play favourites, it regards its creations without sentimentality. Therefore the wise person also acts in this way. -- Lao-Tzu
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It produces them and does not claim them as its own; -- Lao-Tzu
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There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war. -- Lao-Tzu
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Two names emerge from a single origin and both are called mysterious. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm; he who stretches his legs does not walk (easily). -- Lao-Tzu
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There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; -- Lao-Tzu
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If you want to govern the people,
You must place yourself below them.
If you want to lead people,
You must learn how to follow them. -- Lao-Tzu
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If you want to lead them you must place yourself behind them. -- Lao-Tzu
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If you don't stand sincere by your words
how sincere can the people be?
Take great care over words, treasure them. -- Lao-Tzu
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If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. -- Lao-Tzu
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Thus it is that dignity finds its (firm) root in its (previous) meanness, and what is lofty finds its stability in the lowness (from which it rises). -- Lao-Tzu
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If the force of arms is considered the only means of authority, it is not an auspicious instrument. -- Lao-Tzu
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It as non-existent (and not named). -- Lao-Tzu
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74. If you know when to stop, you'll suffer no harm. And in this way you can last a very long time. -- Lao-Tzu
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To lead people, walk beside them ...
As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence.
The next best, the people honor and praise.
The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate ...
When the best leader's work is done the people say,
We did it ourselves! -- Lao-Tzu
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When people devote themselves to something
they always ruin it on the verge of success.
Finish with the same care you took in beginning
and you'll avoid ruining things. -- Lao-Tzu
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stillness, the ruler of movement. -- Lao-Tzu
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Anyone who doesn't respect a teacher or cherish a student may be clever, but has gone astray. -- Lao-Tzu
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Seeing our own smallness is called insight, honoring our own tenderness is called strenght. -- Lao-Tzu
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Rather than act like the lord of the manor,
I would rather behave like a guest.
Rather than advance an inch,
I would rather retreat a foot. -- Lao-Tzu
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The skilful speaker says nothing that can be found fault with or blamed; -- Lao-Tzu
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Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. -- Lao-Tzu
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Man's enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself. -- Lao-Tzu
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Chanting is no more holy than listening to the murmur of a stream, couting prayer beads no more scared than simply breathing, religious robed no more spiritual than work clothes. -- Lao-Tzu
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Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions. -- Lao-Tzu
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The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long. -- Lao-Tzu
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The Tao that can be described is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. -- Lao-Tzu
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How could man rejoice in victory and delight in the slaughter of men? -- Lao-Tzu
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Every step is on the path. -- Lao-Tzu
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Stop trying to leave, and you shall arrive; stop seeking, and you shall see; stop running away, and you shall be found. -- Lao-Tzu
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Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. -- Lao-Tzu
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The skilful closer needs no bolts or bars, while to open what he has shut will be impossible; -- Lao-Tzu
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Respond to anger with virtue. Deal with difficulties while they are still easy. Handle the great while it is still small. -- Lao-Tzu
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One gains by losing and loses by gaining. -- Lao-Tzu
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The masters were said to be profound
because they show the greatest wisdom
when comfortable
in Life's mysterious
and unknown depths -- Lao-Tzu
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He who asserts his own views is not distinguished; -- Lao-Tzu
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The people are hungry: It is because those in authority eat up too much in taxes. -- Lao-Tzu
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When he has cleansed away the most mysterious sights (of his imagination), he can become without a flaw. -- Lao-Tzu
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It produces them and makes no claim to the possession of them; -- Lao-Tzu
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All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; -- Lao-Tzu
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If you search everywhere, yet cannot find what you are seeking, it is because what you seek is already in your possession. -- Lao-Tzu
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When the court is arrayed in splendor, The fields are full of weeds, And the granaries are empty. Some wear gorgeous clothes, Carry sharp swords, And indulge in food and drink; They have more possessions than they can use. They are robber barons. This is certainly not the way of Tao. -- Lao-Tzu
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With few there is attainment. With much there is confusion. -- Lao-Tzu
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If you show yourself, you will not be seen. If you affirm yourself, you will not shine. If you boast, you will have no merit. If you promote yourself, you will have no success. -- Lao-Tzu
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Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know. -- Lao-Tzu
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Although he may have brilliant prospects to look at, he quietly remains (in his proper place), indifferent to them. -- Lao-Tzu
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Heaven which by it is bright and pure; -- Lao-Tzu
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Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. -- Lao-Tzu
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If you do not value rare treasures, you will stop others from stealing. -- Lao-Tzu
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He does not dare (by continuing his operations) to assert and complete his mastery. -- Lao-Tzu
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The ancients were subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive. The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable. Because it is unfathomable, -- Lao-Tzu
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Highly evolved people have their own conscience as pure law. -- Lao-Tzu
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Only when the state is in disorder is there a need for patriotism. -- Lao-Tzu
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So, in their beautiful array, -- Lao-Tzu
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The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things. -- Lao-Tzu
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Be simply yourself and don't compare or compete -- Lao-Tzu
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The best of all leaders is the one who helps people so that eventually they don't need him. -- Lao-Tzu
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Be the chief but never the lord. -- Lao-Tzu
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Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start
with what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best
leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will
say 'We have done this ourselves. -- Lao-Tzu
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(Those who) possessed in highest degree the attributes (of the Tao) did not (seek) to show them, and therefore they possessed them (in fullest measure). -- Lao-Tzu
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He who is (ever ready to) speak about it does not know it. -- Lao-Tzu
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From self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished; -- Lao-Tzu
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I thought I know you,
but it was only me.
The you that you truly are
is not the you I see.
My mind has formed your image
but you have already travelled on
I want to see only you
but I see you through me -- Lao-Tzu
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Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from Heaven; Heaven takes its law from the Tao. The law of the Tao is its being what it is. -- Lao-Tzu
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56. Manifest plainness and embrace the genuine; lessen self-interest and make few your desires. -- Lao-Tzu
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Express yourself completely. Then keep quiet. Be like the forces of nature; When it blows, there is only wind; When it rains, there is only rain; When the clouds pass, the sun shines through. -- Lao-Tzu
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The way is easy stay on the path. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who (tries to) govern a state by his wisdom is a scourge to it; while he who does not (try to) do so is a blessing. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who acts (with an ulterior purpose) does harm; he who takes hold of a thing (in the same way) loses his hold. -- Lao-Tzu
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Things' essences all there endure. -- Lao-Tzu
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The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own. -- Lao-Tzu
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As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it. -- Lao-Tzu
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The more implements to add to their profit that the people have, the greater disorder is there in the state and clan; -- Lao-Tzu
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Nothingness and Beingness are merely conceptions ... -- Lao-Tzu
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To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty. -- Lao-Tzu
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Where there is lack of faith, There is a lack of respect. Employ reticence, and care with words. When the work is done and the task complete The people will say: 'It just happened. -- Lao-Tzu
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True perfection seems imperfect,
yet it is perfectly itself.
True fullness seems empty,
yet it is fully present.
True straightness seems crooked.
True wisdom seems foolish.
True art seems artless. -- Lao-Tzu
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The sage produces without possessing, acts without expectations, and accomplishes without abiding in her accomplishments. It is precisely because she does not abide in them that they never leave her. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. -- Lao-Tzu
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Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force. -- Lao-Tzu
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By letting go it all gets done. -- Lao-Tzu
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Is it not through her selflessness that she is able to perfect herself? -- Lao-Tzu
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Work at things before they've begun
and establish order before confusion sets in,
for a tree you can barely reach around
grows from the tiniest rootlet,
a nine-tiered tower
starts as a basket of dirt,
a thousand-mile journey
begins with a single step. -- Lao-Tzu
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Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao. -- Lao-Tzu
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Sometimes you must yield in order to win, and sometimes maintaining a low place leads you to win. -- Lao-Tzu
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In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. -- Lao-Tzu
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Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing. -- Lao-Tzu
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It is through their not being full of themselves that they can afford to seem worn and not appear new and complete. -- Lao-Tzu
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All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small. -- Lao-Tzu
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The pot's use comes from emptiness. -- Lao-Tzu
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Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know. -- Lao-Tzu
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Close your mouth,
block off your senses,
blunt your sharpness,
untie your knots,
soften your glare,
settle your dust.
This is the primal identity. -- Lao-Tzu
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Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained. -- Lao-Tzu
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Let him keep his mouth open, and (spend his breath) in the promotion of his affairs, and all his life there will be no safety for him. -- Lao-Tzu
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To become learned, each day add something. To become enlightened, each day drop something. -- Lao-Tzu
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When reconciling great hatred there will some remain. How can it be made good? Therefore the wise man accepts the debit side of the account and does not have to enforce payment from others. -- Lao-Tzu
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Perfection is the willingness to be imperfect. -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore all in the world delight to exalt him and do not weary of him. -- Lao-Tzu
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The gentle outlast the strong The obscure outlast the obvious Hence, a fish that ventures from deep water is soon snagged by a net A country that reveals its strength is soon conquered by an enemy -- Lao-Tzu
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He who acts, spoils; he who grasps, lets slip. -- Lao-Tzu
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A good traveler leaves no track. -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore the sage, while he never does what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest things. -- Lao-Tzu
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What is firmly rooted cannot be pulled out. -- Lao-Tzu
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(So), he who has the attributes (of the Tao) regards (only) the conditions of the engagement, while he who has not those attributes regards only the conditions favourable to himself. -- Lao-Tzu
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The World has a First Cause, which may be regarded as the Mother of the World. When one has found the Mother, one can know the Child. Knowing the Child and still keeping the Mother, to the end of his days he shall suffer no harm. -- Lao-Tzu
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And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (about his low position), no one finds fault with him. -- Lao-Tzu
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Those who know don't tell.
Those who tell don't know.
from 56 -- Lao-Tzu
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The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. -- Lao-Tzu
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By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning. -- Lao-Tzu
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The ego is a monkey catapulting through the jungle: fascinated by the realm of the senses it swings from one desire to the next, one conflict to the next. Let this monkey go. Let desires go. Let conflicts go. Let ideas go. Just remain in the center, watching. -- Lao-Tzu
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She does not show herself, and therefore is apparent. She does not affirm herself, and therefore is acknowledged. She does not boast and therefore has merit. She does not strive and therefore is successful. It is exactly because she does not contend, that nobody can contend with her. -- Lao-Tzu
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unpretentious like wood that has not been fashioned into anything; -- Lao-Tzu
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Because of a great love, one is courageous. -- Lao-Tzu
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When beauty is defined, illusions of non-beauty manifest
When goodness is identified, badness becomes an option -- Lao-Tzu
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And whether a man dispassionately
Sees to the core of life
Or passionately
Sees the surface
They are essentially the same -- Lao-Tzu
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(Those who) possessed the highest (sense of) propriety were (always seeking) to show it, and when men did not respond to it, they bared the arm and marched up to them. -- Lao-Tzu
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The wise person leads by remaining in the background. -- Lao-Tzu
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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe. -- Lao-Tzu
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Great indeed is the sublimity of the Creative, to which all beings owe their beginning and which permeates all heaven. -- Lao-Tzu
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When turmoil rules, go in. -- Lao-Tzu
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Wild winds never last all morning
and fierce rains never last all day. -- Lao-Tzu
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It is better to do one's own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his own nature reveals it, never sins. -- Lao-Tzu
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With those who are sincere
the sage is sincere
With those who are insincere
the sage is also sincere
because the way of Tao is sincerity -- Lao-Tzu
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When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. -- Lao-Tzu
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Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge. -- Lao-Tzu
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A person who prematurely believes that they comprehend the Tao sees only its external luster, and this is the beginning of delusion. -- Lao-Tzu
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Too much thinking causes confusion and anxiety
better to stick with the simplicity of Tao -- Lao-Tzu
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All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small. -- Lao-Tzu
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To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. -- Lao-Tzu
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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. -- Lao-Tzu
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Material and infinite are inseparable
Appreciating their interconnectedness
is the gateway to understanding -- Lao-Tzu
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However grand and high, would all decay. -- Lao-Tzu
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The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. -- Lao-Tzu
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Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure. -- Lao-Tzu
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A man can achieve his own happiness only by pursuing the happiness of others, because it is only by forgetting about his own happiness that he can become happy. -- Lao-Tzu
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It might appear to have been before God. -- Lao-Tzu
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Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, earnestly carry it into practice. -- Lao-Tzu
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Whoever knows what is enough Will be happy with his fate. -- Lao-Tzu
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(So), he who displays himself does not shine; -- Lao-Tzu
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When you accept yourself, the whole world accepts you. -- Lao-Tzu
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Let go of rousing speech
and identification with thoughts
Until your end
you will never be jaded -- Lao-Tzu
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Do not shine like jade, instead be humble like a rock. -- Lao-Tzu
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That difficulty and ease produce the one (the idea of) the other; -- Lao-Tzu
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Things form and never know decay. -- Lao-Tzu
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Profound it is, dark and obscure; -- Lao-Tzu
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Gravity is the root of lightness; -- Lao-Tzu
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Heaven's Tao is impartial,
yet those who follow its compassionate way
will always be nourished -- Lao-Tzu
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If you give evil nothing to oppose, then virtue will return by itself. -- Lao-Tzu
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I will be fond of keeping still, and the people will of themselves become correct. -- Lao-Tzu
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To speak little is natural. Therefore a gale does not blow a whole morning nor does a downpour last a whole day. -- Lao-Tzu
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The reality of the building does not consist of the roof and walls, but the space within to be lived. -- Lao-Tzu
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To live without forcing to overcome without conquering -- Lao-Tzu
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Our enemies are not demons, but human beings like ourselves -- Lao-Tzu
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A sage traveling all day
is never far from the supplies in his cart,
and however spectacular the views
he remains calm and composed. -- Lao-Tzu
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From caring comes courage. -- Lao-Tzu
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Know glory but cleave to humiliation. -- Lao-Tzu
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In the end,
The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on
and gained by those who let go. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who speaks does not know; he who knows does not speak -- Lao-Tzu
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Always without desire we must be found, -- Lao-Tzu
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In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their rulers). -- Lao-Tzu
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The career of a sage is of two kinds: He is either honored by all in the world, Like a flower waving its head, Or else he disappears into the silent forest. -- Lao-Tzu
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I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a purpose). -- Lao-Tzu
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An integral being knows without going, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. -- Lao-Tzu
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Knowing how to yield is strength -- Lao-Tzu
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The difficulty in governing the people arises from their having much knowledge. -- Lao-Tzu
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For things sometimes lead and sometimes follow,
sometimes sign and sometimes storm,
sometimes strengthen and sometimes weaken,
sometimes kill and sometimes die. -- Lao-Tzu
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The words of truth are always paradoxical. -- Lao-Tzu
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Is it not because he has no personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised? -- Lao-Tzu
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Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful. -- Lao-Tzu
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When the world knows beauty as beauty, ugliness arises. -- Lao-Tzu
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The five colors make man's eyes blind, the five notes make his ears deaf, the five tastes injure his palate. -- Lao-Tzu
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The grace of Tao
and divine nature (Te)
are not ordered
but eternal spontaneous
action of the One -- Lao-Tzu
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One who speaks does not know One who knows does not speak -- Lao-Tzu
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The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know. -- Lao-Tzu
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The simple child again, free from all stains. -- Lao-Tzu
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Composure is the ruler of instability. -- Lao-Tzu
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This is how they are able to continue and endure. -- Lao-Tzu
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Gentle flexibility
is the way of the humble master -- Lao-Tzu
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There is no illusion greater than fear. -- Lao-Tzu
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Anything great is long in making. -- Lao-Tzu
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To be worn out is to be renewed. -- Lao-Tzu
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Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. -- Lao-Tzu
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Music in the soul can be heard by the universe. -- Lao-Tzu
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The sage, while clad in homespun, conceals on his person a priceless piece of jade. -- Lao-Tzu
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Colors blind the eye
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart. -- Lao-Tzu
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When it once has that name, (men) can know to rest in it. When they know to rest in it, they can be free from all risk of failure and error. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still. -- Lao-Tzu
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When the highest type of men hear Tao,
They diligently practice it.
When the average type of men hear Tao,
They half believe in it.
When the lowest type of men hear Tao,
They laugh heartily at it.
Without the laugh, there is no Tao -- Lao-Tzu
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If you wish to be out front, then act as if you were behind. -- Lao-Tzu
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Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power. -- Lao-Tzu
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If its deep mystery we would sound; -- Lao-Tzu
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Tao 'is' before words
and before deeds -- Lao-Tzu
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By this (nature of the Tao). -- Lao-Tzu
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Because she competes with no one, no one can compete with her. -- Lao-Tzu
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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. -- Lao-Tzu
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Rejects what is more great; -- Lao-Tzu
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When I let go what I am, I become what I might be. -- Lao-Tzu
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(To illustrate from) the case of all females: - the female always overcomes the male by her stillness. -- Lao-Tzu
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When goodness is lost there is morality. -- Lao-Tzu
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Manage affairs before they are in a mess. -- Lao-Tzu
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Now it is so; 'twas so of old. -- Lao-Tzu
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When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating. -- Lao-Tzu
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This returning to their root is what we call the state of stillness; and that stillness may be called a reporting that they have fulfilled their appointed end. -- Lao-Tzu
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To lead people walk behind them. -- Lao-Tzu
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The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his mind in a state of indifference to all. -- Lao-Tzu
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The soft overcomes the hard; and the weak the strong. -- Lao-Tzu
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Your life is a piece of clay; don't let anyone else mold it for you. -- Lao-Tzu
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Purity and stillness give the correct law to all under heaven. -- Lao-Tzu
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The sage shuns excess, shuns grandiosity, shuns arrogance. -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved. -- Lao-Tzu
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The path into the light seems dark, the path forward seems to go back, the direct path seems long. -- Lao-Tzu
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Nature is not human hearted. -- Lao-Tzu
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If you try to cut wood like a master carpenter,
you will only hurt your hand. -- Lao-Tzu
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The world belongs to those who let go. -- Lao-Tzu
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Their work was done and their undertakings were successful, while the people all said, 'We are as we are, of ourselves! -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore a wise prince, marching the whole day, does not go far from his baggage waggons. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who is contented is rich. -- Lao-Tzu
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There is no greater misfortune than not knowing what is enough. There is no greater fault than the desire to possess. -- Lao-Tzu
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Be still
Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity -- Lao-Tzu
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Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires. -- Lao-Tzu
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Lao Tzu
The key to growth is the introduction
of higher dimensions of consciousness
into our awareness. -- Lao-Tzu
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The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be. -- Lao-Tzu
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Of every ten three are ministers of life (to themselves); and three are ministers of death. -- Lao-Tzu
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Become totally empty
Quiet the restlessness of the mind
Only then will you witness everything unfolding from emptiness -- Lao-Tzu
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206. "Let nature take its course. By letting each thing act in accordance with its own nature, everything that needs to be done gets done." ~ -- Lao-Tzu
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Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity. -- Lao-Tzu
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Gave their (right) names to things without seeing them; -- Lao-Tzu
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He who overcomes others is strong; -- Lao-Tzu
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He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it. -- Lao-Tzu
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no fault greater than the wish to be getting. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who possesses virtue in abundance may be compared to an infant. -- Lao-Tzu
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To those who are good (to me), I am good;
and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good;
and thus (all) get to be good.
To those who are sincere (with me), I am sincere;
and to those who are not sincere (with me), I am also sincere;
and thus (all) get to be sincere. -- Lao-Tzu
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What all men fear is indeed to be feared; -- Lao-Tzu
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(Its) admirable words can purchase honour; (its) admirable deeds can raise their performer above others. -- Lao-Tzu
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He who knows he has enough is rich. Perseverance is a sign of will power. He who stays where he is endures. To die but not to perish is to be eternally present. -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones. -- Lao-Tzu
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This is called 'the Mysterious Agreement. -- Lao-Tzu
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Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere. -- Lao-Tzu
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The way of heaven is to help and not harm. -- Lao-Tzu
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When things flourish they decline. -- Lao-Tzu
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Truly good people are not aware of their goodness, And are therefore good. -- Lao-Tzu
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What others fear becomes our wilderness of fear. O, it is endless! -- Lao-Tzu
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not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; -- Lao-Tzu
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When its work is accomplished, it does not claim the name of having done it. -- Lao-Tzu
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I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. -- Lao-Tzu
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Great, it passes on (in constant flow). -- Lao-Tzu
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Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without the use of speech. -- Lao-Tzu
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Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise. -- Lao-Tzu
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To see things in the seed, that is genius. -- Lao-Tzu
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A man should love others as himself and also their parents as his own. -- Lao-Tzu
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Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind). -- Lao-Tzu
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Its name - what passes not away; -- Lao-Tzu
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Why is the sea king of a hundred streams? Because it lies below them. Therefore it is the king of a hundred streams. -- Lao-Tzu
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Because he does not strive, no one finds it possible to strive with him. -- Lao-Tzu