Lao Tzu Quotes

“The wise man knows he doesn't know.”

“Where there is no conflict, there is no fault.”

“Things exalted then decay. This is going against the Way. What goes against the Way meets an early end.”

“Be still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity”

“In this world, there is nothing softer or thinner than water. But to compel the hard and unyielding, it has no equal. That the weak overcomes the strong, that the hard gives way to the gentle - this everyone knows. Yet no one asks accordingly.”

“Health is the greatest possession.”

“Attending fully and becoming supple, Can you be as a newborn babe?”

“He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that is worn out shall be renewed. He who has little shall succeed. He who has much shall go astray.”

“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.”

“Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things?”

“The unyielding army will not win.”

“. . . the integral being is attached to nothing and can relate to everyone with an unstructured attitude. Because of this, her very existence benefits all things.”

“Stay at the center and let all things take their course.”

“The fish cannot leave the deep waters. The state's weaponry should not be displayed.”

“The superior leader keeps informed about everything but interferes hardly at all.”

“He who stands on tiptoedoesn't stand firm.He who rushes aheaddoesn't go far.He who tries to shinedims his own light.He who defines himselfcan't know who he really is.He who has power over otherscan't empower himself.He who clings to his workwill create nothing that endures.”

“Simply see that you are at the center of the universe, and accept all things and beings as parts of your infinite body. When you perceive that an act done to another is done to yourself, you have understood the great truth.”

“As long as we have hope, we have direction, the energy to move, and the map to move by. We have a hundred alternatives, a thousand paths and an infinity of dreams. Hopeful, we are halfway to where we want to go; hopeless, we are lost forever.”

“If you worry more for others' beliefs, then you will be their slave.”

“A good runner leaves no footprints.”

“Stop thinking, and end your problems. What difference between yes and no? What difference between success and failure? Must you value what others value, avoid what others avoid? How ridiculous!”

“Because of deep love, one is courageous. Because of frugality, one is generous. Because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the leader of the world.”

“The wise stand out because they see themselves as part of the Whole. They shine because they don't want to impress. They achieve great things because they don't look for recognition. Their wisdom is contained in what they are, not their opinions. They refuse to argue, so no-one argues with them.”

“Other people are occupied, I alone am unwilling, like the outcast.”

“The seed of mystery lies in muddy water. How can I perceive this mystery? Water becomes clear through stillness. How can I become still? By flowing with the stream.”