Lao Tzu Quotes

“Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.”

“Only I am clumsy, like drifting on the waves of the sea, without direction.”

“A whale out of water is over-run by ants.”

“Nothing is weaker than water, Yet for overcoming what is hard and strong, Nothing surpasses it.”

“The sage is not ill, because he sees illness as illness.”

“If you fail to honor your people, They will fail to honor you; It is said of a good leader that When the work is done, the aim fulfilled, The people will say, "We did this ourselves."”

“Not valuing wealth prevents theft.”

“Who is there who can make muddy waters clear? But if allowed to remain still, it will gradually clear itself.”

“Embrace simplicity. Put others first. Desire little.”

“Prepare while it's easy.”

“Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.”

“The value of actions lies in their timing.”

“Other people have more than they need, I alone seem wanting.”

“Whoever is capable of knowing when they have had enough will always be satisfied.”

“Those who make their living by collecting taxes cause the people to starve; when the people starve, the tax collectors, having no one to tax, starve also”

“To practice virtue is to selflessly offer assistance to others, giving without limitation one's time, abilities, and possessions in service, whenever and wherever needed, without prejudice concerning the identity of those in need.”

“Spokes unite in the hub of a wheel.”

“There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.”

“Try to change it and you will ruin it. Try to hold it and you will lose it.”

“Heaven and Earth last for ever. Why do Heaven and Earth last for ever? They are unborn, so ever living. The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead. He is detached, thus at one with all. Through selfless action, he attains fulfillment.”

“A climb of eight hundred feet starts where the foot stands.”

“The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of all things.”

“The reality of the building does not consist in the roof and walls, but in the space within to be lived in.”

“A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants.”

“Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.”