Lao Tzu Quotes (290 Quotes)

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.

One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him.

He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.

Can you let go of words and ideas, attitudes and expectations If so, then the Tao will loom into view.

Do not imagine that an integral being has the ambition of enlightening the unaware or raising worldly people to the divine realm. To her, there is no self and other, and hence no one to be raised no heaven and hell, and hence no destination.

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.

... learn to value what is important today in the subtle realm rather than what appears desirable tomorrow in the worldly realm.

Marriage is three parts love and seven parts forgiveness of sins.

If you can let go of (the Tao) with your mind and surround it with your heart, it will live inside you forever.

Understand this if nothing else spiritual freedom and oneness with the Tao are not randomly bestowed gifts, but the rewards of conscious self-transformation and self-evolution.

In the Golden Age, Rulers were unknown. In the following age Rulers were loved and praised. Next came the age When rulers were feared. Finally the age When rulers are hated.

I confess that there is nothing to teach no religion, no science, no body of information which will lead your mind back to the Tao. Today I speak in this fashion, tomorrow in another, but always the Integral Way is beyond words and beyond mind.

Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretch her fingers to touch the heavens.

... The sage, traveling all day, Does not lose sight of his baggage. Though there are beautiful things to be seen, He remains unattached and calm.

The first practice is the practice of undiscriminating virtue take care of those who are deserving also, and equally, take care of those who are not. When you extend your virtue in all directions without discriminating, you feet are firmly planted on the path that returns to the Tao.

... the mind is desperate to fix the river of events in place Possessed by ideas of the past, preoccupied with images of the future, it overlooks the plain truth of the moment.

No thought, no action, no movement, total stillness only thus can one manifest the true nature and law of things from within and unconsciously, and at last become one with heaven and earth.

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.

Find a teacher who is an integral being, a beacon who extends his light and virtue with equal ease to those who appreciate him and those who don't. Shape yourself in his mold, bathe in his nourishing radiance, and reflect it out to the rest of the world.

Of the best rulers, The people only know that they exist the next best they love and praise the next they fear and the next they revile. When they do not command the people's faith, some will lose faith in them, and then they resort to oaths But of the best when their task is accomplished, their work done, the people all remark, ''We have done it ourselves.''

Do you think that you can clear your mind by sitting constantly in silent meditation This makes your mind narrow, not clear. Integral awareness is fluid and adaptable, present in all places and at all times. That is true meditation.... The Tao is clear and simple, and it doesn't avoid the world.

Clay is moulded to make a vessel, but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing.... Thus, taking advantage of what is,we recognize the utility of what is not.

All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.

The heavy is the root of the light. The tranquil is the ruler of the hasty.

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

The world is full of half-enlightened masters. Overly clever, too 'sensitive' to live in the real world, they surround themselves with selfish pleasures and bestow their grandiose teachings upon the unwary. Prematurely publicizing themselves, intent upon.

The feminine values are the fountain of bliss. Know the masculine, Keep to the feminine.

He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.

The Tao's principle is spontaneity.

Who can enjoy enlightenment and remain indifferent to suffering in the world This is not in keeping with the Way. Only those who increase their service along with their understanding can be called men and women of Tao.

Greed for enlightenment and immortality is no different than greed for material wealth. It is self-centered and dualistic, and thus an obstacle to true attainment. Therefore these states are never achieved by those who covet them rather, they are the reward of the virtuous.

Some help others in order to receive blessings and admiration. This is simply meaningless. Some cultivate themselves in part to serve others, in part to serve their own pride. They will understand, at best, half of the truth. But those who improve themselves for the sake of the world to these, the whole truth of the universe will be revealed.

The words of truth are always paradoxical.

Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a p

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.

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.

Once you arrive at a spontaneous awareness of the Great Oneness, remember it isn't necessary to struggle to maintain unity with it. All you have to do is participate in it.

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.

For all things difficult to acquire, the intelligent man works with perseverance.

He who talks more is sooner exhausted.

The cleansing of spiritual contamination is accomplished by offering one's talent, resources, and life to the world.

Distortion upon distortion ... the more one uses the mind, the more confused one becomes.

Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.

Creating without claiming, Doing without taking credit, Guiding without interfering, This is Primal Virtue.

Knowing others is wisdom Knowing the self is enlightenment Mastering others requires force Mastering the self needs strength

Does one scent appeal more than another Do you prefer this flavor, or that feeling Is your practice sacred and your work profane Then your mind is separated from itself, from oneness, from the Tao.

Those who are highly evolved maintain an undiscriminating perception. Seeing everything, labeling nothing, they maintain their awareness of the Great Oneness. Thus they are supported by it.

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.