Lao Tzu Quotes (290 Quotes)


    The one who can dissolve her mind will suddenly discover the Tao at her feet....

    The Tao of the sage is work without effort.

    When great armies go to war, Sorrow is the sole winner.

    Yield and overcome Bend and be straight Empty and be full Wear out and be new Have little and gain Have much and be confused. ... The ancients say, 'Yield and overcome.' Is that an empty saying Be really whole, And all things will come to you.

    ... Intelligence is not the same thing as wisdom.


    The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, 'We did it ourselves.'

    To know men is to be wise to know oneself is to be illumined

    Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge.

    If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.

    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.

    He who knows others is clever He who knows himself has discernment.

    The easier a matter is reckoned the more difficult it proves at the last for this reason the Sage sees difficulties in everything, And therefore he encounters no difficulties.

    He is strong who conquers others He who conquers himself is mighty.

    Intellectual knowledge exists in and of the brain. Because the brain is part of the body, which must one day expire, this collection of facts, however large and impressive, will expire as well. But spiritual insight transcends death.

    Wherever armies are stationed, briars and thorns grow. Great wars are always followed by famines.

    Man's enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself.

    To manage your mind, know that there is nothing, and then relinquish all attachment to nothingness.

    Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.

    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.

    Because he is a living divinity, when he acts, the universe acts.

    An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.

    Nature is not human hearted.

    Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.

    When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.

    Dualistic thinking is a sickness.

    Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it.

    Remember if you can cease all restless activity, your integral nature will appear.

    Accept disgrace willingly... Accept being unimportant... Surrender yourself humbly then you can be trusted to care for all things. Love the world as your own self then you can truly care for all things.

    The highest goodness is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete. It stays in the lowly places which others despise. Therefore it is near The Eternal.

    Although most people spend their entire lives following this biological impulse (i.e. the sex drive), it is only a tiny portion of our beings.... If we remain obsessed with seeds and eggs, we are married to the fertile reproductive valley of the Mysterious Mother but not to her immeasurable heart and all-knowing mind.

    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.

    If you wish to become a divine immortal angel, then restore the angelic qualities of your being through virtue and service. This is the only way to gain the attention of the immortals... These angelic teachers cannot be sought out it is they who seek out the student. When you succeed in connecting your energy with the divine realm through high awareness and the practice of undiscriminating virtue, the transmission of the ultimate subtle truths will follow.

    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.

    There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontentment. And there is no greater disaster than greed. He who is contented with contentment is always content.

    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.

    My own words are not the medicine, but a prescription not the destination, but a map to help you reach it. When you get there, quiet your mind and close your mouth. Don't analyze the Tao. Strive instead to live it silently, undividedly, with your whole harmonious being.

    In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.

    He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted.

    At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.

    Muddy water, let stand becomes clear.

    ... 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.

    Heaven and Earth have no pity they regard all things as straw dogs.

    You should rule a great country As you would fry a small fish With the least turning.

    If you attach yourself to gross energies loving this person, hating that clan, rejecting one experience or habitually indulging in another then you will lead a series of heavy, attached lives. This can go on for a very long and tedious time.

    He who knows others is learned. He who knows himself is wise.

    The mature person pours himself out in service to others.

    Though (the Tao) is uncreated itself, it creates all things. Because it has no substance, it can enter into where there is no space. Exercising by returning to itself, winning victories by remaining gentle and yielding, it is softer than anything, and therefore overcomes everything hard.

    Pain and happiness are simply conditions of the ego. Forget the ego.

    Seek not happiness too greedily, and be not fearful of unhappiness.

    ... The sage seeks freedom from desire. He does not collect precious things. He learns not to hold on to ideas. He brings men back to what they have lost.


    Related Authors


    Immanuel Kant - Confucius - Thomas Carlyle - Roger Bacon - Robert M. Pirsig - Protagoras - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin - Ludwig Wittgenstein - John Dewey - Amartya Sen


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