He who knows others is wise.
He who knows himself is enlightened.
- Lao Tzu
He who talks more is sooner exhausted.
- Lao Tzu
A good traveler has no fixed plans,
and is not intent on arriving.
- Lao Tzu
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
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
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
- Lao Tzu (Chinese Proverb)
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
To the mind that is still,
the whole universe surrenders.
- Lao Tzu
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
- Lao Tzu
One can not reflect in streaming water.
Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.
- Lao Tzu
The words of truth are always paradoxical.
- Lao Tzu
Silence is a source of great strength.
- Lao Tzu
He who is contented is rich.
- Lao Tzu
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
Born to be wild - live to outgrow it.
- Lao Tzu
The more laws and order are made prominent,
the more thieves and robbers there will be.
- Lao Tzu
The power of intuitive understanding
will protect you from harm until the end of your days.
- Lao Tzu
At the center of your being you have the answer;
you know who you are and you know what you want.
- Lao Tzu
To manage your mind,
know that there is nothing,
and then relinquish all attachment to nothingness.
- Lao Tzu
Health is the greatest possession.
Contentment is the greatest treasure.
Confidence is the greatest friend.
Non-being is the greatest joy.
- Lao Tzu
He who knows that enough is enough
will always have enough.
- Lao Tzu
Great acts are made up of small deeds.
- Lao Tzu
Love is of all passions the strongest,
for it attacks simultaneously the head,
the heart and the senses.
- Lao Tzu
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.
- Lao Tzu
I confess that there is nothing to teach:
no religion, no science, no writings
which will lead your mind back to Spirit.
Today I speak this way, tomorrow that,
but always the Path is beyond words and beyond mind.
- Lao Tzu
(paraphrase)
Life and death are one thread,
the same line viewed from different sides.
- Lao Tzu
Nothing is softer or more flexible than water,
yet nothing can resist it.
- Lao Tzu
He who does not trust enough,
will not be trusted.
- Lao Tzu
Stay at the center
and let all things take their course.
- Lao Tzu
A tree that is unbending, is easily broken.
- Lao Tzu
Be simply yourself and don't compare or compete.
- Lao Tzu
The Master acts without doing, and everything gets done.
- Lao Tzu
He who obtains has little.
He who scatters has much.
- Lao Tzu
Be merciful, moderate, and modest.
- Lao Tzu
He who knows, does not speak.
He who speaks, does not know.
- Lao Tzu
Those who have knowledge, don't predict.
Those who predict, don't have knowledge.
- Lao Tzu
The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white.
Neither need you do anything but be yourself.
- Lao Tzu
Man's enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself.
- Lao Tzu
Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish -
too much handling will spoil it.
- Lao Tzu
Truthful words are not beautiful;
beautiful words are not truthful.
Good words are not persuasive;
persuasive words are not good.
- Lao Tzu
The Tao of the sage is work without effort.
Practice non-action. Work without doing.
- Lao Tzu
The higher the sun rises, the less shadow it casts;
even so, the greater is the goodness, the less it covets praise;
yet cannot avoid its rewards in honors.
- Lao Tzu
Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish.
Do not overdo it.
- Lao Tzu
To love someone deeply gives you strength.
Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.
- Lao Tzu
When a nation is filled with strife,
then do patriots flourish.
- Lao Tzu
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
I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize.
The first is gentleness;
the second is frugality;
the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others.
Be gentle and you can be bold;
be frugal and you can be generous;
avoid putting yourself before others
and you can become a leader among men.
- Lao Tzu
The softest things in the world overcome
the hardest things in the world.
- Lao Tzu
The wise man looks back into the past,
and does not grieve over what is far off,
nor rejoice over what is near;
for he knows that time is without end.
- Lao Tzu
The things of this world exist;
they are; you can't refuse them.
- Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching - Book One #2 - version by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Tao abides in non-action,
Yet nothing is left undone.
- Lao Tzu
One who is too insistent on his own views,
finds few to agree with him.
- Lao Tzu
The people are hungry:
It is because those in authority
eat up too much in taxes.
- Lao Tzu
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
Don't think you can attain total awareness and whole enlightenment
without proper discipline and practice. This is egomania.
Appropriate rituals channel your emotions
and life energy toward the light.
Without the discipline to practice them,
you will tumble constantly backward into darkness.
- Lao Tzu
From wonder into wonder existence opens.
- Lao Tzu
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
If the Great Way perishes, there will be 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
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.
- Lao Tzu
To lead people walk behind them.
- Lao Tzu
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
If you do not change direction,
you may end up where you are heading.
- Lao Tzu
Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.
- Lao Tzu
The key to growth is the introduction of
higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.
- Lao Tzu
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."
- Lao Tzu
I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
- Lao Tzu
When the best leader's work is done the people say,
"We did it ourselves."
- Lao Tzu
I do not concern myself with gods and spirits
either good or evil, nor do I serve any.
- Lao Tzu
When I let go of what I am,
I become what I might be.
- Lao Tzu
When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.
- Lao Tzu
To see things in the seed, that is genius.
- Lao Tzu
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- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
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