The things that have acquired unity are these:
Heaven by unity has become clear;
Earth by unity has become steady;
The Spirit by unity has become spiritual;
The Valley by unity has become full;
All things by unity have come into existence.
- Lao Tzu
He who talks more is sooner exhausted.
- Lao Tzu
He who knows others is wise.
He who knows himself is enlightened.
- Lao Tzu 
Silence is a source of great strength.
- Lao Tzu
To the mind that is still,
the whole universe surrenders.
- 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
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
- Lao Tzu
The words of truth are always paradoxical.
- 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
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
A good traveler has no fixed plans,
and is not intent on arriving.
- Lao Tzu
One can not reflect in streaming water.
Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.
- Lao Tzu
He who is contented is rich.
- Lao Tzu
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
- Lao Tzu (Chinese Proverb)
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
Born to be wild - live to outgrow it.
- 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
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
An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.
- Lao Tzu
I do not concern myself with gods and spirits
either good or evil, nor do I serve any.
- Lao Tzu
Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.
- Lao Tzu
Do not attempt to conquer the world with force,
for force only causes resistance.
- Lao Tzu
A leader is best when people barely know he exists,
not so good when people obey and acclaim him,
worst when they despise him.
But of a good leader, who talks little,
when his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
they will say, "We did this ourselves."
- Lao Tzu
From wonder into wonder existence opens.
- Lao Tzu
He who knows, does not speak.
He who speaks, does not know.
- Lao Tzu
Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish -
too much handling will spoil it.
- Lao Tzu
If you would take, you must first give,
this is the beginning of intelligence.
- Lao Tzu
He who controls others may be powerful,
but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.
- Lao Tzu
Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish.
Do not overdo 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
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)
To lead people walk behind them.
- Lao Tzu
One who is too insistent on his own views,
finds few to agree with him.
- Lao Tzu
If you realize that all things change,
there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
If you are not afraid of dying,
there is nothing you cannot achieve.
- Lao Tzu
The softest things in the world overcome
the hardest things in the world.
- Lao Tzu
Great acts are made up of small deeds.
- Lao Tzu
He who does not trust enough,
will not be trusted.
- Lao Tzu
He who knows others is clever;
He who knows himself has discernment.
- Lao Tzu
When I let go of what I am,
I become what I might be.
- Lao Tzu
Nature is not human hearted.
- 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
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
A leader is best when people barely know he exists;
when his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
they will say: we did it ourselves.
- Lao Tzu
When the best leader's work is done the people say,
"We did it ourselves."
- Lao Tzu
People in their handlings of affairs
often fail when they are about to succeed.
If one remains as careful at the end
as he was at the beginning,
there will be no failure.
- Lao Tzu
Be simply yourself and don't compare or compete.
- Lao Tzu
It is better to do one's own duty,
however defective it may be,
than to follow the duty of another,
however well one may perform it.
He who does his duty as
his own nature reveals it, never sins.
- 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
The Master acts without doing, and everything gets done.
- Lao Tzu
A tree that is unbending, is easily broken.
- Lao Tzu
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.
- Lao Tzu
He who obtains has little.
He who scatters has much.
- 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
To see things in the seed, that is genius.
- 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
A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort
is not fit to be deemed a scholar.
- Lao Tzu
He who conquers others is strong;
He who conquers himself is mighty.
- Lao Tzu
Can you let go of words and ideas,
attitudes and expectations?
If so, then the Tao will loom into view.
- Lao Tzu
To realize that you do not understand is a virtue;
Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.
- Lao Tzu
Freedom from desire leads to inner peace.
- Lao-Tzu
Be the chief but never the lord.
- 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
The wise man looks into space,
and does not regard the small as too little,
nor the great as too much;
for he knows that there is no limit to dimensions.
- Lao Tzu
Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy.
- Lao Tzu
The people are hungry:
It is because those in authority
eat up too much in taxes.
- Lao Tzu
Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.
- Lao Tzu
Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.
- Lao Tzu
I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
- Lao Tzu
Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
- Lao Tzu
The career of a sage is of two kinds:
He is either honored by all in the world,
Like a flower waving its head,
Or else he disappears into the silent forest.
- Lao Tzu
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May the world be kind to you,
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- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
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