Tao Te Ching

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Tao Te Ching Quotes

Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Tags: inspirational, life, philosophy
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4244
Knowing others is intelligence;

knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.

Tags: wisdom
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3808
Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.
Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching

Tags: philosophy, wayfinding
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2358
When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or

compete, everyone will respect you.

Tags: ataraxy, be-yourself, integrity, self-reliance, self-respect
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2143
The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.

Tags: apothegm, beauty, truth
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1582
A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage
dares to live.

Tags: courage, death, inspirational, life, moral-courage, real-life
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1181
Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is
clear?

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749
If you understand others you are smart.

If you understand yourself you are illuminated.
If you overcome others you are powerful.
If you overcome yourself you have strength.
If you know how to be satisfied you are rich.
If you can act with vigor, you have a will.
If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting.
If you die without loss, you are eternal.

Tags: philosophy
Like
746
The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.
Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching

Tags: aphorism, philosophy, proverb
Like
587
A leader is best
When people barely know he exists
Of a good leader, who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will say, “We did this ourselves.

Tags: good-leader, leader, leaders, people
Like
426
Stop thinking, and end your problems.

What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!
Other people are excited,

as though they were at a parade.
I alone don't care,
I alone am expressionless,
like an infant before it can smile.
Other people have what they need;
I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about,
like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.
Other people are bright;

I alone am dark.
Other people are sharp;
I alone am dull.
Other people have purpose;
I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.
I am different from ordinary people.

I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.

Tags: chapter-20
Like
325
If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.

Tags: coming-to-terms, life, wisdom
Like
302
The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know.

Tags: wisdom-for-living
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273
To understand the limitation of things, desire them.

Tags: tao
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266
Give evil nothing to oppose

and it will disappear by itself.

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216
all streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. humility
gives it its power. if you want to govern the people, you must place
yourself below them. if you want to lead the people, you must learn how
to follow them.

Like
204
Love
Embracing Tao, you become embraced.

Supple, breathing gently, you become reborn.
Clearing your vision, you become clear.
Nurturing your beloved, you become impartial.
Opening your heart, you become accepted.
Accepting the World, you embrace Tao.
Bearing and nurturing,
Creating but not owning,
Giving without demanding,
Controlling without authority,
This is love.
Lao Tzu, The Teachings of Lao-Tzu: The Tao-Te Ching

Tags: love
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190
The further one goes, the less one knows.

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185
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.

Tags: attachment
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177
Close your mouth,

block off your senses,
blunt your sharpness,
untie your knots,
soften your glare,
settle your dust.
This is the primal identity.
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: A Literal Translation with an

Introduction, Notes, and Commentary
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169
He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty" -

Lao-tsu

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163
When people see some things as beautiful,

other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.

Tags: beauty, evil, good, inspirational, lao-tzu, tao-te-ching, worldview
Like
149
Countless words
count less
than the silent balance
between yin and yang

Tags: chinese-literature, classics, tao-te-ching
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137
Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self.
When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear?
Lao Tzu, The Way of Life

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135
When there is no desire,

all things are at peace.

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120
True words aren't eloquent;

eloquent words aren't true.
Wise men don't need to prove their point;
men who need to prove their point aren't wise.
The Master has no possessions.

The more he does for others,
the happier he is.
The more he gives to others,
the wealthier he is.

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118
Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching

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111
My teachings are easy to understand

and easy to put into practice.
Yet your intellect will never grasp them,
and if you try to practice them,you'll fail.
My teachings are older than the world.

How can you grasp their meaning?
If you want to know me,

Look inside your heart.

Like
109
When nothing is done,

nothing is left undone.
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: Book Of The Way

Tags: tao
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107
Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.

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104
Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the

patience to wait! Be still and allow the mud to settle.

Tags: patience, taoism, understand
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98
He who stands on tiptoe

doesn't stand firm.
He who rushes ahead
doesn't go far.
He who tries to shine
dims his own light.
He who defines himself
can't know who he really is.
He who has power over others
can't empower himself.
He who clings to his work
will create nothing that endures.
If you want to accord with the Tao,

just do your job, then let go.

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86
A good traveler has no fixed plans

and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.
Thus the Master is available to all people

and doesn't reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn't waste anything.
This is called embodying the light.
What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?

What is a bad man but a good man's job?
If you don't understand this, you will get lost,
however intelligent you are.
It is the great secret.

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83
Not-knowing is true knowledge.

Presuming to know is a disease.
First realize that you are sick;
then you can move toward health.

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82
Do you want to improve the world?

I don't think it can be done.
The world is sacred.

It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.
There is a time for being ahead,

a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion,
a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous,
a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe,
a time for being in danger.
The Master sees things as they are,

without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle.

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76
Colors blind the eye

Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart.

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73
Rushing into action, you fail.

Trying to grasp things, you lose them.
Forcing a project to completion,
you ruin what was almost ripe.
Therefore the Master takes action

by letting things take their course.
He remains as calm at the end
as at the beginning.
He has nothing,
thus has nothing to lose.
What he desires is non-desire;
what he learns is to unlearn.
He simply reminds people
of who they have always been.
He cares about nothing but the Tao.
Thus he can care for all things.

Tags: action, calm, care, completion, desire, fail, forcing, grasp, learn, lose, ripe,
ruin, tao
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70
When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty, there arises
the recognition of ugliness. When they all know the good as good, there
arises the recognition of evil.
Lao Tzu, The Tao Te Ching, Eighty-one Maxims from the

Father of Taoism / Includes "The Gatekeeper's Tale"
Tags: beauty-evil
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69
He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.

Tags: wisdom
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68
To bear and not to own; to act and not lay claim; to do the work and let
it go: for just letting it go is what makes it stay.

Tags: lao-tzu, tao, tao-te-ching, taoism
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64
Love is a decision - not an emotion!

Tags: decision, emotion, love
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62
Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear.

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Knowing others is wisdom;

Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self requires strength;
He who knows he has enough is rich.
Perseverance is a sign of will power.

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55
What is firmly rooted cannot be pulled out.

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54
When goodness is lost there is morality.

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A great nation is like a great man:

When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults
as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy
as the shadow that he himself casts.

Tags: admit, correct, enemy, fault, mistake, realize
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53
He is free from self- display, and therefore he shines;

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50
If good happens, good; if bad happens, good.
Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching: A New English Version

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44
The Wise Man is square but not sharp, honest but not not malign,
straight but not severe, bright but not dazzling.

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44
When the Master governs, the people

are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.
If you don't trust people,

you make them untrustworthy.
The Master doesn't talk, he acts.

When his work is done,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!

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Failure is an opportunity.
If you blame someone else,
there is no end to the blame.
Therefore the Master
fulfills her own obligations
and corrects her own mistakes.
She does what she needs to do
and demands nothing of others.

Tags: failure, opportunity, success
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43
The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus
long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves.

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42
The road you can talk about is not the road you can walk on

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40
When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to

withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.

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40
Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that

their use depends.
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37
Тhe gentle overcomes the rigid.

The slow overcomes the fast.
The weak overcomes the strong."
…
"Everyone knows that the yielding overcomes the stiff,
and the soft overcomes the hard.
Yet no one applies this knowledge.

Tags: fast, gentle, hard, knowledge, overcome, rigid, slow, strong, yield
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37
Simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world."
…
"There is no greater misfortune
than underestimating your enemy.
Underestimating your enemy
means thinking that he is evil.
Thus you destroy your three treasures
and become an enemy yourself.
When two great forces oppose each other,
the victory will go
to the one that knows how to yield.

Tags: compassion, enemy, misfortune, patience, treasure, yield
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36
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is
ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil.

Tags: life, philosophy, tao-te-ching
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35
The world belongs to those who let go.

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35
True perfection seems imperfect,

yet it is perfectly itself.
True fullness seems empty,
yet it is fully present.
True straightness seems crooked.

True wisdom seems foolish.
True art seems artless.

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33
The moral man does something,

and when no one responds
he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.

Tags: moral-man
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31
He who is in harmony with the Tao

is like a newborn child.
Its bones are soft, its muscles are weak,
but its grip is powerful.
It doesn't know about the union
of male and female,
yet its penis can stand erect,
so intense is its vital power.
It can scream its head off all day,
yet it never becomes hoarse,
so complete is its harmony.
The Master's power is like this.

He lets all things come and go
effortlessly, without desire.
He never expects results;
thus he is never disappointed.
He is never disappointed;
thus his spirit never grows old.

Tags: balance, philosophy, tao, tao-te-ching, taoism
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29
Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and
wonderful.

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28
A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does
not last for the whole day.

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28
When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil on
itself.

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27
Must you value what others value,

avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!

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27
He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes
astray.

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26
With no desire, at rest and still, All things go right as of their will.

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26
Without opening your door,

you can open your heart to the world.
Without looking out your window,
you can see the essence of the Tao.
The more you know,

the less you understand.
The Master arrives without leaving,

sees the light without looking,
achieves without doing a thing.

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26
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.

Tags: spirituality
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25
A bad man is a good man's job
Lao Tzu, The Tao Te Ching: A New Translation with

Commentary
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he who overcomes himself is mighty.

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23
a skillful soldier is not violent, an able fighter does not rage, a mighty
conqueror does not give battle, a great commander is a humble man

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22
Thus it is said:
The path into the light seems dark,
the path forward seems to go back,
the direct path seems long,
true power seems weak,
true purity seems tarnished,
true steadfastness seems changeable,
true clarity seems obscure,
the greatest are seems unsophisticated,
the greatest love seems indifferent,
the greatest wisdom seems childish.
The Tao is nowhere to be found.

Yet it nourishes and completes all things.

Tags: clarity, light, love, path, power, purity, steadfastness, wisdom
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22
Always without desire we must be found,

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21
To know and yet (think) we do not know is the highest (attainment); not
to know (and yet think) we do know is a disease.

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21
Whoever is planted in the Tao

will not be rooted up.
Whoever embraces the Tao
will not slip away.
Her name will be held in honor
from generation to generation.
Let the Tao be present in your life

and you will become genuine.
Let it be Present in your family
and your family will flourish.
Let it be present in your country
and your country will be an example
to all countries in the world.
Let it be present in the universe
and the universe will sing.
How do I know this is true?

by looking inside myself.

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19
If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be

better for the people a hundredfold.

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19
There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without words,
and the advantage arising from non-action.

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19
The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its
occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all
men dislike.

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18
Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the
foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet
that person is preserved.
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18
Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.

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17
It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the

world is able to strive with him.

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17
In harmony with the Tao,

the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creatures flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.
when man interferes with the Tao

the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.

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17
If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness,

the people would again become filial and kindly.

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16
If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot
long preserve its sharpness.

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16
Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their

minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their
bones.

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Some say that my teaching is nonsense.

Other call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.

Tags: lofty, look-inside, perfect-sense, practice, roots
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15
Look, and it can't be seen.

Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

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15
He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.
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14
Thirty spokes
Share one hub.
Make the nothing therein appropriate, and you will have the use of the
cart.

Tags: beauty, inspirational
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14
all streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. humility
gives it its power. if you want to govern the people, you must place
yourself below them. if you want to lead the people, you must learn how
to follow them.
Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching: A New English Version

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Your inner being guard, and keep it free.

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Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of

his nature.

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13
So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea
of) the other;
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The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it

we must be on our guard against all fulness.

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It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is

full.

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13
All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they
have (the idea of) what ugliness is;

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not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep
their minds from disorder.

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he who knows himself is intelligent.

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The highest excellence is like (that of) water.

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12
If you want to govern the people,

You must place yourself below them.
If you want to lead people,
You must learn how to follow them.

Tags: below, follow, govern, lead, learn, people
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A skilful (commander) strikes a decisive blow, and stops.

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The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his
mind in a state of indifference to all.

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he who is self-conceited has no superiority allowed to him.

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The soft overcomes the hard; and the weak the strong.

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stillness, the ruler of movement.

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When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe.

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When people see some things as beautiful,

other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.
Being and non-being create each other.

Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.
Therefore the Master

acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.

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The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.
The Tao is like a bellows:

it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
Hold on to the center.

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11
Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and

unchanging sufficiency.

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the skilful speaker says nothing that can be found fault with or blamed;

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So it is that some things are increased by being diminished, and others

are diminished by being increased.

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10
He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm; he who stretches his
legs does not walk (easily).

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The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for
the axle), that the use of the wheel depends.

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There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war.

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9
All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in
which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were
small.

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9
(Those who) possessed in highest degree the attributes (of the Tao) did
not (seek) to show them, and therefore they possessed them (in fullest
measure).

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The perception of what is small is (the secret of clear- sightedness; the

guarding of what is soft and tender is (the secret of) strength.

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The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.

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Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from Heaven;
Heaven takes it law from the Tao. The law of the Tao is its being what it
is.

Tags: taoism, universe
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from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged;

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Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the
(insatiable longing of the) eyes.

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he who asserts his own views is not distinguished;

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The first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking
from taking precedence of others.

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Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and

conveys his instructions without the use of speech.

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But if desire always within us be,

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The gentlest thing in the world

overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.
Teaching without words,

performing without actions:
that is the Master's way.

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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing
his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe.

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8
from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority.

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he who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged;

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Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, earnestly
carry it into practice.

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Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be
benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt with.

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The heart that gives, gathers.

Tags: compassion, love, tao-te-ching, wisdom, wisdom-quotes
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Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)?

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Have done with learning,

And you will have no more vexation.
How great is the difference between "eh" and "o"?
What is the distinction between "good" and "evil"?
Must I fear what others fear?
What abysmal nonsense this is!
All men are joyous and beaming,

As though feasting upon a sacrificial ox,
As though mounting the Spring Terrace;
I alone am placid and give no sign,
Like a babe which has not yet smiled.
I alone am forlorn as one who has no home to return to.
All men have enough and to spare:

I alone appear to possess nothing.
What a fool I am!
What a muddled mind I have!
All men are bright, bright:
I alone am dim, dim.
All men are sharp, sharp:
I alone am mum, mum!
Bland like the ocean,
Aimless like the wafting gale.
All men settle down in their grooves:

I alone am stubborn and remain outside.
But wherein I am most different from others is
In knowing to take sustenance from my Mother!

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He who is satisfied with his lot is rich;

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When things (in the vegetable world) have displayed their luxuriant
growth, we see each of them return to its root.
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The knowledge of that unchanging rule produces a (grand) capacity and

forbearance, and that capacity and forbearance lead to a community (of
feeling with all things).

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If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming

for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.

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6
The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the
worn out, new.

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If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this
by what he does, I see that he will not succeed.

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The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing.

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He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp
loses it.

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Hence the sage puts away excessive effort, extravagance, and easy
indulgence.

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Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory (by force of arms) is to him
undesirable.

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It is through their not being full of themselves that they can afford to
seem worn and not appear new and complete.

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Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.

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If its deep mystery we would sound;

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Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honouring it as he

honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who
would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may
be entrusted with it.

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There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition;

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no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot;

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Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and
manifests it to all the world.

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Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable

adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.

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With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description;

and hence we blend them together and obtain The One.
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The violent and strong do not die their natural death. I will make this
the basis of my teaching.

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The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows.

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The great Tao (or way) is very level and easy; but people love the by-
ways.

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When he has cleansed away the most mysterious sights (of his
imagination), he can become without a flaw.

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The getting that (favour) leads to the apprehension (of losing it), and the
losing it leads to the fear of (still greater calamity):—this is what is
meant by saying that favour and disgrace would seem equally to be
feared.

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(So), he who has the attributes (of the Tao) regards (only) the conditions
of the engagement, while he who has not those attributes regards only
the conditions favourable to himself.

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Because he does not strive, no one finds it possible to strive with him.

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When the great Tao is forgotten,

goodness and piety appear.
When the body's intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
patriotism is born.

Tags: tao
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Action should be taken before a thing has made its appearance; order
should be secured before disorder has begun.

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Simplicity without a name

Is free from all external aim.
With no desire, at rest and still,
All things go right as of their will.

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He who knows other men is discerning;

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Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the
people from rivalry among themselves;

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Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise.

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Simplicity without a name Is free from all external aim.

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from self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished;

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We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of
things; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into
agreement with the obscurity of others.

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The door and windows are cut out (from the walls) to form an
apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its use depends.

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(Then) appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great

hypocrisy.

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The great Way is easy,

yet people prefer the side paths.
Be aware when things are out of balance.

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In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their
rulers).

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In the next age they loved them and praised them.

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In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them.

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The stiff and unyielding are the companions of death, while the yielding
and tender are the companions of life. Therefore we see that unbending
armies cannot conquer, and the strongest tree feels the axe. The mighty
will fall down low, but the humble will rise up.

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I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a

purpose).

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Purity and stillness give the correct law to all under heaven.

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The difficulty in governing the people arises from their having much
knowledge.

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The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes
consumed by their superiors.

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There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet
for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can
take precedence of it;—for there is nothing (so effectual) for which it
can be changed.

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Those essences the truth enfold

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Keep life and lose those other things;

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How know I that it is so with all the beauties of existing things?

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Heaven and Earth (under its guidance) unite together and send down
the sweet dew, which, without the directions of men, reaches equally
everywhere as of its own accord.

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For regulating the human (in our constitution) and rendering the
(proper) service to the heavenly, there is nothing like moderation.

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The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without
trying to. It is content with the low places that people disdain. Thus it is
like the Tao. 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. When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare
or compete, everybody will respect you.

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Be simply yourself and don't compare or compete

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The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout; the tower of
nine storeys rose from a (small) heap of earth; the journey of a thousand
li commenced with a single step.

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When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace,
they can be kept from separating.

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We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it 'the Subtle.

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To avoid disappointment, know what is sufficient. To avoid trouble,

know when to stop. If you are able to do this, you will last a long time.

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not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep
them from becoming thieves;

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From this community of feeling comes a kingliness of character; and he

who is king-like goes on to be heaven-like.

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Gravity is the root of lightness; stillness, the ruler of movement.
Lao Tzu, The Tao Teh King: The Tao and Its
Characteristics
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When the greatness of Tao is present action arises from one’s own heart
When the greatness of Tao is absent action comes from the rules of
“kindness” and “justice” If you need rules to be kind and just, if you act
virtuous, this is a sure sign that virtue is absent Thus we see the great
hypocrisy Only when the family loses its harmony do we hear of
“dutiful sons” Only when the state is in chaos do we hear of “loyal
ministers
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: The New Translation from Tao Te

Ching: The Definitive Edition
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If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to

become straight, let yourself be crooked. If you want to become full, let
yourself be empty. If you want to be reborn, let yourself die. If you want
to be given everything, give everything up.

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that of the mind is in abysmal stillness;

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Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and great
calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind).

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Too much brightness blinds the eyes. Too much sound deafens the ears.
Too much flavour ruins the tongue. Chasing desires to excess turns your
mind towards madness, and valuing precious things impairs good
judgment.

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When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to
the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe.

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Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long.

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Thus Spoke Zarathustra (German: Also sprach Zarathustra, sometimes

translated Thus Spake Zarathustra), subtitled A Book for All and None
(Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen), is a written work by German
philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883
and 1885. Much of the work deals with ideas such as the "eternal
recurrence of the same", the parable on the "death of God", and the
"prophecy" of the Overman, which were first introduced in The Gay
Science.
Described by Nietzsche himself as "the deepest ever written", the book is
a dense and esoteric treatise on philosophy and morality, featuring as
protagonist a fictionalized Zarathustra. A central irony of the text is that
the style of the Bible is used by Nietzsche to present ideas of his which
fundamentally oppose Judaeo-Christian morality and tradition.

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To those who are good (to me), I am good;

and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good;—
and thus (all) get to be good.
To those who are sincere (with me), I am sincere;
and to those who are not sincere (with me), I am also sincere;—
and thus (all) get to be sincere.
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Do that which consists in taking no action;

Pursue that which is not meddlesome;
Savor that which has no flavor.
Make the small big and the few many;

Do good to him who has done you an injury.
Lay plans for the accomplishment of the difficult before it becomes

difficult;
Make something big by starting with it when small.
Difficult things in the word must needs have their beginnings in the
easy;
Big things must needs have their beginnings in the small.
Therefore it is because the sage never attempts to be great that he

succeeds in becoming great.
One who makes promises rashly rarely keeps good faith;

One who is in the habit of considering things easy meets with frequent
difficulties.
Therefore even the sage treats some things as difficult.

That is why in the end no difficulties can get the better of him.

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What makes me liable to great calamity is my having the body (which I

call myself); if I had not the body, what great calamity could come to
me?

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Therefore the sage desires what (other men) do not desire, and does not
prize things difficult to get; he learns what (other men) do not learn, and
turns back to what the multitude of men have passed by.

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He who (tries to) govern a state by his wisdom is a scourge to it; while
he who does not (try to) do so is a blessing.

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This returning to their root is what we call the state of stillness; and that
stillness may be called a reporting that they have fulfilled their
appointed end.

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Allow your life to unfold naturally Know that it too is a vessel of

perfection Just as you breathe in and breathe out Sometimes you’re
ahead and other times behind Sometimes you’re strong and other times
weak Sometimes you’re with people and other times alone
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: The New Translation from Tao Te

Ching: The Definitive Edition
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When the Great Tao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed,

benevolence and righteousness came into vogue.

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Weapons are never the implements of good fortune, and they are to be
detested. Therefore, the wise leader avoids them. Normally the wise
leader values patience, but when at war he values action. Since he is
opposed to the use of weapons, he uses them only when it is
unavoidable, and even then with great restraint. To praise victory in
war is to rejoice in the slaughter of men. The slaughter of men causes
grief and sorrow to the people, therefore he who rejoices in this will not
be successful. Fortune follows the restrained, misfortune follows the
ambitious. Therefore victory in war should not be celebrated, but
instead should be met with mourning.

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he who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish
(his doing).

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Why is the sea king of a hundred streams? Because it lies below them.
Therefore it is the king of a hundred streams.
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: Text Only Edition

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Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will
never unclench. Care about people’s approval and you will be their
prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.

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Why do the people starve? It is because those at the top eat too much,
and taxes are too high. This is why the people starve. Why are the

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Tao Te Ching Quotes

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Knowing others is intelligence;

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

If you understand others you are smart.

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.

Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Stop thinking, and end your problems.

Other people are excited,

Other people are bright;

I am different from ordinary people.

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

To understand the limitation of things, desire them.

Give evil nothing to oppose

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Embracing Tao, you become embraced.

Lao Tzu, The Teachings of Lao-Tzu: The Tao-Te Ching

The further one goes, the less one knows.

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Close your mouth,

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: A Literal Translation with an

He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty" -

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

When people see some things as beautiful,

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, The Way of Life

When there is no desire,

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

True words aren't eloquent;

The Master has no possessions.

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching

My teachings are easy to understand

My teachings are older than the world.

If you want to know me,

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

When nothing is done,

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: Book Of The Way

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

He who stands on tiptoe

If you want to accord with the Tao,

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching