Words matter. These are the best Lao Tzu Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.
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.
He who knows himself is enlightened.
All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.
I do not concern myself with gods and spirits either good or evil nor do I serve any.
When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.
The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.
The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.
The words of truth are always paradoxical.
If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.
Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
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.
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.
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.
He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.
Silence is a source of great strength.
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.
There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, which existed before Heaven and Earth. Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and does not change. It operates everywhere and is free from danger. It may be considered the mother of the universe. I do not know its name; I call it Tao.
All things in the world come from being. And being comes from non-being.
From wonder into wonder existence opens.
He who is contented is rich.
To lead people walk behind them.
Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
Nature is not human hearted.
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.
Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
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.
Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish – too much handling will spoil it.
Great acts are made up of small deeds.
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.
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
Be the chief but never the lord.
Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.
He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.
One can not reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.
One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him.
To realize that you do not understand is a virtue; Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.
Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretch her fingers to touch the heavens.
At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.
