Laozi Quotes

Deal with difficult tasks while they are easy. Act on large issues while they are small.

If you tell me, I will listen. If you show me, I will see. If you let me experience, I will learn!

The sturdiest virtue seems fragile.

Man is ruled by Earth. Earth is ruled by Heaven. Heaven is ruled by the Way. The Way is ruled by itself.

To the good I would be good; to the not-good I would also be good, in order to make them good.

When you let go of what you are, you become what you might be.

Those who have the courage to dare will perish. Those who have the courage not to dare will live.

He who overcomes others has force; he who overcomes himself is strong.

Speaking with kindness creates confidence, thinking with kindness creates profoundness, giving with kindness creates love.

The virtuous carry out the settlement, but those without virtue pursue their claims.

He does not seek power - yet people follow him.

People take death lightly. They expect too much of life. That is why people take death lightly.

Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles.

Requite injury with kindness.

The ancients said: Hulk to be whole.

The living are soft and yielding; the dead are rigid and stiff. Living plants are flexible and tender; the dead are brittle and dry.

To be of few words is natural.

Attending fully and becoming supple, Can you be as a newborn babe?

The Tao's principle is spontaneity.

Heavy is the root of light.

The wise cares about everyone, and he becomes an example to all.

The Way is ever nameless.

The Tao is told is not the Tao.

The sage has no concern for himself, but makes the concerns of others his own.

The more prohibitions there are, the poorer the people will be. The more laws are promulgated, the more thieves and bandits there will be.

The Tao is unpredictable to those that live according to plans. Only those who have no agenda are in harmony with the Tao.

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

To know you have enough is to be rich.

By the accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time, but by virtue of love and kindness he may rule the world forever.

The more sharp weapons people have in a country, the bigger the disorder will be.

The sage embraces the one, and is an example to the world.

Stretch the bow to the very full, and you will wish you had stopped in time.

A good speaker does not stutter.

The surest test if a person be sane, is if she accepts life whole, as it is.

Love is the greatest link that we have with those who have temporarily left us.

Gentleness brings victory to him who attacks, and safety to him who defends. Those whom Heaven would save, it fences round with gentleness.

Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things?

My words are very easy to understand and very easy to practice. Still, no one in the world can understand or practice them.

Make the small big and the few many.

When people do not dread authorities, then a greater dread descends.

A follower of the Way (Tao) loses something each day. Loss after loss until arriving at Non Action (Wu Wei).

The sage never strives for greatness, and can therefore accomplish greatness.

Without looking through the window, you can see Heaven's Way.

Is not the space between Heaven and Earth like a bellows? It is empty, but lacks nothing. The more it moves, the more comes out of it.

The wise man, after learning something new, is afraid to learn anything more until he has put his first lesson into practice.

In the Way of Heaven, there is no partiality of love; it is always on the side of the good man.

For knowledge, add something every day. For wisdom ... subtract.

The best way to live / is to be like water / For water benefits all things / and goes against none of them.

Intelligent people know others. Enlightened people know themselves.

Things exalted then decay. This is going against the Way. What goes against the Way meets an early end.

I have the mind of a fool, understanding nothing.

The value comes from what is there, but the use comes from what is not there.

Those who are quiet value the words. When their task is completed, people will say: We did it ourselves.

The master understands that the universe is forever out of control

The great Way is very straight, but people prefer to deviate.

We are all capable of much more than we think we are.

He who is able to conquer others is powerful; he who is able to conquer himself is more powerful.

By not claiming to be first in the world one can rule.

All action begins in rest ... This is the ultimate truth.

The sage honors his part of the settlement, but does not exact his due from others.

The river and the sea can be kings of a hundred valleys, because they lie below them.

I let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes as common as the grass.

Seeing the small is called clarity.

When you are one with loss, the loss is experienced willingly.

The softest in the world surpasses the hardest in the world.

Those who are right do not argue. Those who argue are not right.

When many people are killed, they should be mourned and lamented. Those who are victorious in war should follow the rites of funerals.

The greatest virtue is to follow the Way utterly.

The leader is a teacher who succeeds without taking credit. And, because credit is not taken, credit is received.

The real art of governing consists, so far as possible, in doing nothing.

Thorn bushes grow where armies have camped.

For all things difficult to acquire, the intelligent man works with perseverance.

The good leader carries water for his people.

Prepare while it's easy.

When much virtue is achieved, nothing is not overcome.

Abandon knowledge and your worries are over.

Carrying body and soul and embracing the one, Can you avoid separation?

Stillness is easy to maintain.

Nothing on earth is so weak and yielding as water, but for breaking down the firm and strong it has no equal.

The eternal void is filled with infinite possibilities

He who regards many things easy will find many difficulties. Therefore the sage regards things difficult, and consequently never has difficulties.

The Way that can be walked is not the eternal Way.

Distortion upon distortion: ... the more one uses the mind, the more confused one becomes.

Keep behind, and you shall be put in front; keep out, and you shall be kept in.

Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear.

Nothing and no one in the world is valuable or worthless.

The noble must make humility his root.

Use the Light that dwells within you to regain your natural clarity of sight.

The truly wise are content to be last. They are, therefore, first. They are indifferent to themselves. They are, therefore self-confident.

The separate parts make no carriage.

The highest virtue seems as low as a valley.

Be content with an ordinary life.

Those who die without being forgotten get longevity.

The Way begets one; one begets two; two begets three; three begets the myriad creatures.

Those who know are not learned. Those who are learned do not know.

On the one hand, loss implies gain; on the other hand, gain implies loss.

The perfect square lacks corners.

Life is going forth; death is returning home.

I observe myself and I come to know others.

You cannot know the body by studying the finger, and you cannot understand the universe by learning one science.