Lao Tzu Quotes: top 100 famous quotes about Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu Quotes & Sayings

Happy to read and share the best inspirational Lao Tzu quotes, sayings and quotations on Wise Famous Quotes.

So, in their beautiful array, — Lao-Tzu

Obscure as muddied water. But, with stillness, muddy waters clear. Can you also act while remaining still? — Lao-Tzu

Loving someone gives you courage; being loved back gives you strength. -Lao Tzu — Brandon Shire

The grace of Tao
and divine nature (Te)
are not ordered
but eternal spontaneous
action of the One — Lao-Tzu

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

The pot's use comes from emptiness. — Lao-Tzu

Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. — Lao-Tzu

Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose. — Lao-Tzu

The master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. He prefers what is within to what is without. — Lao-Tzu

(Then) appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy. — Lao-Tzu

Possessed of the Tao, he endures long; and to the end of his bodily life, is exempt from all danger of decay. — Lao-Tzu

155. The secret waits for eyes unclouded by longing. — Lao-Tzu

An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox. — Lao-Tzu

Is it not because he has no personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised? — Lao-Tzu

Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it. — Lao-Tzu

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. — Lao-Tzu

Music in the soul can be heard by the universe. — Lao-Tzu

The wise consider themselves "orphaned," "widowed," and "worthless." Their humility is the source of their strength. — Lao-Tzu

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. — Lao-Tzu

If I had just a little bit of wisdom I should walk the great path and fear only straying from it. — Lao-Tzu

If the force of arms is considered the only means of authority, it is not an auspicious instrument. — Lao-Tzu

Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? — Lao-Tzu

Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to. — Lao-Tzu

The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know. — Lao-Tzu

Who acts in stillness finds stillness in his life. — Lao-Tzu

Boasting of wealth and virtue brings your demise. — Lao-Tzu

Only when the state is in disorder is there a need for patriotism. — 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

He will strike the blow, but will be on his guard against being vain or boastful or arrogant in consequence of it. — Lao-Tzu

To live without forcing to overcome without conquering — Lao-Tzu

The master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve. — Lao-Tzu

With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One. — Lao-Tzu

The five colors make man's eyes blind, the five notes make his ears deaf, the five tastes injure his palate. — Lao-Tzu

Your life is a piece of clay; don't let anyone else mold it for you. — Lao-Tzu

The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
While the tender and weak dance on the breeze above. — Lao-Tzu

Manage affairs before they are in a mess. — Lao-Tzu

Will work but ill, and disappointment bring. — Lao-Tzu

Ruling a large kingdom is like cooking a small fish ... — Lao-Tzu

Heaven which by it is bright and pure; — Lao-Tzu

The sage shuns excess, shuns grandiosity, shuns arrogance. — Lao-Tzu

He who conquers others is strong;
He who conquers himself is mighty. — Lao-Tzu

Great, it passes on (in constant flow). — Lao-Tzu

that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; — Lao-Tzu

The more people have weapons, the more the state is in confusion. — Lao-Tzu

In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is acquired. In pursuit of wisdom, every day something is dropped. — Lao-Tzu

He who possesses virtue in abundance may be compared to an infant. — Lao-Tzu

A good traveler leaves no tracks. — Lao-Tzu

A bad man is a good man's job — Lao-Tzu

The best runner leaves no tracks — Lao-Tzu

I will be fond of keeping still, and the people will of themselves become correct. — Lao-Tzu

Great talents mature slowly. — Lao-Tzu

Respond to anger with virtue. Deal with difficulties while they are still easy. Handle the great while it is still small. — Lao-Tzu

When it once has that name, (men) can know to rest in it. When they know to rest in it, they can be free from all risk of failure and error. — Lao-Tzu

Kind prince there is nothing in the realm of ideas that is absolute, therefore all efforts to form ideologies are ultimately futile. — Lao-Tzu

He who talks more is sooner exhausted. — Lao-Tzu

New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings ~ Lao Tzu. — Tammara Webber

Having arrived at this point of non-action, there is nothing which he does not do. — Lao-Tzu

Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses. — Lao-Tzu

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

Only those who do not use life as a reason for artificialities are intelligently valuing life. — Lao-Tzu

What others fear becomes our wilderness of fear. O, it is endless! — Lao-Tzu

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. LaoTzu. Just make sure that you step in the right direction. — Lao-Tzu

(So), he who displays himself does not shine; — Lao-Tzu

Love is a decision - not an emotion! — Lao-Tzu

A good traveler leaves no track. — Lao-Tzu

Used gently, and without the touch of pain. — Lao-Tzu

Peace in Every step — Lao-Tzu

It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. — Lao-Tzu

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

Sometimes you must yield in order to win, and sometimes maintaining a low place leads you to win. — Lao-Tzu

To see things in the seed, that is genius. — Lao-Tzu

Those who do not lose their base endure. Those who die but do not perish have longevity. — Lao-Tzu

Rejects what is more great; — Lao-Tzu

Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires. — Lao-Tzu

He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted. — Lao-Tzu

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. — Lao-Tzu

Creating without claiming. Doing without taking credit. Guiding without interfering. This is primal virtue. — Lao-Tzu

If you don't stand sincere by your words
how sincere can the people be?
Take great care over words, treasure them. — Lao-Tzu

You render the small vast and few many,
use integrity to repay hatred,
see the complexity in simplicity,
find the vast in the minute. — Lao-Tzu

What calamity is greater than no contentment,
and what flaw greater than the passion for gain. — Lao-Tzu

Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without the use of speech. — Lao-Tzu

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? — Lao-Tzu

The people starve because those in authority over them devour too many taxes; that is why they starve. — Lao-Tzu

Not-knowing is true knowledge.
Presuming to know is a disease.
First realize that you are sick;
then you can move toward health. — Lao-Tzu

Earth is a divine organism
it cannot be successfully manipulated
Who attempts manipulation will encounter defeat — Lao-Tzu

Possessing rare treasures brings about harmful behavior. — Lao-Tzu

Wild winds never last all morning
and fierce rains never last all day. — Lao-Tzu

He who defends with love will be secure; Heaven will save him, and protect him with love. — Lao-Tzu

Very few are aware of the highest. Then comes that which they know and love, — Lao-Tzu

When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe. — Lao-Tzu

The Sage sees the world
as an expansion of his own self
So what need has he to accumulate things? — Lao-Tzu

Do you imagine the universe is agitated? Go into the desert at night and look at the stars. This practice should answer the question. — Lao-Tzu

A sage traveling all day
is never far from the supplies in his cart,
and however spectacular the views
he remains calm and composed. — Lao-Tzu

We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it 'the Inaudible. — Lao-Tzu

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. — Lao-Tzu

When men lost their understanding of the Tao, intelligence came along, bringing hypocrisy with it. — Lao-Tzu

With virtue and quietness one may conquer the world. — Lao-Tzu

It brings them to maturity and exercises no control over them; - — Lao-Tzu

Its name - what passes not away; — Lao-Tzu

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. — Lao-Tzu