Top 95 Quotes & Sayings by Lao Tzu
Explore popular quotes and sayings by a Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu.
Last updated on December 21, 2024.
Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.
Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.
When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves.'
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
He who is contented is rich.
He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.
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.
Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy.
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.
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.
Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge.
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.'
The words of truth are always paradoxical.
The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.
Great acts are made up of small deeds.
To lead people walk behind them.
One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him.
Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.
If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
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.
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it.
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
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.
He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.
Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.
Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.
Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good.
He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted.
Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.
Because of a great love, one is courageous.
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.
Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.
From caring comes courage.
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.
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 origin of Heaven and Earth; the Named is the mother of all things.
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.
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.
Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.
The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days.
Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.
To see things in the seed, that is genius.
Silence is a source of great strength.
An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.
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.
He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.
The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.
Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.
When a nation is filled with strife, then do patriots flourish.
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