Best 73 quotes of Lao Tzu on MyQuotes

Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and Earth. If Heaven and Earth cannot make such (spasmodic) actings last long, how much less can a man!

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.

Allow the heart to empty itself of all turmoil! Retrieve the utter tranquility of the mind from which you issued. Although all forms are dynamic,and we all grow and transform,each of us is compelled to return to our root. Our root is quietude.

A man who knows how little he knows is well, a man who knows how much he knows is sick. If, when you see the symptoms, you can tell, Your cure is quick. A sound man knows that sickness makes him sick and before he catches it his cure is quick.

Any good person who is motivated to attain awareness of the whole truth should follow the Universal Way to calm his mind and harmonize it with all aspects of life.

Anything great is long in making.

As to the roaming of sages, They move in utter emptiness, Let their minds meander in the great nothingness; They run beyond convention And go through where there is no gateway. They listen to the soundless And look at the formless, They are not constrained by society And not bound to its customs. - Lao-tzu

Attain complete emptiness, Hold fast to stillness. Understanding the ordinary: Mind opens. Mind opening leads to compassion, Compassion to nobility, Nobility to heavenliness, Heavenliness to TAO. TAO endures. Your body dies. There is no danger.

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

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.

Choose food, clothing, and shelter that accords with nature.Rely on your own body for transportation. Allow your work and your recreation to be one and the same. Do exercise that develops your whole being and not just your body. Listen to music that bridges the three spheres of your being. Choose leaders for their virtue rather than their wealth or power. Serve others and cultivate yourself simultaneously. Understand that true growth comes from meeting and solving problems of life in a way that is harmonizing to yourself and to others. If you can follow these simple old ways, you will be continually renewed.

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

Do you have the patience to wait Till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving Till the right action arises by itself?

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

Emptiness appears barren yet is infinite fullness

For the sage Heaven and Earth join in bestowing the greatest gifts

For things sometimes lead and sometimes follow, sometimes sign and sometimes storm, sometimes strengthen and sometimes weaken, sometimes kill and sometimes die.

Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say 'We have done this ourselves.

Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine

Heaven’s Tao is impartial, yet those who follow its compassionate way will always be nourished

He who defines himself can't know who he really is. He who has power over others can't empower himself.

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.

He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.

Highly evolved people have their own conscience as pure law.

How can one know the eternal origin? By letting go of ideas and allowing it to reveal itself

If the people never fear death, what is the purpose of threatening to kill them? If the people ever fear death, and I were to capture and kill those who are devious, who would dare to be so? If the people must be ever fearful of death, then there will always be an executioner. Now, To kill in place of the executioner Is like Hewing wood in place of the master carpenter; Few indeed will escape cutting their own hands!

If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.

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.

Intellectual knowledge exists in and of the brain. Because the brain is part of the body, which must one day expire, this collection of facts, however large and impressive, will expire as well. Insight, however, is a function of the spirit. Because your spirit follows you through cycle after cycle of life, death, and rebirth, you have the opportunity of cultivating insight in an ongoing fashion. Refined over time, insight becomes pure, constant, and unwavering. This is the beginning of immortality.

Lao Tzu "The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.

Let go of rousing speech and identification with thoughts Until your end you will never be jaded

Love is a decision - not an emotion!

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

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.

Material and infinite are inseparable Appreciating their interconnectedness is the gateway to understanding

No one can insult me, because I do not want respect. No one can defeat me, because I have given up the idea of winning. How can you defeat me? You can only defeat someone who wants to win.

One gains by losing and loses by gaining.

Revere the unity of all-that-is carry out your daily activities with compassion; if you do not limit your compassion, you yourself will not be limited.

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.

(So), he who displays himself does not shine; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished; he who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged; he who is self-conceited has no superiority allowed to him.

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.

Tao ‘is’ before words and before deeds

Tell me and I'll listen, Show me and I'll watch Let me experience and I'll learn

The best of all leaders is the one who helps people so that eventually they don’t need him.

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

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

The Master doesn't try to be powerful; thus he is truly powerful. The ordinary man keeps reaching for power; thus he never has enough. The Master does nothing, yet he leaves nothing undone. The ordinary man is always ding things, yet many more are left to be done. […] Therefore the Master concerns himself With the depths and not the surface, With the fruit and not the flower. […] Teaching without words, Performing without actions: That is the Master’s way. […] The Master arrives without leaving, Sees the light without looking, Achieves without doing a thing. […] The Master is above the people, And no one feels oppressed. She goes ahead of the people, And no feels manipulated. The whole world is grateful to her. Because she completes with no one, No one can complete with her.

...the mind is just as immeasurable as the vast universe. An integral being settles his mind just as the vast universe settles itself. He unites his mind with the unnameable Subtle Origin of the multi-universe in which there is no past, present or future. This is how an integral being deals with his mind.

The more laws and restrictions there are, The poorer people become. ... The more rules and regulations, The more thieves and robbers.

The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem listless and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of their presence. I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look dejected and forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of men all have enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost everything. My mind is that of a stupid man; I am in a state of chaos. Ordinary men look bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be benighted. They look full of discrimination, while I alone am dull and confused. I seem to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as if I had nowhere to rest. All men have their spheres of action, while I alone seem dull and incapable, like a rude borderer. (Thus) I alone am different from other men, but I value the nursing-mother (the Tao).