Lao Tzu Quotes

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Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline; simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength.

Lao Tzu

All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.

Lao Tzu

The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.

Lao Tzu

There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontentment. And there is no greater disaster than greed.

Lao Tzu

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

Lao Tzu

Great indeed is the sublimity of the Creative, to which all beings owe their beginning and which permeates all heaven.

Lao Tzu

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.

Lao Tzu

The sage wears clothes of coarse cloth but carries jewels in his bosom; He knows himself but does not display himself; He loves himself but does not hold himself in high esteem.

Lao Tzu

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.

Lao Tzu

Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love.

Lao Tzu

It is better to do one's own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his own nature reveals it, never sins.

Lao Tzu

One may know the world without going out of doors.
One may see the Way of Heaven without looking through windows.
The further one goes, the less one knows.

Lao Tzu

The higher the sun ariseth, the less shadow doth he cast; even so the greater is the goodness, the less doth it covet praise; yet cannot avoid its rewards in honors.

Lao Tzu

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.

Lao Tzu

Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.

Lao Tzu

I have three treasures. Guard and keep them:
The first is deep love,
The second is frugality,
And the third is not to dare to be ahead of the world.
Because of deep love, one is courageous.
Because of frugality, one is generous.
Because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the leader of the world.

Lao Tzu

Look, it cannot be seen - it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be heard - it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held - it is intangible.
These three are indefinable;
Therefore they are joined in one.

From above it is not bright;
From below it is not dark;
An unbroken thread beyond description.
It returns to nothingness.
The form of the formless,
The image of the imageless,
It is called indefinable and beyond imagination.

Stand before it and there is no beginning.
Follow it and there is no end.
Stay with the ancient Tao,
Move with the present.

Lao Tzu

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.

Lao Tzu

Superior leaders get things done with very little motion. They impart instruction not through many words, but through a few deeds. They keep informed about everything but interfere hardly at all. They are catalysts, and though things would not get done as well if they weren't there, when they succeed they take no credit. And, because they take no credit, credit never leaves them.

Lao Tzu

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Lao Tzu Biography

Lao Tzu was a mystic philosopher of ancient China. He is widely known for being the author to "Tao Te Ching" and is therefore traditionally considered to be the founder of the Taoism.

Notable Works

Tao Te Ching (6th Century BCE)