Lao Tzu Quotes, Status, and Thoughts

Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.

Be still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity.

To understand the limitation of things, desire them.

Because of a great love, one is courageous.

An over sharpened sword cannot last long.

When you accept yourself, the whole world accepts you.

Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.

The way of heaven is to help and not harm.

Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.

He who talks more is sooner exhausted.

Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.

A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.

One who is too insistent on his own views finds few to agree with him.

A bad man is a good man’s job.

When the student is ready the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready… The teacher will disappear.

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

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Take care with the end as you do with the beginning.

When goodness is lost there is morality.

The further one goes, the less one knows.

Stop thinking, and end your problems.

To hold, you must first open your hand. Let go.

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.

If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.

The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.

When there is no desire, all things are at peace.

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

Stop leaving and you will arrive. Stop searching and you will see. Stop running away and you will be found.

He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.

Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself.

If you want to lead them you must place yourself behind them.

Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.

If you wish to be out front, then act as if you were behind.

He who acts, spoils; he who grasps, lets slip.

To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.

Become totally empty. Quiet the restlessness of the mind only then will you witness everything unfolding from emptiness.

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.

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.

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

The Tao is nowhere to be found. Yet it nourishes and completes all things.

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

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 key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness

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

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.

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

“Respond to anger with virtue. Deal with difficulties while they are still easy. Handle the great while it is still small.

Trying to control the future is like trying to take the master carpenter’s place. When you handle the master carpenter’s tools, chances are that you’ll cut your hand.

Love is a decision – not an emotion!

Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing.

Go to the people. Live with them, learn from them, love them.

If lightning is the anger of the gods, then the gods are concerned mostly about trees.

Your own positive future begins in this moment. All you have is right now. Every goal is possible from here

Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend.

A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day.

If you do not value rare treasures, you will stop others from stealing.

Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle of softness overcoming hardness.

There is no disaster greater than not being content; there is no misfortune greater than being covetous.

The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms.

Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe.

Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?

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

So the unwanting soul sees what’s hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants.

When wealth and honors lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil on itself.

Countless words count less than the silent balance between yin and yang

Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish – too much handling will spoil it.

People in their handlings of affairs often fail when they are about to succeed. If one remains as careful at the end as he was at the beginning, there will be no failure.

Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don’t see the self as self, what do we have to fear?

I do not concern myself with gods and spirits either good or evil nor do I serve any.

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

Just remain in the center; watching. And then forget that you are there.

The Wise Man is square but not sharp, honest but not not malign, straight but not severe, bright but not dazzling.

The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. Through this I know the advantage of taking no action.

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

Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.

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.

Our enemies are not demons, but human beings like ourselves.

If the people must be ever fearful of death, then there will always be an executioner.

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

Is it not through her selflessness that she is able to perfect herself?

He who knows he has enough is rich. Perseverance is a sign of will power. He who stays where he is endures. To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.

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

With few there is attainment. With much there is confusion.

Composure is the ruler of instability.

He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.

There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.

To bear and not to own; to act and not lay claim; to do the work and let it go: for just letting it go is what makes it stay.

Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.

To realize that you do not understand is a virtue; not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.

Not seeking, not expecting, she is present, and can welcome all things.

When pure sincerity forms within, it is outwardly realized in other people’s hearts.

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

The difficult problems in life always start off being simple. Great affairs always start off being small.

If you are untrustworthy, people will not trust you.

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

Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretches her fingers to touch the heavens.

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