Lao Tzu Quotes

210 Sourced Quotes

The (method of) correction shall by a turn become distortion, and the good in it shall by a turn become evil.

Lao Tzu
Deal with it before it happens. Set things in order before there is confusion.

Lao Tzu
Tao is the storehouse of all things.
It is the good man's treasure and the bad man's refuge.

Lao Tzu
The first practice is the practice of undiscriminating virtue: take care of those who are deserving; also, and equally, take care of those who are not. When you extend your virtue in all directions without discriminating, you feet are firmly planted on the path that returns to the Tao.

Lao Tzu
Why not simply honor your parents, love your children, help your brothers and sisters, be faithful to your friends, care for your mate with devotion, complete your work cooperatively and joyfully, assume responsibility for problems, practice virtue without first demanding it of others, understand the highest truths yet retain an ordinary manner? That would be true clarity, true simplicity, true mastery.

Lao Tzu
To produce things and to rear them,
To produce, but not to take possession of them,
To act, but not to rely on one's own ability,
To lead them, but not to master them —
This is called profound and secret virtue.

Lao Tzu
I am good to people who are good. I am also good to people who are not good. Because Virtue is goodness.

Lao Tzu
Let there be a small country with few people.... Though neighboring communities overlook one another and the crowing of cocks and barking of dogs can be heard, Yet the people there may grow old and die without ever visiting one another.

Lao Tzu
When the highest type of men hear Tao,
They diligently practice it.
When the average type of men hear Tao,
They half believe in it.
When the lowest type of men hear Tao,
They laugh heartily at it.

Lao Tzu
Nothing on earth is so weak and yielding as water, but for breaking down the firm and strong it has no equal.

Lao Tzu
The thing that is called Tao is eluding and vague.
Vague and eluding, there is in it the form.
Eluding and vague, in it are things.
Deep and obscure, in it is the essence.
The essence is very real; in it are evidences.

Lao Tzu
Man, when living, is soft and tender; when dead, he is hard and tough. All animals and plants when living are tender and delicate; when dead they become withered and dry. Therefore it is said: the hard and tough are parts of death; the soft and tender are parts of life.

Lao Tzu
To know that you do not know is the best.
To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease.

Lao Tzu
Pain and happiness are simply conditions of the ego. Forget the ego.

Lao Tzu
Do not imagine that an integral being has the ambition of enlightening the unaware or raising worldly people to the divine realm. To her, there is no self and other, and hence no one to be raised; no heaven and hell, and hence no destination.

Lao Tzu
Great accomplishment seems imperfect,
Yet it does not outlive its usefulness.
Great fullness seems empty,
Yet it cannot be exhausted.

Lao Tzu
Failure is the foundation of success, and the means by which it is achieved. Success is the lurking place of failure; but who can tell when the turning-place will come?

Lao Tzu
Abandon fancy theologies and imaginary ideas and do some ordinary daily work... {Engage in this work with} unswerving kindness and unending patience.

Lao Tzu
Chanting is no more holy than listening to the murmur of a stream, counting prayer beads no more sacred than simply breathing.... If you wish to attain oneness with the Tao, don't get caught up in spiritual superficialities.

Lao Tzu
The people starve because those above them eat too much tax-grain. That is the only reason why they starve.

Lao Tzu
Integral wisdom involves a direct participation in every moment: the observer and the observed are dissolved in the light of pure awareness, and no mental concepts or attitudes are present to dim that light.

Lao Tzu
The sage, traveling all day, Does not lose sight of his baggage. Though there are beautiful things to be seen, He remains unattached and calm.

Lao Tzu
The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes consumed by their superiors. It is through this that they suffer famine.

Lao Tzu
Why are the people rebellious? Because the rulers interfere too much. Therefore they are rebellious.

Lao Tzu
Who can enjoy enlightenment and remain indifferent to suffering in the world? This is not in keeping with the Way. Only those who increase their service along with their understanding can be called men and women of Tao.

Lao Tzu