wise sayings from lao tzu

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


“Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy”

“He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still”

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be”

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”

“One can not reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.”

“Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.”

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

“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.”

“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.”

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

“The words of truth are always paradoxical.”

“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.”

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

“Great acts are made up of small deeds.”

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

“If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.”

“Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.”

“To lead people, walk beside them... As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate... When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'”

“A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”



“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.”

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

“He who is contented is rich”

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

“From caring comes courage”

“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it”

“To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.”

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

“He who talks more is sooner exhausted”

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

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

“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.”

“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.”

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

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

“When virtue is lost, benevolence appears, when benevolence is lost right conduct appears, when right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder.”

“Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment; Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength”

“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”

“He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty”

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

“Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing”

“The way to do is to be.”

“He who has no faith in others shall find no faith in them”

“The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days.”

“An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.”

“Without stirring abroad, one can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window one can see the way of heaven. The further one goes the less one knows.”

“The well-run group is not a battlefield of egos.”

“Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.”

“To see things in the seed, that is genius.”

“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.”

“Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires”

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

“For the wise man looks into space and he knows there is no limited dimensions.”

“One may know the world without going out of doors”

“I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.”

“Activity conquers cold, but stillness conquers heat”

“One who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.”

“Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge.”

“Born to be wild - live to outgrow it.”

“He who accounts all things easy will have many difficulties”

“Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it.”

“Kindness in giving creates love.”

“To lead the people, walk behind them.”

“Silence is a source of great strength.”

“From wonder into wonder existence opens.”

“When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.”

“When the best leader's work is done the people say, ''We did it ourselves.''”

“Marriage is three parts love and seven parts forgiveness of sins.”

“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.”

“The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself, The more he gives to others, the more he gets himself. The Way of Heaven does one good but never does one harm. The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.”

“People in their handling 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.”

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

“Muddy water, let stand - becomes clear”

“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”

“There are many paths to enlightenment. Be sure to take one with a heart.”

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

“A good manager is best when people barely know that he exists. Not so good when people obey and acclaim him. Worse when they despise him.”

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

He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.”

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

“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...”

“The supreme excellence is not to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles. The supreme excellence is to subdue the armies of your enemies without even having to fight them.”

“The people are hungry: It is because those in authority eat up too much in taxes.”

“Nature is not human hearted.”

“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.”

“Those who make their living by collecting taxes cause the people to starve; when the people starve, the tax collectors, having no one to tax starve also”

“In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.”

“For all things difficult to acquire, the intelligent man works with perseverance.”

“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.”

“He who possess virtue in abundance may be compared to an infant”

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

“Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.”

“He who gains a victory over other men is strong; but he who gains a victory over himself is all powerful.”

“From of old the things that have acquired unity are these: Heaven by unity has become clear; Earth by unity has become steady; The Spirit by unity has become spiritual; The Valley by unity has become full; All things by unity have come into existence.”

“The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.”

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

“By accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time, but by virtue of love he may rule the world forever”

“Clay is molded to form a cup, But it is on its non-being that the utility of the cup depends. Doors and windows are cut out to make a room, But it is on its non-being that the utility of the room depends. Therefore turn being into advantage, and turn non-being into utility.”

“Such is the essential mystery.”

“Fail to honor people,they fail to honor you; but of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aims fulfilled, they will all say, 'We did this ourselves.'”

“The leader shows that style is no substitute for substance, that creating an impression is more potent than acting from one's center.”

“The career of a sage is of two kinds: He is either honored by all in the world, Like a flower waving its head, Or else he disappears into the silent forest.”

“The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.”

“A tree trunk the size of a man grows from a blade as thin as a hair. A tower nine stories high is built from a small heap of earth.”

“Pride attaches undue importance to the superiority of one's status in the eyes of others; And shame is fear of humiliation at one's inferior status in the estimation of others. When one sets his heart on being highly esteemed, and achieves such rating, then he is automatically involved in fear of losing his status.”

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

“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".”

“Rule a kingdom as though you were cooking a small fish - don't overdo it”

“Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.”

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist in whatever way they like.”

“The journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step.”

“Acting without design, occupying oneself without making a business of it, finding the great in what is small and the many in the few, repaying injury with kindness, effecting difficult things while they are easy, and managing great things in their be”

“Advise the ruler to govern the state as one cooks a small fish - that is, don't turn it so often in the pan that it disintegrates”

“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.”

“When armies are mobilized and issues joined, the man who is sorry over the fact will win”

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

“The farther you go, the less you know”

“Be the chief but never the lord.”

“Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”

“He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.”

“A thousand miles starts from beneath one's feet.”

“Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.”

“Naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

“He who knows he has enough is rich.”

“To perceive things in the germ is intelligence”

“To have little is to possess.

To have plenty is to be perplexed.”

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

“A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.”

“Heaven and earth are ruthless and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs.”

“Because of a great love, one is courageous.”

“As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it.”

“The Way of Heaven does not compete, and yet it skillfully achieves victory.”

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

“Favor and disgrace are like fear. Favor is in a higher place, and disgrace in a lower place. When you win them you are like being in fear, and when you lose them you are also like being in fear. So favor and disgrace are like fear.”

“If the Great Way perishes there will morality and duty. When cleverness and knowledge arise great lies will flourish. When relatives fall out with one another there will be filial duty and love. When states are in confusion there will be faithful servants.”

“The Way is empty yet use will not drain it.”

“It is the Vague and Elusive. Meet it and you will not see its head. Follow it and you will not see its back.”

“How could man rejoice in victory and delight in the slaughter of men?”

“Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.”

“To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.”

“Tao invariably takes no action, and yet there is nothing left undone.”

“He who knows others is learned; he who knows himself is wise.”

“The softest things in the world to overcome the hardest things in the world.”

“To know men is to be wise; to know oneself is to be illumined”