Tao Te Ching Quotes

“Whoever is planted in the Tao
will not be rooted up.
Whoever embraces the Tao
will not slip away.
Her name will be held in honor
from generation to generation.

Let the Tao be present in your life
and you will become genuine.
Let it be Present in your family
and your family will flourish.
Let it be present in your country
and your country will be an example
to all countries in the world.
Let it be present in the universe
and the universe will sing.

How do I know this is true?
by looking inside myself.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.”
― Lao zi, Tao Te Ching

“Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“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.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“He who is satisfied with his lot is rich;”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to. It is content with the low places that people disdain. Thus it is like the Tao. 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. When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Your inner being guard, and keep it free.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“all streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. humility gives it its power. if you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them. if you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.”
― Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching: A New English Version

“the skilful speaker says nothing that can be found fault with or blamed;”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The highest excellence is like (that of) water.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm; he who stretches his legs does not walk (easily).”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Care about people´s approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back, the only path to serenity.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his mind in a state of indifference to all.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other;”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Thirty spokes
Share one hub.
Make the nothing therein appropriate, and you will have the use of the cart.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (Chinese Classics

“Be simply yourself and don't compare or compete”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching