Lao Tzu Quotes – Lao tzu or known as Laozi, Laosi and Laois or is an ancient chinese philosopher. His thought known as Tao or Tao Te Ching.
All Lao Tzu’s thought started when he had A job as a librarian at the high court. This job make Lao Tzu has an access to literature and thought.
Lao Tzu did a journey to the west until his 160 years old. During his journey, Lao Tzu met another well known philosopher, such as Sidharta Gautama.
Not just Taoism, Lao Tzu also teach Astrology, law and moralism. To go deep into Lao Tzu’s thoughts, here 60 of Lao Tzu quotes.
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Lao Tzu Quotes and Find Your True Self
1. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
2. “The best fighter is never angry.”
3. “Love is the fruit of sacrifice. Wealth is the fruit of generosity.”
4. “Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”
5. “He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.”
6. “Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it.”
7. “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.”
8. “Act without acting. Give without giving. Taste without tasting.”
9. “He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.”
10. “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
11. “Love is a decision. Not an emotion.”
12. “When action is pure and selfless everything settles into its own perfect place.”
13. “To lead people walk behind them.”
14. “Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.”
15. “When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”
16. “There is an old saying. The clear way seems clouded. The straight way seems crooked. The sure way seems unsteady.”
17. “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”
18. “If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
19. “He who is contented is rich.”
20. “Follow your path to the end. Accept difficulty as an opportunity. This is the sure way to end up with no difficulties at all.”
21. “At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”
22. “The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.”
23. “Stop leaving and you will arrive. Stop searching and you will see. Stop running away and you will be found.”
24. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
25. “Complete the task at hand. Be selfless in your actions. This is the way of Heaven. This is the way to Heaven.”
26. “All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.”
27. “Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”
28. “Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.”
29. “No greater curse than desire. No greater tragedy than discontentment. No greater fault than selfishness.”
30. “All things in the world come from being. And being comes from non-being.”
31. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
32. “All streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power.”
33. “The best warrior leads without haste, fights without anger, overcomes without confrontation. He puts himself below and brings out the highest in his men.”
34. “ 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.”
35. “At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”
36. “Act without expectation.”
37. “Hold your male side with your female side. Hold your bright side with your dull side. Hold your high side with your low side. Then you will be able to hold the whole world.”
38. “He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.”
39. “Man’s enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself.”
40. “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.”
41. “Great acts are made up of small deeds.”
42. “When the best leader’s work is done the people say, We did it ourselves.”
43. “The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.”
44. “Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses.”
45. “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.”
46. “Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.”
47. “Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.”
48. “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”
49. “Your own positive future begins in this moment. All you have is right now. Every goal is possible from here.”
50. “Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity. The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms.”
51. “There is a time to live and a time to die but never to reject the moment.”
52. “Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.”
53. “Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose. “
54. “True words are not fancy. Fancy words are not true. The good do not debate. Debaters are not good.”
55. “Knowing how to yield is strength.”
56. “There is no disaster greater than not being content; There is no misfortune greater than being covetous.”
57. “The more you know, the less you understand.”
58. “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.”
59. “Go to the people. Live with them, learn from them, love them.”
60. “Figure out the rhythm of life and live in harmony with it.”
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One of the well known Lao Tzu follower is Yin Xi. Now, Lao Tzu and Yin Xi known as the beginning of Democracy Taoism between teacher and student.