454 Quotes by Lao Tzu

To live till you dieIs to live long enough

He who defines himself can't know who he really is.He who has power over others can't empower himself.

So, he who displays himself does not shine; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished; he who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged; he who is self-conceited has no superiority allowed to him.

Intellectual knowledge exists in and of the brain.Because the brain is part of the body, which must one day expire, this collection of facts, however large and impressive, will expire as well.Insight, however, is a function of the spirit.Because your spirit follows you through cycle after cycle of life, death, and rebirth, you have the opportunity of cultivating insight in an ongoing fashion.Refined over time, insight becomes pure, constant, and unwavering.This is the beginning of immortality.

If you don’t stand sincere by your wordshow sincere can the people be?Take great care over words, treasure them.

The great Tao is universal like a flood… All creatures depend on it, and it denies nothing to anyone. It does its work, but it makes no claims for itself. It clothes and feeds all, but it does not lord it over them.

For things sometimes lead and sometimes follow,sometimes sign and sometimes storm,sometimes strengthen and sometimes weaken, sometimes kill and sometimes die.

Silence is a source of Great Strength.

As to the roaming of sages,They move in utter emptiness,Let their minds meander in the great nothingness;They run beyond conventionAnd go through where there is no gateway.They listen to the soundlessAnd look at the formless,They are not constrained by societyAnd not bound to its customs.- Lao-tzu