565 Quotes by Laozi

In this world, there is nothing softer or thinner than water. But to compel the hard and unyielding, it has no equal. That the weak overcomes the strong, that the hard gives way to the gentle – this everyone knows. Yet no one asks accordingly.

Seeing the small is called clarity.

He who defends with love will be secure; Heaven will save him, and protect him with love.

To retreat after a work well done is Heaven’s Way.

What is well rooted cannot be pulled up. What is firmly grasped will not slip loose. It will be honoured from generation to generation.

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.

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

There is no illusion great than fear.

The cords of passion and desire weave a binding net around you. Worldly confrontation makes you stiff and inflexible. The trap of duality is tenacious. Bound, rigid, and trapped, you cannot experience liberation.