#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ NEWRANDOM

Lao Tzu

Chinese philosopher regarded as the founder of Taoism (6th century BC)

Update this biography »

click to add your vote (5 votes)

Famous quotes by Lao Tzu:Sort:PopularA - Z

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength loving someone deeply gives you courage.
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.
Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires.
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.
Seek not happiness too greedily, and be not fearful of happiness.
He who conquers others is strong He who conquers himself is mighty.
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.
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.
All things in the world come from being. And being comes from non-being.
Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it.
He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.
He who knows enough is enough will always have enough.
He who knows others is wise.He who knows himself is enlightened.
He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire.
He who tip-toes cannot stand he who strides cannot walk.
I have three treasures. Guard and keep them The first is deep love, The second is frugality, And the third is not to dare to be ahead of the world. 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.
It is the Vague and Elusive. Meet it and you will not see its head. Follow it and you will not see its back.
Know the masculine, keep to the feminine.
Knowing others is intelligence knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.
One who is too insistent on his own views finds few to agree with him.
People are difficult to govern because they have too much knowledge.
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.
Stop thinking, and end your problems.
The best man is like water. Water is good it benefits all things and does not compete with them. It dwells in lowly places that all disdain. This is why it is so near to Tao.
The Eternal generates the One. The One generates the Two. The Two generates the Three. The Three generates all things.
The heavy is the root of the light. The tranquil is the ruler of the hasty.
The highest goodness is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete. It stays in the lowly places which others despise. Therefore it is near The Eternal.
The men who are great live with that which is substantial, they do not stay with that which is superficial they abide with realities, they remain not with what is showy. The one they discard, the other they hold.
The more laws and order are made prominent, The more thieves and robbers there will be.
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.
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. Through this I know the advantage of taking no action.
The Way of Heaven does not compete, And yet it skillfully achieves victory. It does not speak, and yet it skillfully responds to things. It comes to you without your invitation.
The Way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure. The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.
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.'
There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontentment. And there is not greater disaster than greed.
There is no need to run outside for better seeing... Rather abide at the center of your being For the more you leave it the less you learn. Search your heart and see... The way to do is to be.
To be worn out is to be renewed.
To have little is to possess. To have plenty is to be perplexed.
To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease.
To produce things and to rear them, To produce, but not to take possession of them, To act, but not to rely on one's own ability, To lead them, but not to master them - This is called profound and secret virtue.
When armies are mobilized and issues are joined, The man who is sorry over the fact will win.
When the highest type of men hear Tao, They diligently practice it. When the average type of men hear Tao, They half believe in it. When the lowest type of men hear Tao, They laugh heartily at it.
When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty, There arises the recognition of ugliness. When they all know the good as good, There arises the recognition of evil.
When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.
While day by day the overzealous student stores up facts for future use, He who has learned to trust nature finds need for ever fewer external directions. He will discard formula after formula, until he reaches the conclusion Let nature take its course. By letting each thing act in accordance with its own nature, everything that needs to be done gets done.
Without going out-of-doors, one can know all he needs to know. Without even looking out of his window, one can grasp the nature of everything. Without going beyond his own nature, one can achieve ultimate wisdom. Therefore, the intelligent man knows all he needs to know without going away, And sees all he needs to see without looking elsewhere, And does all he needs to do wihout undue exertion.

Missing a quote of Lao Tzu?

Know another good quote of Lao Tzu? Don't keep it to yourself!

The Web's Largest Resource for

Famous Quotes & Sayings

A Member Of The STANDS4 Network