Tzu Lao Quotes

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

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.

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.

Simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.

The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.

Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.

The best fighter is never angry.

If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.

A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.

Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

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.

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.

Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?

Silence is a source of Great Strength.

The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.

Stop thinking, and end your problems.

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.

Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires.

A leader is best When people barely know he exists Of a good leader, who talks little, When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, They will say, “We did this ourselves.

Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.

Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment

Act without expectation.

Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.

If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.

Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.

If you understand others you are smart. If you understand yourself you are illuminated. If you overcome others you are powerful. If you overcome yourself you have strength. If you know how to be satisfied you are rich. If you can act with vigor, you have a will. If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting. If you die without loss, you are eternal.

To know that you do not know is the best. To think you know when you do not is a disease. Recognizing this disease as a disease is to be free of it.

The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know.

The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.

Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself.

Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it.

To understand the limitation of things, desire them.

If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness.

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.

By letting go it all gets done.

To a mind that is still the whole universe surrenders.

Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing.

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.

What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.

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.

I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.

Stop leaving and you will arrive. Stop searching and you will see. Stop running away and you will be found.

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

The further one goes, the less one knows.

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.

Loss is not as bad as wanting more.

The Way to do is to be.

Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.

So the unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants.

He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.

Your own positive future begins in this moment. All you have is right now. Every goal is possible from here.

When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad.

No one asks you to throw Mozart out of the window. Keep Mozart. Cherish him. Keep Moses too, and Buddha and Lao Tzu and Christ. Keep them in your heart. But make room for the others, the coming ones, the ones who are already scratching on the window-panes.

Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity.

Men are born soft and supple; dead they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.

When there is no desire, all things are at peace.

There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.

Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the patience to wait! Be still and allow the mud to settle.

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty" - Lao-tsu

As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it.

Love is a decision - not an emotion!

Because of a great love, one is courageous.

The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms.

Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.

To lead people, walk beside them ... As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate ... When the best leader's work is done the people say, We did it ourselves!

Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear.

Do you have the patience to wait Till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving Till the right action arises by itself?

Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear?

Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend.

Countless words count less than the silent balance between yin and yang

There is a time to live and a time to die but never to reject the moment.

The past has no power to stop you from being present now. Only your grievance about the past can do that. What is grievance? The baggage of old thought and emotion.

Do you imagine the universe is agitated? Go into the desert at night and look at the stars. This practice should answer the question.

She does not show herself, and therefore is apparent. She does not affirm herself, and therefore is acknowledged. She does not boast and therefore has merit. She does not strive and therefore is successful. It is exactly because she does not contend, that nobody can contend with her.

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.

Great acts are made up of small deeds.

Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.

When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

One who is too insistent on his own views finds few to agree with him.

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.

Be still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity

New Beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.

We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move. We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable. We work with being, but non-being is what we use.

To bear and not to own; to act and not lay claim; to do the work and let it go: for just letting it go is what makes it stay.

He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.

Love Embracing Tao, you become embraced. Supple, breathing gently, you become reborn. Clearing your vision, you become clear. Nurturing your beloved, you become impartial. Opening your heart, you become accepted. Accepting the World, you embrace Tao. Bearing and nurturing, Creating but not owning, Giving without demanding, Controlling without authority, This is love.

The world belongs to those who let go.

True words aren't eloquent; eloquent words aren't true. Wise men don't need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point aren't wise. The Master has no possessions. The more he does for others, the happier he is. The more he gives to others, the wealthier he is.

Stop thinking, and end your problems. What difference between yes and no? What difference between success and failure? Must you value what others value, avoid what others avoid? How ridiculous! Other people are excited, as though they were at a parade. I alone don't care, I alone am expressionless, like an infant before it can smile. Other people have what they need; I alone possess nothing. I alone drift about, like someone without a home. I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty. Other people are bright; I alone am dark. Other people are sharp; I alone am dull. Other people have purpose; I alone don't know. I drift like a wave on the ocean, I blow as aimless as the wind. I am different from ordinary people. I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.

My teachings are easy to understand and easy to put into practice. Yet your intellect will never grasp them, and if you try to practice them,you'll fail. My teachings are older than the world. How can you grasp their meaning? If you want to know me, Look inside your heart.

He who stands on tiptoe doesn't stand firm. He who rushes ahead doesn't go far. He who tries to shine dims his own light. He who defines himself can't know who he really is. He who has power over others can't empower himself. He who clings to his work will create nothing that endures. If you want to accord with the Tao, just do your job, then let go.

Rushing into action, you fail. Trying to grasp things, you lose them. Forcing a project to completion, you ruin what was almost ripe. Therefore the Master takes action by letting things take their course. He remains as calm at the end as at the beginning. He has nothing, thus has nothing to lose. What he desires is non-desire; what he learns is to unlearn. He simply reminds people of who they have always been. He cares about nothing but the Tao. Thus he can care for all things.

Do you want to improve the world? I don't think it can be done. The world is sacred. It can't be improved. If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it. If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it. There is a time for being ahead, a time for being behind; a time for being in motion, a time for being at rest; a time for being vigorous, a time for being exhausted; a time for being safe, a time for being in danger. The Master sees things as they are, without trying to control them. She lets them go their own way, and resides at the center of the circle.