Tzu Philosophy Quotes

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.

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

Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.

Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.

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.

Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.

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

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?

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.

During our dreams we do not know we are dreaming. We may even dream of interpreting a dream. Only on waking do we know it was a dream. Only after the great awakening will we realize that this is the great dream.

Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.

Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil.

O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible, and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.

He who is in harmony with the Tao is like a newborn child. Its bones are soft, its muscles are weak, but its grip is powerful. It doesn't know about the union of male and female, yet its penis can stand erect, so intense is its vital power. It can scream its head off all day, yet it never becomes hoarse, so complete is its harmony. The Master's power is like this. He lets all things come and go effortlessly, without desire. He never expects results; thus he is never disappointed. He is never disappointed; thus his spirit never grows old.

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

Existence is beyond the power of words To define: Terms may be used But are none of them absolute. In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words, Words came out of the womb of matter; And whether a man dispassionately Sees to the core of life Or passionately Sees the surface, The core and the surface Are essentially the same, Words making them seem different Only to express appearance. If name be needed, wonder names them both: From wonder into wonder Existence opens.

When affirmation and negation came into being, Tao faded. After Tao faded, then came one-sided attachments.

When I let go of who I am, I become who I might be.

The time of the autumn floods came and the hundred streams poured into the Yellow River. … Then the Lord of the River was beside himself with Joy, believing that all the beauty in the world belonged to him alone.

Lao Tzu wrote: “Know the personal, yet keep to the impersonal: Accept the world as it is. Then the Tao will be luminous inside you, and you will return to the Uncarved Block.” There is so much philosophy packed into this verse that it summarizes central teachings about happiness from three great ancient traditions: those not only from Taoism, but also from Buddhism and Stoicism

‎We come to enjoy ourselves in it, come what may. And in doing so we add meaning of our own, proving ourselves to be life's creative participants. We discern and live, thereby enhance life. We change life by making life coherent, and we are in the meantime changed by living the coherence we continually create.

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

To live till you die Is to live long enough

One gains by losing and loses by gaining.

Jade is praised as precious, but its strength is being stone.

The Master, by residing in the Tao, sets an example for all beings. Because he doesn't display himself, people can see his light. Because he has nothing to prove, people can trust his words. Because he doesn't know who he is, people recognize themselves in him. Because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds.

Great truths do not take hold of the hearts of the masses. And now, as all the world is in error, how shall I, though I know the true path, how shall I guide? If I know that I cannot succeed and yet try to force success, this would be but another source of error. Better then to desist and strive no more. But if I do not strive, who will? Chuang Tzu

When the world's on the Way, they use horses to haul manure. When the world gets off the Way, they breed warhorses on the common. The greatest evil: wanting more. The worst luck: discontent. Greed's the curse of life. To know enough's enough is enough to know.

The great Sage follows his own nature and not that of society, following the fruit not the flower, he stays with the truth while rejecting the false

Those who speak don't know and those who know don't speak.

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.

Not to practice stillness is to lose one’s control

Something can be beautiful, if something else is ugly. Someone can be good, if someone else is bad.

Tell me and I'll listen, Show me and I'll watch Let me experience and I'll learn

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.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra (German: Also sprach Zarathustra, sometimes translated Thus Spake Zarathustra), subtitled A Book for All and None (Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen), is a written work by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885. Much of the work deals with ideas such as the "eternal recurrence of the same", the parable on the "death of God", and the "prophecy" of the Overman, which were first introduced in The Gay Science. Described by Nietzsche himself as "the deepest ever written", the book is a dense and esoteric treatise on philosophy and morality, featuring as protagonist a fictionalized Zarathustra. A central irony of the text is that the style of the Bible is used by Nietzsche to present ideas of his which fundamentally oppose Judaeo-Christian morality and tradition.

Practice emptiness to the extreme. Keep stillness whole. Myriad things act in concert. I therefore watch their return. All things flourish, and each returns to its root. Return to the root is called Quietude. Quietude is called Way of Life. Way of Life is called Constant. Acting without knowing this constant can be harmful. Understanding this Constant is called receptivity, which is impartial. Impartiality is Kingship. Kingship is Heaven. Heaven is the Tao. Though you lose the body, you do not die.

The Master, by residing in the Tao, sets an example for all beings. Because he doesn't display himself, people can see his light. Because he has nothing to prove, people can trust his words. Because he doesn't know who he is, people recognize themselves in him. Because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds.

The Sage satisfies his inner desires with what cannot be seen, not with the external temptations of the world

With more laws and regulations the people become poorer.

Heaven and Earth act without intention or benevolence and is not moved or swayed by offerings of straw dogs

Can you allow your nature to be like that of a new born baby and be in harmony?

That which would be taken must first be given

When harmony and balance cease to exist and man has lost his way   The virtue of caring for one another and love will arise from the chaos

Even after the death of the body, you will remain whole in the Tao

Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly. A butterfly fluttering happily around— was he revealing what he himself meant to be? He knew nothing of Zhou. All at once awakening, there suddenly he was — Zhou. But he didn't know if he was Zhou having dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhou. Between Zhou and the butterfly there must surely be some distinction. This is known at the transformation of things.

The ancients prized this way in the days of old   It wasn’t because the Tao is the source of all good or the cure for evil   But because it is the most noble thing to do thus making it the greatest treasure in the universe

The wise leader considers the left to be honorable   While mongers of war prefer the right. Weapons of war are not for the wise   The wise only use these weapons when it cannot be avoided   The wise practice restraint and caution in the use of them

According to tradition, the originator of Taoism, Lao-tzu, was an older contemporary of Kung Fu-tzu, or Confucius, who died in 479 B.C.1 Lao-tzu is said to have been the author of the Tao Te Ching, a short book of aphorisms, setting forth the principles of the Tao and its power or virtue (Te e). But traditional Chinese philosophy ascribes both Taoism and Confucianism to a still earlier source, to a work which lies at the very foundation of Chinese thought and culture, dating anywhere from 3000 to 1200 B.C. This is the I Ching, or Book of Changes.

19.Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something, that the enemy may snatch at it. 20.By holding out baits, he keeps him on the march; then with a body of picked men he lies in wait for him.

Can you tell us about Ama: Playing the Glass Bead Game with Pythagoras? Sunday Times Interview "Both Hesse and Tolstoy were my first spiritual gurus. Through their deep insights and soulful messages, for the first time I experienced the world of spiritual growth and deep contemplation. Many artists have inspired my writings, the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Lao Tzu and Giordano Bruno. Pythagoras lived on the crossroads of civilisations, as I see us, and he has given us his fascinating research into music and numbers. With my deep respect towards ancient worlds, Pythagoras with his ancient Egyptian mystical knowledge had to be my protagonist.

If we could renounce and do away with wisdom, knowledge, religion and cleverness then it would be a hundred times better for everyone   Do away with morals and justice and people will begin to do the right things   Give up the desire for wealth, and thieves and robbers will disappear   These three forms of governing are insufficient

Lao-tzu advised, “As soon as you have a thought, laugh at it,” because reality is not what we think. We perceive the world through a window colored by beliefs, interpretations, and associations. We see things not as they are but as we are. The same brain that enables us to contemplate philosophy, solve math equations, and create poetry also generates a stream of static known as discursive thoughts, which seem to arise at random, bubbling up into our awareness. Such mental noise is a natural phenomenon, no more of a problem than the dreams that appear in the sleep state. Therefore, our schooling aims not to struggle with random thoughts but to transcend them in the present moment, where no thoughts exist, only awareness. Our mind’s liberation awaits not in some imagined future but here and now.

The five colors blind the eyes   The five sounds deafen the ears   The five flavors deaden the taste   Excessive desires will madden the mind   Excessive possessions preoccupy the mind with fear   The more you desire, the more you’ll be discontented from what you have   The Sage fills his belly, not his eyes   The Sage satisfies his inner desires with what cannot be seen, not with the external temptations of the world

What the Daodejing has to offer, on the other hand, is much simpler. It encourages the cultivation of a disposition that is captured in what we have chosen to call its wu-forms. The wu-forms free up the energy required to sustain the abstract cognitive and moral sensibilities of technical philosophy, allowing this energy, now unmediated by concepts, theories, and contrived moral precepts, to be expressed as those concrete feelings that inspire the ordinary business of the day. It is through these concrete feelings that one is able to know the world and to optimize the human experience.

When a cat falls out of a tree, it lets go of itself. The cat becomes completely relaxed, and lands lightly on the ground. But if a cat were about to fall out of a tree and suddenly make up its mind that it didn’t want to fall, it would become tense and rigid, and would be just a bag of broken bones upon landing. [I]t is the philosophy of the Tao that…the moment we were born we were kicked off a precipice and we are falling, and there is nothing that can stop it. So instead of living in a state of chronic tension, and clinging to all sorts of things that are actually falling with us because the whole world is impermanent, be like a cat. —Alan Watts, What Is Tao? 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? —Lao Tzu

Western thought is fixated on the gap between what is and what ought to be. But in everyday life we do not scan our options beforehand, we simply deal with whatever is at hand. The Taoists of ancient China saw no gap between is and ought. Right action was whatever comes from a clear view of the situation. They did not follow moralists—in their day, Confucians—in wanting to fetter beings with rules or principles. In Taoist thought, the good life comes spontaneously (i.e. acting dispassionately, on the basis of an objective view of the situation at hand / acting according to the needs of the situation). Western moralists will ask what is the purpose of such action, but for Taoists the good life has no purpose. It is like swimming in a whirpool, responding to the currents as they come and go. 'I enter with the inflow, and emerge with the outflow, follow the Way of the water, and do not impose my selfishness upon it. This is how I stay afloat in it' says Chuang-Tzu. In this view ethics is simply a practical skill, like fishing or swimming. The core of ethics is not choice or conscious awareness, but the knack of knowing what to do. It is a skill that comes with practice and an empty mind. For people in thrall to 'morality', the good life means perpetual striving. For Taoists it means living effortlessly, according to our natures. The freest human being is not one who acts on reasons he has chosen for himself, but one who never has to chose.

Mastering speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of a large enemy’s inability to keep up. Use a philosophy of avoiding difficult situations. Attack the area where he doesn’t expect you.” ~Sun Tzu the Art of War1   In handling dynamic encounters, the phrase "time criticality" is often discussed. In this discussion there is often a miss-conception that to put time on your side, you must force the issue or, force the subject into action and always advance your position by moving forward. Speed is the essence of conflict, but speed does not always mean moving fast physically. It means preparing so you are in a position of advantage, which gives you time, hence speed.

Be teachable. You’re not always right." (@ML_Philosophy) "The tombstone of capitalism will later say: too much was not enough." (Volker Pispers) "Smiling mobilizes 15 muscles, but sulking requires 40. Rest: smile!" (Christophe André) "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift that"s why they call it the present." - (@TheWordicle) "When you realize how precious and fragile life is, it changes your whole perspective." (Ryan O’Donnell) "A kind word can warm up to three months of winter" - Japanese proverb "It’s better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction." (@wise_chimp) "The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth." - Lao Tzu "... We get old too soon, and wise too late." (@_AhmadHijazi) "Nothing in the world is worth turning away from what we love" - Albert Camus "I am allowed to say NO to others and YES to myself." (@Lenka49044040) "You can only live forwards, understand life only backwards." (Søren Kierkegaard) "Write your life - Or they'll wait till you're dead to write the lie" ... (@spectraspeaks)

Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know

Confucius and Lao-Tse were living in China, all the schools of Chinese philosophy came into being, including those of Mo Ti, Chuang Tse, Lieh Tzu and a host of others; India produced the Upanishads and Buddha and, like China, ran the whole gamut of philosophical possibilities down to materialism, scepticism and nihilism; in Iran, Zarathustra taught a challenging view of the world as a struggle between good and evil; in Palestine the prophets made their appearance from Elijah by way of Isaiah and Jeremiah to Deutero-Isaiah; Greece witnessed the appearance of Homer, of the philosophers—Parmenides, Heraclitus and Plato,—of the tragedians, of Thucydides and Archimedes. Everything implied by these names developed during these few centuries almost simultaneously in China, India and the West.

Derivatives salesmen typically played chess or mathematical computer games in their spare time. Derivatives salesmen typically did not shoot things. Scarecrow was the antithesis of the prototypical derivatives salesman. His nickname was apt. He had neither a math degree nor an enormous brain. When Scarecrow aimlessly whistled “If I Only Had a Brain,” no one stepped forward to disagree. What, then, was he doing in derivatives? Over time the salesmen asked that question less and less as they realized why Scarecrow had succeeded in selling derivatives. Ultimately, Scarecrow’s military talents proved far more valuable than mere math skills. He and others were able to persuade the rocket scientists that shooting was more effective than thinking. This was the key to Morgan Stanley’s new philosophy. As Scarecrow’s views proliferated, mathematical theorems were replaced by pseudo National Rifle Association slogans: Derivatives don’t kill people, people kill people. When derivatives are outlawed, only outlaws will have derivatives. The traders and salesmen tossed their math journals in the garbage and bought copies of Sun Tzu and other military how-to books. The results were favorable. As Scarecrow’s ideas about the art of war caught on, the derivatives group started to make some serious money.

experimenter. For instance, when it came to developing his art of jeet kune do, he delved not just into standard martial arts for inspiration and information; he looked at Western boxing, fencing, biomechanics, and philosophy. He admired the simplicity of boxing, incorporating its ideas into his footwork and his upper-body tools (jab, cross, hook, bob, weave, etc.). And from fencing, he began by looking at the footwork, range, and timing of the stop hit and the riposte, both techniques that meet attacks and defenses with preemptive moves. From biomechanics, he studied movement as a whole, seeking to understand the physical laws of motion while understanding biological efficiencies and strengths. And within philosophy, he read widely from both Eastern and Western writers, such as Lao Tzu, Alan Watts, and Krishnamurti, while also picking up popular self-help books of the day. He was open to all inspiration and all possibilities—his only limit being the limit of his own imagination and understanding.

while understanding biological efficiencies and strengths. And within philosophy, he read widely from both Eastern and Western writers, such as Lao Tzu, Alan Watts, and Krishnamurti, while also picking up popular self-help books of the day. He was open to all inspiration and all possibilities—his only limit being the limit of his own imagination and understanding.

There was something that finished chaos, Born before Heaven and Earth. So silent and still! So pure and deep! It stands alone and immutable, Ever-present and inexhaustible. It can be called the mother of the whole world. I do not know its name. I call it the Way. For the lack of better words I call it great.

Lao Tzu is most well known for being the founder of Taoism. Taoism is centered upon two major ideas: Wu wei and yin-yang. Wu wei is a concept of non-action, where a person will find peace through quiet inaction, rather than a search to change circumstances. Yin-yang, which has become a pop culture symbol in many western countries is a philosophy of equal opposites. Although often represented as a light/dark dichotomy, the philosophy actually embraces the idea that for any given thing, its opposite is central to its makeup.

Chinese policies follow the philosophy of Sunzi, formerly known as Sun Tzu. ‘All war is based on deception. When able to attack, we must pretend to be incapable; when employing forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far; offer bait to lure him; if he appears humble, make him arrogant; if he is rested, wear him down; if his forces are united, divide them; take action when it is unexpected.

...he didn't know if he was Chuang Tzu who dreamed he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Chuang Tzu.

But Lao Tzu’s teaching suffers from the major problem endemic to such visionaries. In the intervening two and a half millennia, his words have been misinterpreted and distorted by generations of adherents until his message is riddled with meaningless ritual and dogma. Taoism contracted the conceptual plague: it became a religion.

Above, in discussing the perceptive notions of Jesus, remarkable concepts of Plato or the highly introspective lessons of Gautama and Lao Tzu, it took considerable discussion to explore the meaning and relate it to How Life Works. Islam presents no such deep pool of thought to pierce.

Rapp believed the HIG warlord, but he didn’t give two shits about his martial philosophy. Perhaps when this dumpster fire of a war was finally over there’d be a market for a mujahideen version of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Until then, CYCLONE could save his philosophical musings for his henchman.