Tao Te Ching Quotes

“The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Thus it is said:
The path into the light seems dark,
the path forward seems to go back,
the direct path seems long,
true power seems weak,
true purity seems tarnished,
true steadfastness seems changeable,
true clarity seems obscure,
the greatest are seems unsophisticated,
the greatest love seems indifferent,
the greatest wisdom seems childish.

The Tao is nowhere to be found.
Yet it nourishes and completes all things.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“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.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Without opening your door,
you can open your heart to the world.
Without looking out your window,
you can see the essence of the Tao.


The more you know,
the less you understand.

The Master arrives without leaving,
sees the light without looking,
achieves without doing a thing.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“With no desire, at rest and still, All things go right as of their will.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“he who overcomes himself is mighty.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil on itself.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“a skillful soldier is not violent, an able fighter does not rage, a mighty conqueror does not give battle, a great commander is a humble man”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creatures flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.

when man interferes with the Tao
the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.

Hold on to the center.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The moral man does something,
and when no one responds
he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.”
― Laotzu, Tao Te Ching

“When I let go of what I am
I become what i might be.”
― Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching

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

Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked. If you want to become full, let yourself be empty. If you want to be reborn, let yourself die. If you want to be given everything, give everything up.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Other call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Because she competes with no one, no one can compete with her.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Always without desire we must be found,”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“To know and yet (think) we do not know is the highest (attainment); not to know (and yet think) we do know is a disease.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“A bad man is a good man's job”
― Laozi, The Tao Te Ching: A New Translation with Commentary

“There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without words, and the advantage arising from non-action.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“stillness, the ruler of movement.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The soft overcomes the hard; and the weak the strong.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching