Tao Lao Tzu Quotes & Sayings

The Tao that can be described is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. — Lao-Tzu

By this (nature of the Tao). — Lao-Tzu

Thus it was that when faith (in the Tao) was deficient (in the rulers) a want of faith in them ensued (in the people). — Lao-Tzu

Western scholars, contemptible in their pretentious and shallow scholarship, have translated Tao as Way. How foolish! Tao is Spirit, the Spirit that permeates all heaven and all earth, even those far beyond ours. Tao includes all that is not, and all that is; Lao Tzu describes it in these words.
Silent, aloof, alone,
It changes not, nor fails, but touches all.
I do not know its name,
One name for it is Tao.
Pressed for designation,
I call it
Tao.
Tao means Outgoing,
Outgoing, Far-reaching,
Far-reaching, Return. — Pearl S. Buck

A person who prematurely believes that they comprehend the Tao sees only its external luster, and this is the beginning of delusion. — Lao-Tzu

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. - Lao Tzu, The Tao Te Ching — Scott Westerfeld

Material and infinite are inseparable
Appreciating their interconnectedness
is the gateway to understanding — Lao-Tzu

Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from Heaven; Heaven takes its law from the Tao. The law of the Tao is its being what it is. — Lao-Tzu

(So), he who has the attributes (of the Tao) regards (only) the conditions of the engagement, while he who has not those attributes regards only the conditions favourable to himself. — Lao-Tzu

Tao 'is' before words
and before deeds — Lao-Tzu

For the sage
Heaven and Earth join
in bestowing the greatest gifts — Lao-Tzu

The Tao, when brightest seen, seems light to lack;
Who progress in it makes, seems drawing back;
Its even way is like a rugged track.
Its highest virtue from the vale doth rise;
Its greatest beauty seems to offend the eyes;
And he has most whose lot the least supplies.
Its firmest virtue seems but poor and low;
Its solid truth seems change to undergo;
Its largest square doth yet no corner show
A vessel great, it is the slowest made;
Loud is its sound, but never word it said;
A semblance great, the shadow of a shade. — Lao-Tzu

For to be over-developed is to hasten decay, and this is against Tao, and what is against Tao will soon cease to be. — Lao-Tzu

What is the Tao Te Ching? Five hundred years before the birth of Jesus, a God-realized being named Lao-tzu in ancient China dictated 81 verses which are regarded by many as the ultimate commentary on the nature of existence. — Wayne Dyer

When I let go of who I am, I become who I might be. — Lao-Tzu

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, Tao-te-Ching — Jon Kabat-Zinn

They found security in letting go rather than in holding on and, in so doing, developed an attitude toward life that might be called psychophysical judo. Nearly twenty-five centuries ago, the Chinese sages Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu had called it wu-wei, which is perhaps best translated as "action without forcing." It is sailing in the stream of the Tao, or course of nature, and navigating the currents of li (organic pattern) - a word that originally signified the natural markings in jade or the grain in wood. As this attitude spread and prevailed in the wake of Vibration Training, people became more and more indulgent about eccentricity in life-style, tolerant of racial and religious differences, and adventurous in exploring unusual ways of loving. — Alan W. Watts

When the court is arrayed in splendor, The fields are full of weeds, And the granaries are empty. Some wear gorgeous clothes, Carry sharp swords, And indulge in food and drink; They have more possessions than they can use. They are robber barons. This is certainly not the way of Tao. — Lao-Tzu

Let go of rousing speech
and identification with thoughts
Until your end
you will never be jaded — Lao-Tzu

The sage gives more than he takes;
how can he do this?
because he has the richness of Tao — Lao-Tzu

This is what is called 'The mysterious Quality' (of the Tao). — Lao-Tzu

The grandest forms of active force
From Tao come, their only source.
Who can of Tao the nature tell?
Our sight it flies, our touch as well.
Eluding sight, eluding touch,
The forms of things all in it crouch;
Eluding touch, eluding sight,
There are their semblances, all right.
Profound it is, dark and obscure;
Things' essences all there endure.
Those essences the truth enfold
Of what, when seen, shall then be told.
Now it is so; 'twas so of old.
Its name--what passes not away;
So, in their beautiful array,
Things form and never know decay. — Lao-Tzu

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. — Lao-Tzu

The Tao is hidden, and has no name; but it is the Tao which is skilful at imparting (to all things what they need) and making them complete. — Lao-Tzu

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.
Without the laugh, there is no Tao — Lao-Tzu

When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad. — Lao-Tzu

Countless words
count less
than the silent balance
between yin and yang — Lao-Tzu

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. — Lao-Tzu

The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
While the tender and weak dance on the breeze above. — Lao-Tzu

One gains by losing and loses by gaining. — Lao-Tzu

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

Stand before it and there is no beginning. Follow it and there is no end. Stay with the ancient Tao, Move with the present. — Lao-Tzu

Two names emerge from a single origin and both are called mysterious. — Lao-Tzu

Who acts in stillness finds stillness in his life. — Lao-Tzu

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

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. — Lao-Tzu

Lao-tzu didn't actually say very much more about the meaning of Tao. The Way of Nature, the Way of happening self-so, or, if you like, the very process of life, was something which he was much too wise to define. For to try to say anything definite about the Tao is like trying to eat your mouth: you can't get outside it to chew it. To put it the other way round: anything you can chew is not your mouth. — Alan W. Watts

To know non-knowing is optimal
to imagine one knows
is affliction of mind — Lao-Tzu

For Chuang Tzu, the truly great man is therefore not the man who has, by a lifetime of study and practice, accumulated a great fund of virtue and merit, but the man in whom "Tao acts without impediment," the "man of Tao." Several of the texts in this present book describe the "man of Tao." Others tell us what he is not. One of the most instructive, in this respect, is the long and delightful story of the anxiety-ridden, perfectionistic disciple of Keng Sang Chu, who is sent to Lao Tzu to learn the "elements." He is told that "if you persist in trying to attain what is never attained ... in reasoning about what cannot be understood, you will be destroyed. — Thomas Merton

For Lao-tzu's Taoism is the philosophical equivalent of jujitsu, or judo, which means the way of gentleness. Its basis is the principle of Tao, which may be translated the Way of Nature. But in the Chinese language the word which we render as "nature" has a special meaning not found in its English equivalent. Translated literally, it means "self-so." For to the Chinese, nature is what works and moves by itself without having to be shoved about, wound up, or controlled by conscious effort. Your heart beats "self-so," and, if you would give it half a chance, your mind can function "self-so" - though most of us are much too afraid of ourselves to try the experiment. — Alan W. Watts

Too much thinking causes confusion and anxiety
better to stick with the simplicity of Tao — Lao-Tzu

The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem listless and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of their presence. I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look dejected and forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of men all have enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost everything. My mind is that of a stupid man; I am in a state of chaos.
Ordinary men look bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be benighted. They look full of discrimination, while I alone am dull and confused. I seem to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as if I had nowhere to rest. All men have their spheres of action, while I alone seem dull and incapable, like a rude borderer.
(Thus) I alone am different from other men, but I value the nursing-mother (the Tao). — Lao-Tzu

Earth is a divine organism
it cannot be successfully manipulated
Who attempts manipulation will encounter defeat — Lao-Tzu

Too many words cause exhaustion
[In the mind or from the mouth]
Better to abide in stillness — Lao-Tzu

With those who are sincere
the sage is sincere
With those who are insincere
the sage is also sincere
because the way of Tao is sincerity — Lao-Tzu

The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to. It is content with the low places that people disdain. Thus it is like the Tao. 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. When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you. — Lao-Tzu

When the greatness of Tao is present action arises from one's own heart When the greatness of Tao is absent action comes from the rules of "kindness" and "justice" If you need rules to be kind and just, if you act virtuous, this is a sure sign that virtue is absent Thus we see the great hypocrisy Only when the family loses its harmony do we hear of "dutiful sons" Only when the state is in chaos do we hear of "loyal ministers — Lao-Tzu

He who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing). — Lao-Tzu

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. — Alan W. Watts

When we can lay hold of the Tao of old to direct the things of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of Tao. — Lao-Tzu

Emptiness appears barren
yet is infinite fullness — Lao-Tzu

Peace is our original state — Lao-Tzu

(Those who) possessed in highest degree the attributes (of the Tao) did not (seek) to show them, and therefore they possessed them (in fullest measure). — Lao-Tzu

Heaven's Tao is impartial,
yet those who follow its compassionate way
will always be nourished — Lao-Tzu

If I were suddenly to become known, and (put into a position to) conduct (a government) according to the Great Tao, what I should be most afraid of would be a boastful display. — Lao-Tzu

9 Holding a cup and overfilling it Cannot be as good as stopping short Pounding a blade and sharpening it Cannot be kept for long1 Gold and jade fill up the room No one is able to protect them Wealth and position bring arrogance And leave disasters upon oneself2 When achievement is completed, fame is attained Withdraw oneself3 This is the Tao of Heaven — Lao-Tzu

When men lost their understanding of the Tao, intelligence came along, bringing hypocrisy with it. — Lao-Tzu

The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. — Lao-Tzu

He does not make himself seen,
therefore he is bright;
he does not deem himself to be right,
therefore he is illustrious;
he does not brag,
therefore he has merit;
he does not boast,
therefore he lasts long.
It is only because he does not contend
that no one in the world contends with him.
(Daode jing, 22, part.) — Lao-Tzu

There is
a time to live
and a time to die
but never to reject the moment. — Lao-Tzu

Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao. — Lao-Tzu

Do the Tao Now Spend an hour, a day, a week, or a month practicing not giving unsolicited advice. Stop yourself for an instant and call upon your silent knowing. Ask a question, rather than giving advice or citing an example from your life, and then just listen to yourself and the other person. As Lao-tzu would like you to know, that's the highest state of man. — Wayne W. Dyer

How can one know the eternal origin?
By letting go of ideas
and allowing it to reveal itself — Lao-Tzu

Choose food, clothing, and shelter that accords with nature.Rely on your own body for transportation. Allow your work and your recreation to be one and the same. Do exercise that develops your whole being and not just your body. Listen to music that bridges the three spheres of your being. Choose leaders for their virtue rather than their wealth or power. Serve others and cultivate yourself simultaneously. Understand that true growth comes from meeting and solving problems of life in a way that is harmonizing to yourself and to others. If you can follow these simple old ways, you will be continually renewed. — Lao-Tzu

The grace of Tao
and divine nature (Te)
are not ordered
but eternal spontaneous
action of the One — Lao-Tzu

Perfect tranquillity is the way of heaven and earth. — Lao-Tzu

With those who are kind
the sage is kind
With those who are not kind
the sage is also kind
because the way of Tao is kindness — Lao-Tzu

To understand the limitation of things, desire them. — Lao-Tzu

Revere the unity of all-that-is
carry out your daily activities with compassion;
if you do not limit your compassion,
you yourself will not be limited. — Lao-Tzu

Those who know don't talk. Those who talk don't know. Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity. Be like the Tao. It can't be approached or withdrawn from, benefited or harmed, honored or brought into disgrace. It gives itself up continually. That is why it endures. — Lao-Tzu

Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, earnestly carry it into practice. — Lao-Tzu

Before the birth of all things, there existed an undifferentiated whole. A solitary void: unchanging, yet operating everywhere, without exhaustion. It is therefore considered the source of everything. I do not know its true name, although some call it Tao. If compelled to characterize it, I would simply call it great. For to be great implies that it is far-reaching, to be far-reaching implies distance, and to be distant implies returning to the source. Thus the Tao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, the wise person is also great. In the universe there are four great ones, and the wise person is one of them. The wise person follows the laws of Earth, Earth follows the laws of Heaven, and Heaven follows the law of Tao. The Tao, with nothing to follow, is natural unto itself. — Lao-Tzu

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. — Lao-Tzu

When the Great Tao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. — Lao-Tzu

Possessed of the Tao, he endures long; and to the end of his bodily life, is exempt from all danger of decay. — Lao-Tzu

The great Tao is universal like a flood ... All creatures depend on it, and it denies nothing to anyone. It does its work, but it makes no claims for itself. It clothes and feeds all, but it does not lord it over them. — Lao-Tzu

There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, which existed before Heaven and Earth. Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and does not change. It operates everywhere and is free from danger. It may be considered the mother of the universe. I do not know its name; I call it Tao. — Lao-Tzu

Attain complete emptiness,
Hold fast to stillness.
Understanding the ordinary:
Mind opens.
Mind opening leads to compassion,
Compassion to nobility,
Nobility to heavenliness,
Heavenliness to TAO.
TAO endures.
Your body dies.
There is no danger. — Lao-Tzu