Taoism Death Quotes & Sayings

Just as when water is frozen in to a form as ice and then melts - so at the time of death, there is no death. The spirit simply changes form. — Frederick Lenz

I don't believe the writer should know too much where he's going. If he does, he runs into old man blueprint-old man propaganda. — James Thurber

Intellectual knowledge exists in and of the brain.
Because the brain is part of the body, which must one day expire, this collection of facts, however large and impressive, will expire as well.
Insight, however, is a function of the spirit.
Because your spirit follows you through cycle after cycle of life, death, and rebirth, you have the opportunity of cultivating insight in an ongoing fashion.
Refined over time, insight becomes pure, constant, and unwavering.
This is the beginning of immortality. — Lao-Tzu

All things such as grass and trees are soft and supple in life. At their death they are withered and dry. — Laozi

Do not use life to give life to death. Do not use death to bring death to life. — Zhuangzi

The freest among you are often those with the fewest possessions. — Donald J. Amodeo

The True Man of ancient times knew nothing of loving life, knew nothing of hating death. He emerged without delight; he went back in without a fuss. He came briskly, he went briskly, and that was all. He didn't forget where he began; he didn't try to find out where he would end. He received something and took pleasure in it; he forgot about it and handed it back again. — Zhuangzi

The ancients said that for persons who cultivated body and mind, and who are virtuous and honorable, death is an experience of liberation, a long-awaited rest from a lifetime of labors. Death helps the unscrupulous person to put an end to the misery of desire. Death, then, for everyone is a kind of homecoming. That is why the ancient sages speak of a dying person as a person who is 'going home. — Liezi

The power-hungry wanter their followers to believe that heaven was a place to which some people - and only people - went after death, a place that could be reached by those who had the approval of their organizations. So not even the perfected spirits were able to restore the wholeness of truth, because of interference by the human ego. — Benjamin Hoff

Always do what you're afraid to do.
...
I will prove myself strong when they think I am sick.
I will prove myself brave when they think I am weak. — E. Lockhart

If people are not afraid of dying, why threaten them with death? — Laozi

When I was younger, I always did movies that teenagers would watch, not adults. I did 'Crazy/Beautiful' or comedies like 'Bring It On.' — Kirsten Dunst

Let people take death seriously, and not travel far. — Laozi

The I Ching tells us that for every ending there is a new beginning. In other words, what appears like a transition isn't really a transition; it's a continuum of existence. If you close your eyes for a moment the room will appear to go away. But does it really? Open your eyes again and the room will still be there. That's all death is. — Frederick Lenz

Some people wouldn't say I coached in the National Football League. I coached with the Raiders, right? — Jim McElwain

Division and differentiation are the processes by which things are created. Since things are emerging and dissolving all the time, you cannot specify the point when this division will stop. — Liezi

Vanity is truly the motive power that moves humanity, and it is flattery that greases the wheels. — St. Jerome

There was a man whose only son died of a sudden illness. He did not mourn for his son, nor was he sad about it. His friends were curious about his behavior, so they asked him, "Your only son is dead. You should be heartbroken. Why do you act as if nothing had happened?"

The man replied, "Before my son came, I had no son. I was certainly not heartbroken back then. Now I have no son. Why should I be heartbroken now? — Liezi

It comes out from no source, it goes back in through no aperture. It has reality yet no place where it resides; it has duration yet no beginning or end. Something emerges, though through no aperture - this refers to the fact that it has reality. It has reality yet there is no place where it resides - this refers to the dimension of space. It has duration but no beginning or end - this refers to the dimension of time. There is life, there is death, there is a coming out, there is a going back in - yet in the coming out and going back its form is never seen. This is called the Heavenly Gate. The Heavenly Gate is nonbeing. The ten thousand things come forth from nonbeing. Being cannot create being out of being; inevitably it must come forth from nonbeing. Nonbeing is absolute nonbeing, and it is here that the sage hides himself. — Zhuangzi

After all, suicide is contagious. — Suzanne Young

I can't deal with the press; I hate all those Beatles questions. — Paul McCartney

Forgivness is letting go of the hope that the past can be changed — Oprah Winfrey

We are born from a quiet sleep, and we die to a calm awakening — Zhuangzi

We go from birth to death. Three out of ten follow life. Three out of ten follow death. People who rush from birth to death are also three out of ten. Why is that so? Because they want to make too much of life. — Laozi

There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within. — Morihei Ueshiba

Summer Storm

She was wild, unpredictable, beautiful, and dangerous. Impossible to resist. A summer storm in a bikini. — Michael Faudet

When thoughts arise, as soon as you sense them heading on the road of desire, bring them right back onto the road of reason. Once they arise, notice them, once you notice them, you can change them. This is the key to turning calamity into fortune, rising from death and returning to life. — Zicheng Hong

People take death lightly. They expect too much of life. That is why people take death lightly. — Laozi

When we are rich and famous and powerful, we do not want to die. On the other hand, if we are miserable and suffering, we want to die and leave it all. But can joy or misery last forever? There is a saying, "All celebrations must end sometime." Any wish to live forever or die immediately is often a whim of the moment. How do we know that, although we are happy now, we may not be sad the next day, or sad now but may be happy soon? Given that good and ill, fortune and misfortune come in their own way, we should not cling to life or embrace death. Life and death will come of their own. Why be greedy about life and afraid of death? — Liezi

The hard and stiff are death's companions. The soft and weak are life's companions. — Laozi

So it is said, for him who understands Heavenly joy, life is the working of Heaven; death is the transformation of things. In stillness, he and the yin share a single Virtue; in motion, he and the yang share a single flow. — Zhuangzi

Just think about it: in every shop in the reading world since 1956, there has been two feet of book-space devoted to Tolkien. — John Rhys-Davies

If people live in constant fear of death, and if breaking the law is punished by death, then who would dare? — Laozi

All men desire to free themselves solely from death; they do not know how to free themselves from life. — Laozi

Taoism shows us how to deal with life and death by realizing everything here is transitory but its substance is eternal: — Frederick Lenz