Tzu-ssu Quotes & Sayings

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.
Above, it isn't bright.
Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.
Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom. — Lao-Tzu

fact that the meaning of the Chinese elsewhere in the sentence indicates something in the nature of a defile, make me think that Sun Tzu is here speaking of crevasses.] should be left with all possible speed and not approached. 16. While we keep away from such places, we should get the enemy to approach them; while we face them, — Sun Tzu

Obscure as muddied water. But, with stillness, muddy waters clear. Can you also act while remaining still? — Lao-Tzu

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

Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field. — Sun Tzu

True words are not fancy. Fancy words are not true. The good do not debate. Debaters are not good. — Lao-Tzu

In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. — Lao-Tzu

He who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will. — Lao-Tzu

It is a doctrine of war not to assume the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on one's readiness to meet him; not to presume that he will not attack, but rather to make one's self invincible. — Sun Tzu

If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity. — Sun Tzu

Having arrived at this point of non-action, there is nothing which he does not do. — Lao-Tzu

The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points; — Sun Tzu

He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. — Lao-Tzu

Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and sternness. — Sun Tzu

The supreme excellence is not to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles. The supreme excellence is to subdue the armies of your enemies without having to fight them. — Sun Tzu

Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and you know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and you know Earth, you may make your victory complete. — Sun Tzu

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

Lao Tzu says: "Accept yourself. Non-acceptance is the root of all the trouble." None of us accept ourselves. The more a person doesn't accept himself, the greater a mahatma he looks to others to be. We are our greatest enemy. If we had our way, we would cut ourselves to pieces in order to remove what was unacceptable. — Rajneesh

The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. — Sun Tzu

Who can determine where one ends and the other begins? — Sun Tzu

The Chinese general Sun Tzu said that all war was based on deception. Oscar Wilde said the same thing of romance. — Marco Tempest

With virtue and quietness one may conquer the world. — Lao-Tzu

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

From self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished; — Lao-Tzu

Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence. — Sun Tzu

At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you. — Sun Tzu

He who knows the masculine but keeps to the feminine,
Becomes the ravine of the world.
Being the ravine of the world,
He dwells in constant virtue,
He returns to the state of the babe.
He who knows the white but keeps to the black,
Becomes the model of the world.
Being the model of the world,
He rests in constant virtue,
He returns to the infinite.
He who knows glory but keeps to disgrace,
Becomes the valley of the world.
Being the valley of the world,
He finds contentment in constant virtue,
He returns to the Uncarved Block. — Lao-Tzu

Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day. — Sun Tzu

If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. — Sun Tzu

Racing and hunting madden our minds. — Lao-Tzu

The Way to do is to be. — Lao-Tzu

12. If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way. [This extremely concise expression is intelligibly paraphrased by Chia Lin: "even though we have constructed neither wall nor ditch." Li Ch'uan says: "we puzzle him by strange and unusual dispositions;" and Tu Mu finally clinches the meaning by three illustrative anecdotes - one of Chu-ko Liang, who when occupying Yang-p'ing and about to be attacked by Ssu-ma I, suddenly struck his colors, stopped the beating of the drums, and flung open the city gates, showing only a few men engaged in sweeping and sprinkling the ground. This unexpected proceeding had the intended effect; for Ssu-ma I, suspecting an ambush, actually drew off his army and retreated. What Sun Tzu is advocating here, therefore, is nothing more nor less than the timely use of "bluff."] — Sun Tzu

About Sun Tzu himself this is all that Ssu-ma Ch'ien has to tell us in this chapter. But he proceeds to give a biography of his descendant, Sun Pin, born about a hundred years after his famous ancestor's death, and also the outstanding military genius of his time. — Sun Tzu

The Completer and Wu Wang all used spears and battle-axes in order to succor their generation. The SSU-MA FA says: If one man slay another of set purpose, he himself — Sun Tzu

no fault greater than the wish to be getting. — Lao-Tzu

31 against war
Weapons are unhappy tools,
not chosen by thoughtful people,
to be used only when there is no choice,
and with a calm, still mind,
without enjoyment.
To enjoy using weapons
is to enjoy killing people,
and to enjoy killing people
is to lose your share in the common good ... — Lao-Tzu

Govern large countries
like you cook little fish. — Lao-Tzu

No calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; — Lao-Tzu

When reconciling great hatred there will some remain. How can it be made good? Therefore the wise man accepts the debit side of the account and does not have to enforce payment from others. — Lao-Tzu

The best military policy is to attack strategies; the next to attack alliances; the next to attack soldiers. — Sun Tzu

The control of large numbers is possible, and like unto that of small numbers, if we subdivide them. — Sun Tzu

Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes. — 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

18. A sovereign cannot raise an army because he is enraged, nor can a general fight because he is resentful. For while an angered man may again be happy, and resentful man again be pleased, a state that has perished cannot be restored, nor can the dead be brought back to life. 19. Therefore, the enlightened ruler is prudent and the good general is warned against rash action. Thus, the state is kept secure and the army preserved. — Sun Tzu

The World has a First Cause, which may be regarded as the Mother of the World. When one has found the Mother, one can know the Child. Knowing the Child and still keeping the Mother, to the end of his days he shall suffer no harm. — Lao-Tzu

In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. — Sun Tzu

If I wish to engage, then the enemy, for all his high ramparts and deep moat, cannot avoid engagement; I attack that which he is obliged to rescue. — Sun Tzu

Paraphrased: When Chuang Tzu was about to die, his disciples began planning a splendid funeral. However some disciples expressed concern that given a particular arrangement, birds and kites would eat his remains. Chuang Tzu replied, Well, above ground I shall be eaten by crows and kites, below it by ants and worms. What do you have against birds? — Zhuangzi

All warfare is based on deception. — Sun Tzu

The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations. — Sun Tzu

If I am able to determine the enemy's dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own, then I can concentrate and he must divide. — Sun Tzu

A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar. — Lao-Tzu

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

Stop thinking, and end your problems. — Lao-Tzu

Set the troops to their tasks without imparting your designs. — Sun Tzu

An over sharpened sword cannot last long. — Lao-Tzu

The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. — Lao-Tzu

Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy. — Sun Tzu

He who overcomes others is strong; — Lao-Tzu

When things flourish they decline. — Lao-Tzu

Weapons are inauspicious instruments, not the tools of the enlightened. When there is no choice but to use them, it is best to be calm and free from greed, and not celebrate victory. Those who celebrate victory are bloodthirsty, and the bloodthirsty cannot have their way with the world. — Sun Tzu

To speak little is natural. Therefore a gale does not blow a whole morning nor does a downpour last a whole day. — Lao-Tzu

Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory. — Sun Tzu

Although he may have brilliant prospects to look at, he quietly remains (in his proper place), indifferent to them. — Lao-Tzu

The best runner leaves no tracks — Lao-Tzu

When beauty is defined, illusions of non-beauty manifest
When goodness is identified, badness becomes an option — Lao-Tzu

The greatest carver does the least cutting. LAO-TZU — Phil Jackson

Your life is a piece of clay; don't let anyone else mold it for you. — Lao-Tzu

In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. — Lao-Tzu

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

Following the Universal Way means practicing selflessness and extending virtue to the world unconditionally. In this way one not only eliminates the heavy contamination accumulated throughout many lifetimes but may also bring about the possibility of restoring one's original divine nature and become an integral being of the multi-universe. — Lao-Tzu

He who defends with love will be secure; Heaven will save him, and protect him with love. — Lao-Tzu

And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him. — Sun Tzu

From this community of feeling comes a kingliness of character; and he who is king-like goes on to be heaven-like. — Lao-Tzu

I have to create a circle of reading for myself: Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Lao-Tzu, Buddha, Pascal, The New Testament. This is also necessary for all people. — Leo Tolstoy

Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one, the opposite state should be always present to your mind. — Sun Tzu

To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day. Lao-Tzu — Richard Koch

By letting go it all gets done. — Lao-Tzu

When you start a fire, be to windward of it. Do not attack from the leeward. — Sun Tzu

Te is thus the natural miracle of one who seems born to be wise and humane, comparable to what we call "perfect specimens" of flowers, trees, or butterflies - though sometimes our notions of the perfect specimen are too formal. Thus Chuang-tzu enlarges on the extraordinary virtue of being a hunchback, and goes on to suggest that being weird in mind may be even more advantageous than being weird in body. He compares the hunchback to a vast tree which has grown to a great old age by virtue of being useless for human purposes because its leaves are inedible and its branches twisted and pithy.5 Formally healthy and upright humans are conscripted as soldiers, and straight and strong trees are cut down for lumber; wherefore the sage gets by with a perfect appearance of imperfection, such as we see in the gnarled pines and craggy hills of Chinese painting. — Alan W. Watts

If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it. — Sun Tzu

So it is that good warriors take their stance on ground where they cannot lose, and do not overlook conditions that make an opponent prone to defeat. — Sun Tzu

The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself, The more he gives to others, the more he gets himself. The Way of Heaven does one good but never does one harm. The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete. — 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

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

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

Anyone who doesn't respect a teacher or cherish a student may be clever, but has gone astray. — Lao-Tzu

Once upon a time, I, Chuang Tzu, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of following my fancies as a butterfly, and was unconscious of my individuality as a man. Suddenly, I awoke, and there I lay, 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 that I am a man." The — David Eagleman

I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a purpose). — Lao-Tzu

If the Great Way perishes there will morality and duty. When cleverness and knowledge arise great lies will flourish. When relatives fall out with one another there will be filial duty and love. When states are in confusion there will be faithful servants. — Lao-Tzu

He who possesses virtue in abundance may be compared to an infant. — Lao-Tzu

Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting. — Sun Tzu

To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill — Sun Tzu

If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness. — Lao-Tzu

The disciples were absorbed in a discussion of Lao-Tzu's dictum: "Those who know, do not say; Those who say, do not know." When the master entered, they asked him what the words meant. Said the master, "Which of you knows the fragrance of a rose?" All of them indicated that they knew. Then he said, "Put it into words." All of them were silent. — Anthony De Mello

Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it. — Lao-Tzu

How know I that it is so with all the beauties of existing things? — Lao-Tzu

Whoever knows what is enough Will be happy with his fate. — Lao-Tzu

It is the business of a general to be serene and inscrutable, impartial and self-controlled. — Sun Tzu

With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One. — Lao-Tzu