Laozi Quotes

Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit.

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Those who are right do not argue. Those who argue are not right.

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.

If there is to be peace in the world, There must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, There must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, There must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, There must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart.

One who believes in himself has no need to convince others.

If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself, if you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

The wise stand out because they see themselves as part of the Whole. They shine because they don't want to impress. They achieve great things because they don't look for recognition. Their wisdom is contained in what they are, not their opinions. They refuse to argue, so no-one argues with them.

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.

In order to eliminate the negative influences, simply ignore them.

True words aren't eloquent; eloquent words aren't true. Wise men don't need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point aren't wise. The Master has no possessions. The more he does for others, the happier he is. The more he gives to others, the wealthier he is. The Tao nourishes by not forcing. By not dominating, the Master leads.

Let your workings remain a mystery. Just show people the results.

Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.

The leader is a teacher who succeeds without taking credit. And, because credit is not taken, credit is received.

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.

People aren't against you; they are for themselves. The most dangerous risk of all - the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later. He who conquers others is strong, he who conquers himself is mighty.

Your own positive future begins in this moment. All you have is right now. Every goal is possible from here.

Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.

If the majority doesn't laugh at you, beware that you must be saying something wrong. When the majority thinks you are a fool, only then is there some possibility of you being a wise man.

Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.

Once upon a time a man whose ax was missing suspected his neighbor's son. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief and spoke like a thief. But the man found his ax while digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked and spoke like any other child.

Those who seek knowledge, collect something every day. Those who seek the Way, let go of something every day.

If you search everywhere, yet cannot find what you are seeking, it is because what you seek is already in your possession.

The world is won by those who let it go.

Make your heart like a lake, with calm, still surface, and great depths of kindness.

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

If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never be truly fulfilled.

If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve

In the end, The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on and gained by those who let go

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

You cannot receive what you don't give. Outflow determines inflow.

Stop thinking, and end your problems.

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

When you let go of what you are, you become what you might be.

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.

True words are not pleasing. Pleasing words are not true.

Failure is the foundation of success: success is the lurking place of failure.

Be empty. Be still. Just watch everything come and go. This is the way of Nature.

In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple.

There is a time to go ahead and a time to stay behind. There is a time to breathe easy and time to breathe hard. There is a time to be vigorous and a time to be gentle. There is a time to gather and a time to release. Can you see things as they are And let them be all on their own?

By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil.

The best leaders are those their people hardly know exist. The next best is a leader who is loved and praised. Next comes the one who is feared. The worst one is the leader that is despised ... The best leaders value their words, and use them sparingly. When they have accomplished their task, the people say, "Amazing! We did it, all by ourselves!

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.

Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.