Famous Tao Te Ching Quotations

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"Better stop short than fill to the brim. Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt. Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it. Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow. Retire when the work is done. This is the way of heaven."
by Tao Te Ching
"Heaven endures and the earth last a long time because they do not live for themselves."
by Lao Tzu
"Learning builds daily accumulation, but the practice of Tao builds daily simplification. Simplify and simplify, until all contamination from relative, contridictory thinking is eliminated. Then one does nothing, yet nothing is left undone. One who wins the world does so by not meddling with it. One who meddles with the world loses it."
by Tao te Ching
"Learning builds daily accumulation, but the prictice of Tao builds daily simplification. Simplify and simplify, until all contamination from relative, contridictory thinking is eliminated. Then one does nothing, yet nothing is left undone. One who wins the world does so by not meddling with it. One who meddles with the world loses it."
by Lao-Tzu
"The more you know, the less you understand."
by Tao Te Ching
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name."
by Lao-Tzu
"To conquer others is to have power, to conquer yourself is to know the way."
by Lao Tzu
"'Weapons are the tools of violence; all decent men detest them. Weapons are the tools of fear; a decent man will avoid them except in the direst necessity and, if compelled, will use them only with the utmost restraint. Peace is his highest value. If the peace has been shattered, how can he be content? His enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself. He doesn't wish them personal harm. Nor does he rejoice in victory. How could he rejoice in victory and delight in the slaughter of men? He enters a battle gravely, with sorrow and with great compassion, as if he were attending a funeral.'"
by Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
"Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about other people's approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity."
by Lao-Tse, Tao Te Ching
"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom; mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich. If you stay in the center and embrace death with your whole heart, you will endure forever."
by Tao Te Ching
"Knowing ignorance is strength. Ignoring knowledge is sickness.'"
by Lao-Tse, Tao Te Ching


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