A library of wisdom
The Tao — Quotes
Two thousand five hundred years before "burnout" became a word, Lao Tzu was writing about the cost of forcing. The Tao Te Ching, 81 short verses, is the most translated text in hum A curated set of 30 quotes from the The Tao tradition.
“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.”
“A journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet.”
“When the best leader's work is done, the people say, "We did it ourselves."”
“Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet nothing is better at overcoming the hard and strong.”
“Knowing others is intelligence. Knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.”
“To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day.”
“Reversal is the movement of the Tao. Weakness is the use of the Tao.”
“Who can wait quietly while the mud settles? Who can remain still until the moment of action?”
“The sage does not accumulate. The more he does for others, the more he has. The more he gives, the more he possesses.”
“Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub. It is the centre hole that makes it useful.”
“I have three treasures which I hold and keep. The first is compassion. The second is frugality. The third is not daring to be ahead of others.”
“When you are content to be simply yourself and do not compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”
“Once upon a time, Chuang Tzu dreamt he was a butterfly. He did not know he was Chuang Tzu. Suddenly he awoke. Now he does not know whether he was Chuang Tzu dreaming he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he is Chua…”
“A good cook changes his knife once a year, because he cuts. A bad cook changes his knife once a month, because he hacks. The Cook Ting follows the openings — his knife is nineteen years old, and the edge is as fresh as t…”
“All men know the use of the useful, but no one knows the use of the useless.”
“Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free. Stay centred by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
“A goal is not always meant to be reached. It often serves simply as something to aim at.”
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”
“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel. Stop watching the reel. Live the scene.”
“Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.”
“Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.”
“You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean.”
“The Tao Te Ching is partly in praise of anarchy. It says that the more you make laws, the more thieves you create.”
“Wei wu wei — "do not do." Action by non-action. A practical political handbook.”
“The way to do is to be.”
“When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block.”
“A clever mind is not a heart. Knowledge does not really care, wisdom does.”
“When the small man hears of the Tao, he laughs out loud. If he did not laugh, it would not be the Tao.”
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”