Tao te ching Lao Tzu

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 25 favorite quotes / passages:Taoism text

1. 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. (14)
2. Only in being lived by the Tao can you be truly yourself. (22)
3. If you want to be reborn, let yourself die. If you want to be given everything, give everything up. (22)
4. The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings. He knows that he is going to die, and he has nothing left to hold on to: no illusions in his mind, no resistances in his body. He doesn’t think about his actions; they flow from the core of his being. He holds nothing back from life; therefore he is ready for death, as a man is ready for sleep after a good day’s work. (50)
5. Thus the Master travels all day without leaving home. However splendid the views, she stays serenely in herself. (26)
6. Therefore the Master takes action by letting things take their course. He remains as calm at the end as at the beginning. He has nothing, thus has nothing to lose. What he desires is non-desire; what he learns is to unlearn. He simply reminds people of who they have always been. He cares about nothing but the Tao. Thus he can care for all things. (64)
7. Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations. (1)
8. The Master’s power is like this. He lets all things come and go effortlessly, without desire. He never expects results; thus he is never disappointed. He is never disappointed; thus his spirit never grows old. (55)
9. Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things? (10)
10. Stop thinking, and end your problems. (20)
11. The ancient Masters didn’t try to educate the people, but kindly taught them to not-know. (65)
12. Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease. First realize that you are sick; then you can move toward health. (71)
13. The more you know, the less you understand. (47)
14. The Tao never does anything, yet through it all things are done. (37)
15. The Master does nothing, yet he leaves nothing undone. The ordinary man is always doing things, yet many more are left to be done. (38)
16. The Master arrives without leaving, sees the light without looking, achieves without doing a thing. (47)
17. In the pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Tao, every day something is dropped. Less and less do you need to force things, until finally you arrive at non-action. When nothing is done, nothing is left undone. (48)
18. Giving birth and nourishing, having without possessing, acting with no expectations, leading and not trying to control: this is the supreme virtue. (10)
19. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich. (33)
20. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. (44)
21. The simplest pattern is the clearest. Content with an ordinary life, you can show all people the way back to their own true nature. (65)
22. I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world. (67)
23. True words seem paradoxical. (78)
24. Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done. The world is sacred. It can’t be improved. If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it. If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it. (29)
25. The path into the light seems dark, the path forward seems to go back, the direct path seems long. (41)