Tao Te Ching Quotes

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

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

“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name.”

“Nothing in the world is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.”

“The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities. It is hidden but always present. I don't know who gave birth to it. It is older than God.”

“The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.”

“Since before time and space were, the Tao is. It is beyond is and is not. How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.”

“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.”

“He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.”

“When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.”

“Governing a large country is like frying a small fish.”

“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.”

“People starved because the ruler taxed too heavily.”

“千里之行始於足下。 • Qiān lǐ zhī xíng shǐ yú zú xià.”

“The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.”

“People are difficult to be ruled, Because the ruler governs with personal desire and establishes too many laws to confuse the people.”

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

“The Tao is like a bellows: it is empty yet infinitely capable. The more you use it, the more it produces; the more you talk of it, the less you understand.”

“Block the passages, shut the doors, And till the end your strength shall not fail. Open up the passages, increase your doings, And till your last day no help shall come to you.”

“A violent wind does not outlast the morning; a squall of rain does not outlast the day. Such is the course of Nature. And if Nature herself cannot sustain her efforts long, how much less can man!”

“The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities. It is hidden but always present. I don't know who gave birth to it. It is older than God.”

“Thirty spokes unite at the single hub;It is the empty space which makes the wheel useful.Mold clay to form a bowl;It is the empty space which makes the bowl useful.Cut out windows and doors;It is the empty space which makes the room useful.”

“The universe is deathless; Is deathless because, having no finite self, it stays infinite. A sound man by not advancing himself stays the further ahead of himself, By not confining himself to himself sustains himself outside himself: By never being an end in himself he endlessly becomes himself.”

“Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, take it and practice it earnestly. Scholars of the middle class, when they hear of it, take it half earnestly. Scholars of the lowest class, when they hear of it, laugh at it. Without the laughter, there would be no Tao.”

“A leader is best when people barely know that he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worst when they despise him. Fail to honor people, They fail to honor you. But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aims fulfilled, they will all say, "We did this ourselves.”

“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.”

“The unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants. Two things, one origin, but different in name, whose identity is mystery. Mystery of all mysteries! The door to the hidden.”