Author of the famous Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu is the founder of Taoism. His ideas and concepts, though are thousands of years old, are still practiced and preached today. Below are some of this wisdom.
“To lead people walk behind them.”
“He who is contented is rich.”
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
“Those who have knowledge, don’t predict. Those who predict, don’t have knowledge.”
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.”
“One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him.”
“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.”
“Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy.”
“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.”
“If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.”
“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.”
“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.”
“Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.”
“Great acts are made up of small deeds.”
“He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.”
“Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained.”
“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”
“He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted.”
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.”
“To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.”
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”
“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.”
“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.”
“To realize that you do not understand is a virtue; Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.”
“He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.”
“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”
“Be the chief but never the lord.”
“When virtue is lost, benevolence appears, when benevolence is lost right conduct appears, when right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder.”
“To see things in the seed, that is genius.”
“The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.”
“One can not reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.”
“Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.”
“He who talks more is sooner exhausted.”
“Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretch her fingers to touch the heavens.”
