Taoism Quotes

Those who know it do not speak about it. Those who speak about it do not know it.

He who knows himself is enlightened.

When wisdom and knowledge appear, great pretense arises.

Make the small big and the few many.

True words seem false.

First and last follow each other.

Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.

Taoism is the gentle way. The path of least resistence.

The sage acts by doing nothing.

What has no substance can penetrate what has no opening.

All things arise in unison. Thereby we see their return.

Yielding is the way of the Tao.

The sage avoids extremity, excess, and extravagance.

The value comes from what is there, but the use comes from what is not there.

Not praising the deserving prevents envy.

What should be shrunken must first be stretched.

The Grand Canyon is living evidence of the power of water over a period of time. The power may not manifest immediately. Water can be very powerful, like a tidal wave.

The world is a sacred vessel that cannot be changed. He who changes it will destroy it. He who seizes it will lose it.

The great Way is all-pervading. It reaches to the left and to the right. All things depend on it with their existence. Still it demands no obedience.

Fine words are traded. Noble deeds gain respect. But people who are not good, why abandon them?

The sage knows without traveling, perceives without looking, completes without acting.

Misery is what happiness rests upon. Happiness is what misery lurks beneath.

If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow them from behind.

They can see their neighbors. Roosters and dogs can be heard from there. Still, they will age and die without visiting one another.

It (Tao) is eternally without desire. So, it can be called small. All things return to it, although it does not make itself their ruler. So, it can be called great.

The perfect square lacks corners.

Moderation means prevention. Prevention means achieving much virtue.

Peace and quiet are preferred. Victory should not be praised.

Lightly given promises must meet with little trust.

That so few understand me is why I am treasured.

The sage acts without taking credit. He accomplishes without dwelling on it. He does not want to display his worth.

Those who stay where they are will endure.

Stillness is the ruler of haste.

Letting the mind control the vital breath is called force.

All things of the world are born of being; being is born of nonbeing.

When your mind is empty of prejudices you can see the Tao. When your heart is empty of desires you can follow the Tao.

The Way is ever without action, yet nothing is left undone.

Those who have the courage to dare will perish. Those who have the courage not to dare will live.

The sage has no concern for himself, but makes the concerns of others his own.

Can you comprehend everything in the four directions and still do nothing?

Those who praise victory relish manslaughter. Those who relish manslaughter cannot reach their goals in the world.

The light of the Way seems dim.

Without desire there is stillness, and the world settles by itself.

The sage knows himself, but does not parade. He cherishes himself, but does not praise himself.

Return animosity with virtue.

The little child learns to speak, though it has no learned teachers - because it lives with those who know how to speak.

Those who don't know how to suffer are the worst off. There are times when the only correct thing we can do is to bear out troubles until a better day.

Treat gain and loss the same.' Don't be Intimidated. Don't make a Big Deal of anything - just accept things as they come to you.

Simple, like uncarved wood.

From wonder into wonder existence opens.