I do not concern myself with gods and spirits either good or evil nor do I serve any.
An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts the whole forest.
There is another kind of wisdom, the wisdom of following - the wisdom of not taking the lead with your ego.
The Way is empty, yet inexhaustible, like an abyss!
Misery is what happiness rests upon. Happiness is what misery lurks beneath.
Gradually, you were given a description of the world, a way of seeing, which is largely sexual.
He who knows himself is enlightened.
A good door needs no lock, still it can't be opened.
The sage governs by emptying senses and filling bellies.
Return animosity with virtue.
Wary, as if surrounded by strangers.
Learn not to be attached to other people, to certain types of experiences. Allow the flow of life to guide you wherever it is supposed to and accept with equanimity, with balance, with poise, whatever happens.
The best way to carve is not to split.
Stop thinking, and end your problems.
The primary quality that Lao Tzu seems to emobdy is humility, which is the image of water - seeking the common level of existence.
Ancient masters of excellence had a subtle essence, and a depth too profound to comprehend.
Taking things lightly must lead to big difficulties.
If a great country yields to a small country, it will conquer the small country. If a small country yields to a great country, it will be conquered by the great country.
In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.
Returning to the source is stillness. It is returning to one's fate. Returning to one's fate is eternal.