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The Way that can be walked is not the eternal Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 1]
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The Way is empty, yet inexhaustible, like an abyss!
[Tao Te Ching chapter 4]
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Obscure, like muddy waters.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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The Way is eternal. Until your last day, you are free from peril.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 16]
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I do not know its name. I call it the Way. For the lack of better words I call it great.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 25]
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The Way is ever nameless.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 32]
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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.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 34]
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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.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 34]
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Words spoken about the Way have no taste. When looked at, there’s not enough to see. When listened to, there’s not enough to hear. When used, it is never exhausted.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 35]
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Returning is the movement of the Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 40]
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The light of the Way seems dim.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The progress of the Way seems retreating.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The straightness of the Way seems curved.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The Way is hidden and nameless. Still only the Way nourishes and completes.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The whole world says that my Way is great like nothing else. It is great because it is like nothing else. If it were like everything else, it would long ago have become insignificant.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 67]
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Heaven’s Way does not contend, yet it certainly triumphs. It does not speak, yet it certainly answers. It does not summon, yet things come by themselves. It seems to be at rest, yet it certainly has a plan.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 73]
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Heaven’s net is very vast. It is sparsely meshed, yet nothing slips through.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 73]
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The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of all things.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 1]
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From now back to antiquity, its (Tao's) name has not been lost. Thereby, see the origin of all.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 21]
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There was something that finished chaos, born before Heaven and Earth.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 25]
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All things in the world are born out of being. Being is born out of non-being.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 40]
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The world’s beginning is its mother. To have found the mother is also to know the children. Although you know the children, cling to the mother. Until your last day you will not be harmed.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 52]
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Can you make your soul embrace the One and not lose it?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 10]
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Hold on to the ancient Way to master the present, and to learn the distant beginning.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 14]
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Knowledge of the eternal is all-embracing. To be all-embracing leads to righteousness, which is majestic.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 16]
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I alone am different from the others, because I am nourished by the great mother.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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The greatest virtue is to follow the Way utterly.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 21]
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The sage embraces the one, and is an example to the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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Hold on to the great image, and the whole world follows, follows unharmed, content and completely at peace.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 35]
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If I have just an ounce of sense, I follow the great Way, and fear only to stray from it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 53]
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Profound virtue is indeed deep and wide. It leads all things back to the great order.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 65]
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When the great Way is abandoned, benevolence and righteousness arise.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 18]
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Things exalted then decay. This is going against the Way. What goes against the Way meets an early end.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 30]
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The great Way is very straight, but people prefer to deviate.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 53]
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Heaven and Earth are not kind. They regard all things as offerings.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 5]
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Is not the space between Heaven and Earth like a bellows? It is empty, but lacks nothing. The more it moves, the more comes out of it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 5]
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All things arise in unison. Thereby we see their return.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 16]
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All things flourish, and each returns to its source.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 16]
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Strong winds do not last all morning, hard rains do not last all day.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 23]
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If Heaven and Earth are unable to persist, how could man?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 23]
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Man is ruled by Earth. Earth is ruled by Heaven. Heaven is ruled by the Way. The Way is ruled by itself.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 25]
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What the Way is to the world, the stream is to the river and the sea.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 32]
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If Heaven were not clear it might rend. If Earth were not firm it might crumble.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 39]
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All things carry yin and embrace yang. They reach harmony by blending with the vital breath.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 42]
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Of all things, none does not revere the Way and honor virtue. Reverence of the Way and honoring virtue were not demanded of them, but it is in their nature.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 51]
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The river and the sea can be kings of a hundred valleys, because they lie below them.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 66]
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Conquering the world and changing it, I do not think it can succeed.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 29]
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The world is a sacred vessel that cannot be changed. He who changes it will destroy it. He who seizes it will lose it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 29]
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Never take over the world to tamper with it. Those who want to tamper with it are not fit to take over the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 48]
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When wisdom and knowledge appear, great pretense arises.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 18]
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Those who understand others are clever, those who understand themselves are wise.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 33]
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The more clever and cunning people are, the stranger the events will be.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 57]
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People are difficult to rule, because of their knowledge.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 65]
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Not knowing of the eternal leads to unfortunate errors.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 16]
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Those who know it do not speak about it. Those who speak about it do not know it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 56]
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Correct becomes defect. Good becomes ominous. People’s delusions have certainly lasted long.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 58]
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Knowing that you do not know is the best. Not knowing that you do not know is an illness.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 71]
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Truly, only those who see illness as illness can avoid illness.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 71]
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The sage is not ill, because he sees illness as illness.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 71]
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True words seem false.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 78]
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True words are not pleasing. Pleasing words are not true.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 81]
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Those who are right do not argue. Those who argue are not right.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 81]
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Those who know are not learned. Those who are learned do not know.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 81]
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Abandon wisdom, discard knowledge, and people will benefit a hundredfold.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 19]
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Abandon knowledge and your worries are over.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 19]
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I have the mind of a fool, understanding nothing.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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Those who seek knowledge, collect something every day. Those who seek the Way, let go of something every day.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 48]
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My words are very easy to understand and very easy to practice. Still, no one in the world can understand or practice them.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 70]
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My words have an origin. My deeds have a sovereign. Truly, because people do not understand this, they do not understand me.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 70]
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That so few understand me is why I am treasured.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 70]
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Teacher and Student
A good person is the bad person’s teacher. A bad person is the good person’s task.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 27]
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The one who does not honor the teacher and the one who does not honor the task, although ever so knowledgeable, they are confused.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 27]
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The superior student listens to the Way and follows it closely. The average student listens to the Way and follows some and some not. The lesser student listens to the Way and laughs out loud. If there were no laughter it would not be the Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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Opposites Attract
When everyone in the world sees beauty, then ugly exists.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 2]
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What is and what is not create each other.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 2]
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High and low rest on each other.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 2]
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First and last follow each other.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 2]
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What’s the difference between yes and no?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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What’s the difference between beautiful and ugly?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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Heavy is the root of light.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 26]
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What should be shrunken must first be stretched.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 36]
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What should be weakened must first be strengthened.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 36]
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What should be abolished must first be cherished.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 36]
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What should be deprived must first be enriched.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 36]
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Misery is what happiness rests upon. Happiness is what misery lurks beneath.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 58]
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The highest virtue is not virtuous. Therefore it has virtue. The lowest virtue holds on to virtue. Therefore it has no virtue.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 38]
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The purest white seems stained.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The grandest virtue seems deficient.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The sturdiest virtue seems fragile.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The most fundamental seems fickle.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The perfect square lacks corners.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The highest tone is hard to hear.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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The great image lacks shape.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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Sometimes gain comes from losing, and sometimes loss comes from gaining.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 42]
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What has no substance can penetrate what has no opening.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 43]
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The most complete seems lacking. Yet in use it is not exhausted.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 45]
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The most abundant seems empty. Yet in use it is not drained.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 45]
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The most straight seems curved.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 45]
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The most able seems clumsy.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 45]
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The most eloquent seems to stutter.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 45]
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Taste the tasteless.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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Make the small big and the few many.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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Thirty spokes are joined in the wheel’s hub. The hole in the middle makes it useful.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 11]
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Mold clay into a bowl. The empty space makes it useful.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 11]
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Cut out doors and windows for the house. The holes make it useful.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 11]
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The value comes from what is there, but the use comes from what is not there.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 11]
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The sage acts by doing nothing.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 2]
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Can you comprehend everything in the four directions and still do nothing?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 10]
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Because he (the Sage) opposes no one, no one in the world can oppose him.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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The Way is ever without action, yet nothing is left undone.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 37]
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The highest virtue does nothing. Yet, nothing needs to be done. The lowest virtue does everything. Yet, much remains to be done.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 38]
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The value of teaching without words and accomplishing without action is understood by few in the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 43]
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The sage knows without traveling, perceives without looking, completes without acting.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 47]
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When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 48]
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Use justice to rule a country. Use surprise to wage war. Use non-action to govern the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 57]
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I do not act, and people become reformed by themselves.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 57]
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I am at peace, and people become fair by themselves.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 57]
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I do not interfere, and people become rich by themselves.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 57]
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Act without action.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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Those who act will fail. Those who seize will lose.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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He (the sage) wants all things to follow their own nature, but dares not act.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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The sage does not act and therefore does not fail, does not seize and therefore does not lose.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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Cautious, like crossing a river in the winter.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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Wary, as if surrounded by strangers.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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Although he travels all day, the sage never loses sight of his luggage carts.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 26]
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The best way to carve is not to split.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 28]
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Those who know when to halt are unharmed.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 44]
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Seal the openings, shut the doors, and until your last day you will not be exhausted. Widen the openings, interfere, and until your last day you will not be safe.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 52]
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The sage is sharp but does not cut, pointed but does not pierce, forthright but does not offend, bright but does not dazzle.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 58]
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Pursue without interfering.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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Lightly given promises must meet with little trust.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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Taking things lightly must lead to big difficulties.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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The sage regards things as difficult, and thereby avoids difficulty.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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People fail at the threshold of success. Be as cautious at the end as at the beginning. Then there will be no failure.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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Those who have the courage to dare will perish. Those who have the courage not to dare will live.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 73]
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The sage’s Way is to act and not to contend.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 81]
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Moderation means prevention. Prevention means achieving much virtue.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 59]
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Meet the difficult while it is easy.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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Meet the big while it is small.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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The most difficult in the world must be easy in its beginning.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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The biggest in the world is small in its beginning.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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The brittle is easy to shatter.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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The small is easy to scatter.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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What has not yet emerged is easy to prevent.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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Solve it before it happens. Order it before chaos emerges.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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A tree as wide as a man’s embrace grows from a tiny shoot.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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A tower of nine stories starts with a pile of dirt.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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A climb of eight hundred feet starts where the foot stands.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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Who can wait in stillness while the mud settles?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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Who can rest until the moment of action?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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Filling all the way to the brim is not as good as halting in time.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 9]
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Pounding an edge to sharpness will not make it last.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 9]
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(The five) colors blind the eye. (The five) tones deafen the ear. (The five) flavors dull the mouth.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 12]
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Racing through the field and hunting make the mind wild.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 12]
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He who holds on to the Way seeks no excess. Since he lacks excess, he can grow old in no need to be renewed.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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Those who stand on their toes are not steady.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 24]
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Those who take long steps cannot keep the pace.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 24]
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The sage avoids extremity, excess, and extravagance.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 29]
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Those who know when it is enough will not perish.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 32]
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Those who are content suffer no disgrace.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 44]
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To have enough of enough is always enough.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 46]
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Seal the openings, shut the doors, dull the sharpness, untie the knots, dim the light, become one with the dust. This is called the profound union.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 56]
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When leading people and serving Heaven, nothing exceeds moderation.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 59]
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The sage never strives for greatness, and can therefore accomplish greatness.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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By moderation one can be generous.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 67]
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Let the country be small, and the inhabitants few.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 80]
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Because he (the Sage) demands no honor, he will never be dishonored.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 2]
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Not praising the deserving prevents envy.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 3]
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He (the Sage) does not show off, therefore he shines.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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He (the Sage) does not justify himself, therefore he is revered.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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He (the Sage) does not boast, therefore he is honored.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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He (the Sage) does not praise himself, therefore he remains.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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Those who show off do not shine.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 24]
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Those who are self-righteous are not prominent.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 24]
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Those who boast are not respected.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 24]
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Those who praise themselves do not prevail.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 24]
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The sage does not strive to be great. Thereby he can accomplish the great.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 34]
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Do not strive for the shine of jade, but clatter like stone.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 39]
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The sage wears coarse clothes, concealing jade.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 70]
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The sage knows himself, but does not parade. He cherishes himself, but does not praise himself.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 72]
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The sage acts without taking credit. He accomplishes without dwelling on it. He does not want to display his worth.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 77]
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Stay Where You Are
Those who stay where they are will endure.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 33]
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Without stepping out the door, you can know the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 47]
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Without looking through the window, you can see Heaven’s Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 47]
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The longer you travel, the less you know.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 47]
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They can see their neighbors. Roosters and dogs can be heard from there. Still, they will age and die without visiting one another.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 80]
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The sage puts himself last and becomes the first.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 7]
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Supreme good is like water. Water greatly benefits all things, without conflict. It flows through places that people loathe. Thereby it is close to the Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 8]
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Open, like a valley.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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Other people are joyous, like on the feast of the ox, like on the way up to the terrace in the spring. I alone am inert, giving no sign, like a newborn baby who has not learned to smile.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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I am wearied, as if I lacked a home to go to.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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Other people have more than they need, I alone seem wanting.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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Only I am clumsy, like drifting on the waves of the sea, without direction.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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Other people are occupied, I alone am unwilling, like the outcast.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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Knowing the bright, but clinging to the dark, you become a model to the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 28]
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Knowing honor, but clinging to disgrace, you become the valley of the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 28]
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The high must make the low its base.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 39]
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The highest virtue seems as low as a valley.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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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.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 66]
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The highest benevolence acts without purpose.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 38]
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The sage has no concern for himself, but makes the concerns of others his own.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 49]
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People turn their eyes and ears to him (the sage), and the sage cares for them like his own children.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 49]
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See others as yourself. See families as your family. See towns as your town. See countries as your country. See worlds as your world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 54]
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Return animosity with virtue.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 63]
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I have three treasures that I cherish. The first is compassion. The second is moderation. The third is not claiming to be first in the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 67]
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By compassion one can be brave.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 67]
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The sage honors his part of the settlement, but does not exact his due from others.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 79]
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Heaven’s Way is to benefit and not to harm.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 81]
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Free from desire you see the mystery. Full of desire you see the manifestations.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 1]
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Lessen selfishness and restrain desires.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 19]
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Without desire there is stillness, and the world settles by itself.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 37]
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There is no greater crime than desire.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 46]
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I have no desire to desire, and people become like the uncarved wood by themselves.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 57]
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The sage desires no desire, does not value rare treasures, learns without learning, recovers what people have left behind.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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Not valuing wealth prevents theft.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 3]
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Keeping plenty of gold and jade in the palace makes no one able to defend it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 9]
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Displaying riches and titles with pride brings about one’s downfall.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 9]
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Searching for precious goods leads astray.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 12]
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Abandon cleverness, discard profit, and thieves and robbers will disappear.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 19]
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Those who know when they have enough are rich.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 33]
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Gain or loss, what is worse?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 44]
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Greed is costly. Assembled fortunes are lost.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 44]
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There is no greater misfortune than greed.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 46]
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When the palace is magnificent, the fields are filled with weeds, and the granaries are empty.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 53]
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Some have lavish garments, carry sharp swords, and feast on food and drink. They possess more than they can spend. This is called the vanity of robbers. It is certainly not the Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 53]
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People starve. The rulers consume too much with their taxes. That is why people starve.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 75]
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Heaven’s Way is like stretching a bow. The high is lowered and the low is raised. Excess is reduced and deficiency is replenished. Heaven’s Way reduces excess and replenishes deficiency. People’s Way is not so. They reduce the deficient and supply the excessive.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 77]
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Who has excess and supplies the world? Only the one who follows the Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 77]
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The virtuous carry out the settlement, but those without virtue pursue their claims.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 79]
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The sage does not hoard. The more he does for others, the more he has. The more he thereby gives to others, the ever more he gets.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 81]
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When everyone sees good, then bad exists.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 2]
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He (the sage) is good to those who are good. He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue of good.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 49]
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He (the Sage) is faithful to people who are faithful. He is also faithful to people who are not faithful. That is the virtue of faithfulness.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 49]
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The Way is the source of all things, good people’s treasure and bad people’s refuge.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 62]
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Fine words are traded. Noble deeds gain respect. But people who are not good, why abandon them?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 62]
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What Heaven detests, who knows why? Even the sage considers it difficult.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 73]
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Heaven’s Way gives no favors. It always remains with good people.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 79]
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Ancient masters of excellence had a subtle essence, and a depth too profound to comprehend.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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The ancients said: Hulk to be whole.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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Why did the ancients praise the Way? Did they not say it was because you find what you seek and are saved from your wrongdoings?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 62]
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In ancient times, those who followed the Way did not try to give people knowledge thereof, but kept them ignorant.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 65]
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Dignified, like a guest.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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The noble must make humility his root.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 39]
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Cultivate virtue in yourself, and it will be true.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 54]
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When much virtue is achieved, nothing is not overcome.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 59]
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To retreat after a work well done is Heaven’s Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 9]
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A good wanderer leaves no trace.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 27]
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A good speaker does not stutter.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 27]
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A good counter needs no calculator.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 27]
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A good door needs no lock, still it can’t be opened.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 27]
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A good mooring needs no knot, still no one can untie it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 27]
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Being a model to the world, eternal virtue will never falter in you, and you return to the boundless.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 28]
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When the uncarved wood is split, its parts are put to use. When the sage is put to use, he becomes the head.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 28]
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Those who are unswerving have resolve.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 33]
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The sage governs by emptying senses and filling bellies.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 3]
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The sage attends to the belly, and not to what he sees.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 12]
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Simple, like uncarved wood.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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Behave simply and hold on to purity.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 19]
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Being the valley of the world, eternal virtue will be full in you, and you return to the state of uncarved wood.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 28]
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Let people return to making knots on ropes, instead of writing.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 80]
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Attain utmost emptiness. Abide in steadfast stillness.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 16]
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Returning to the source is stillness. It is returning to one’s fate. Returning to one’s fate is eternal.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 16]
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Stillness is the ruler of haste.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 26]
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Stillness overcomes heat.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 45]
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Stillness is easy to maintain.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 64]
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A multitude of words is tiresome, unlike remaining centered.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 5]
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Those who are quiet value the words. When their task is completed, people will say: We did it ourselves.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 17]
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To be of few words is natural.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 23]
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Peace and quiet govern the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 45]
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Where there is no conflict, there is no fault.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 8]
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Those who are one with deprivation are deprived of deprivation.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 23]
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The sage is one with the world, and lives in harmony with it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 49]
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Harmony is called the eternal. Knowing the eternal is called clarity.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 55]
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Praise and disgrace cause fear.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 13]
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Praise leads to weakness. Getting it causes fear, losing it causes fear.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 13]
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The reason for great distress is the body. Without it, what distress could there be?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 13]
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Must one dread what others dread?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 20]
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If people are not afraid of dying, why threaten them with death?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 74]
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If people live in constant fear of death, and if breaking the law is punished by death, then who would dare?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 74]
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When the Way is lost there is virtue. When virtue is lost there is benevolence. When benevolence is lost there is righteousness. When righteousness is lost there are rituals.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 38]
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Rituals are the end of fidelity and honesty, and the beginning of confusion.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 38]
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When people are unsettled, loyal ministers arise.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 18]
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There is no greater disaster than discontent.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 46]
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Letting the mind control the vital breath is called force.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 55]
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Those who show no trust will not be trusted.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 17 and 23]
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The valley spirit never dies. It is called the mystical female.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 6]
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Can you open and close the gate of Heaven and act like a woman?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 10]
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Knowing the manly, but clinging to the womanly, you become the valley of the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 28]
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A great country is like the lower outlet of a river. It is the world’s meeting ground, the world’s female.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 61]
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The female always surpasses the male with stillness. In her stillness she is yielding.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 61]
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Can you gather your vital breath and yet be tender like a newborn baby?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 10]
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Being the valley of the world, eternal virtue will never desert you, and you become like a little child anew.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 28]
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The one who is filled by virtue is like a newborn baby.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 55]
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When family ties are disturbed, devoted children arise.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 18]
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Abandon benevolence, discard duty, and people will return to the family ties.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 19]
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Cultivate virtue in the family, and it will be overflowing.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 54]
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Yielding, like ice about to melt.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 15]
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Hulk to be whole.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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Bend to be straight.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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Empty to be filled.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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Wear down to be renewed.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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Reduce to gain.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 22]
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The soft and weak overcome the hard and strong.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 36]
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Yielding is the manner of the Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 40]
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The softest in the world surpasses the hardest in the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 43]
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Holding on to the weak is called strength.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 52]
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Because he (the Sage) does not resist, none in the world resists him.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 66]
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The rigid tree will be felled.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 76]
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The rigid and big belong below. The soft and weak belong above.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 76]
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Nothing in the world is softer and weaker than water. Yet, to attack the hard and strong, nothing surpasses it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 78]
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The weak overcomes the strong. The soft overcomes the hard. Everybody in the world knows this, still nobody makes use of it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 78]
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Can you care for the people and rule the country and not be cunning?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 10]
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He who treasures his body as much as the world can care for the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 13]
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He who loves his body as much as the world can be entrusted with the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 13]
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In the world there are four greats, and the king is one of them.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 25]
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Good leaders reach solutions, and then stop. They do not dare to rely on force.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 30]
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If princes and kings could follow it (Tao), all things would by themselves abide, Heaven and Earth would unite and sweet dew would fall. People would by themselves find harmony, without being commanded.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 32]
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If princes and kings were not exalted they might be overthrown.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 39]
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What people loathe the most is to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy. But this is what princes and kings call themselves.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 42]
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Cultivate virtue in the town, and it will be lasting.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 54]
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Cultivate virtue in the country, and it will be abundant.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 54]
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Cultivate virtue in the world, and it will be universal.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 54]
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The one who rules like the mother lasts long.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 59]
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Ruling a great country is like cooking a small fish.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 60]
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When the world is ruled according to the Way, the ghosts lose their power. The ghosts do not really lose their power, but it is not used to harm people.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 60]
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When the emperor is crowned or the three dukes are appointed, rather than sending a gift of jade carried by four horses, remain still and offer the Way.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 62]
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When the sage stands above people, they are not oppressed. When he leads people, they are not obstructed. The world will exalt him and not grow tired of him.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 66]
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By not claiming to be first in the world one can rule.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 67]
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Excellent leaders of people lower themselves.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 68]
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To bear the country’s disgrace is to rule the shrines of soil and grain. To bear the country’s misfortunes is to be the king of the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 78]
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The supreme rulers are hardly known by their subjects. The lesser are loved and praised. The even lesser are feared. The least are despised.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 17]
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In lightness the root is lost. In haste the ruler is lost.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 26]
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As soon as rules were made, names were given. There are already many names. One must know when it is enough.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 32]
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The more restrictions and prohibitions there are, the poorer the people will be.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 57]
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The more sharp weapons people have in a country, the bigger the disorder will be.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 57]
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The more laws and commands there are, the more thieves and robbers there will be.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 57]
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When the government is quite unobtrusive, people are indeed pure. When the government is quite prying, people are indeed conniving.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 58]
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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.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 61]
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A great country needs more people to serve it. A small country needs more people to serve. So, if both shall get what they need, the great country ought to yield.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 61]
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To rule by knowledge ravages the country.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 65]
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To be brave without compassion, generous without moderation, and rule without refraining from being first in the world, are certain deaths.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 67]
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When people do not dread authorities, then a greater dread descends.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 72]
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Do not make them (people) weary at their work. If you do not make them weary, they will not be weary of you.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 72]
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People are hard to govern. The rulers interfere with too much. That is why people are hard to govern.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 75]
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Those who die without being forgotten get longevity.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 33]
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We go from birth to death. Three out of ten follow life. Three out of ten follow death. People who rush from birth to death are also three out of ten. Why is that so? Because they want to make too much of life.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 50]
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I have heard that the one who knows how to live can wander through the land without encountering the rhinoceros or the tiger. He passes the battlefield without being struck by weapons. In him, the rhinoceros finds no opening for its horn. The tiger finds no opening for its claws. The soldiers find no opening for their blades. Why is that so? Death has no place in him.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 50]
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Filling life exceedingly is called ominous.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 55]
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Things exalted then decay. This is going against the Way. What goes against the Way meets an early end.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 55]
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Life and Death
There is one appointed supreme executioner. Truly, trying to take the place of the supreme executioner is like trying to carve wood like a master carpenter. Of those who try to carve wood like a master carpenter, there are few who do not injure their hands.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 74]
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People take death lightly. They expect too much of life. That is why people take death lightly.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 75]
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Truly, only acting without thought of one’s life is superior to valuing one’s life.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 75]
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People are born soft and weak. They die hard and stiff.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 76]
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All things such as grass and trees are soft and supple in life. At their death they are withered and dry.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 76]
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The hard and stiff are death’s companions. The soft and weak are life’s companions.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 76]
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Let people take death seriously, and not travel far.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 80]
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Seeing the small is called clarity.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 52]
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Use the light to return to clarity.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 52]
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Knowing the future is the flower of the Way, and the beginning of folly.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 38]
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The truly great ones rely on substance, and not on surface, hold on to the fruit, and not to the flower.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 38]
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Your name or your body, what is dearer? Your body or your wealth, what is worthier?
[Tao Te Ching chapter 44]
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The separate parts make no carriage.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 39]
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The greatest vessel takes long to complete.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 41]
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Movement overcomes cold.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 45]
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What is well planted will not be uprooted.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 54]
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What is well held will not escape.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 54]
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Those who advice the ruler on the Way, do not want the world subdued with weapons.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 30]
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Thorn bushes grow where armies have camped.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 30]
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Battles are followed by years of famine.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 30]
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Weapons are ominous tools. They are abhorred by all creatures. Anyone who follows the Way shuns them.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 31]
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Weapons are ominous tools. They are not the noble ruler’s tools. He only uses them when he can’t avoid it.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 31]
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Peace and quiet are preferred. Victory should not be praised.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 31]
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Those who praise victory relish manslaughter. Those who relish manslaughter cannot reach their goals in the world.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 31]
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When many people are killed, they should be mourned and lamented. Those who are victorious in war should follow the rites of funerals.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 31]
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Those who defeat others are strong, those who defeat themselves are mighty.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 33]
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The fish cannot leave the deep waters. The state’s weaponry should not be displayed.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 36]
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The forceful and violent will not die from natural causes.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 42]
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When the Way governs the world, the proud stallions drag dung carriages. When the Way is lost to the world, war horses are bred outside the city.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 46]
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Those who have compassion when they do battle will be victorious. Those who likewise defend themselves will be safe. Heaven will rescue and protect them with compassion.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 67]
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Excellent warriors are not violent.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 68]
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Excellent soldiers are not furious.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 68]
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Excellent conquerors do not engage.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 68]
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Warriors say: I dare not be like the host, but would rather be like the guest. I dare not advance an inch, but would rather retreat a foot.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 69]
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No misfortune is worse than underestimating the enemy. Underestimating the enemy, I risk losing my treasure.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 69]
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When equal armies battle, the grieving one will be victorious.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 69]
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The unyielding army will not win.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 76]
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When bitter enemies make peace, surely some bitterness remains.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 79]
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Although there are weapons for tens and hundreds of soldiers, they will not be used.
[Tao Te Ching chapter 80]
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