"The sage desires no desire, does not value rare treasures, learns without learning, recovers what people have left behind."
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Quote collection
Laozi quotes (page 54 of 66)
1.3K quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"I have no desire to desire, and people become like the uncarved wood by themselves."
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"The sage honors his part of the settlement, but does not exact his due from others."
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"By compassion one can be brave."
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"Other people have more than they need, I alone seem wanting."
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"I am wearied, as if I lacked a home to go to."
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"Racing through the field and hunting make the mind wild."
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"Pounding an edge to sharpness will not make it last."
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"A tree as wide as a man's embrace grows from a tiny shoot."
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"The brittle is easy to shatter."
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"Can you make your soul embrace the One and not lose it?"
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"Build up virtue, and you master all."
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"To have little is to possess."
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"The best form of leadership is to be conscious of the leadership potential with the followers and to let them unleash this potential in a spontaneous way. When a great leader accomplishes this task with effortless ease, the followers say, "We did it ourselves.""
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"{The cleansing of spiritual contamination} is accomplished by offering one's talent, resources, and life to the world."
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"The best people are like water, which benefits all things and does not compete with them. It stays in lowly places that others reject. This is why it is so similar to the Way."
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"The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect can be won with good deeds; but the Tao is beyond all value, and no one can achieve it. Thus, when a new leader is chosen, don't offer to help him with your wealth or your expertise. Offer instead to teach him about the Tao. Why did the ancient Masters esteem the Tao? Because, being one with the Tao, when you seek, you find; and when you make a mistake, you are forgiven. That is why everybody loves it."
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"The wise man doesn't compete; therefore nobody can compete with him."
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"Throw away holiness and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times happier. Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing. Throw away industry and profit, and there won't be any thieves. If these three aren't enough, just stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course."
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"Stretch the bow to the very full, and you will wish you had stopped in time."
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