Laozi
Philosopher
"Tao loves and nourishes all things, but does not dominate it over them."
Tao quotes
Tao
49 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Laozi
Philosopher
"The Tao is told is not the Tao."
Laozi
Philosopher
"I am good to people who are good. I am also good to people who are not good. Because Virtue is goodness."
Laozi
Philosopher
"Tao invariably takes no action, and yet there is nothing left undone."
Laozi
Philosopher
"The Tao never acts with force, yet there is nothing that it can not do."
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Tao quotes (page 1 of 3)
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"The Tao principle is what happens of itself."
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"When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster."
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"In caring for others and serving heaven, There is nothing like using restraint."
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"Wisest is he who knows what he does not know."
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"It is too facile to say that the way to follow Tao is to simply go along with the flow of life. Sometimes, like the carp, we must know when to go it alone."
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"To find the Tao, there is nowhere you need to search. If it is not inside you, it is not the Tao."
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"When affirmation and negation came into being, Tao faded. After Tao faded, then came one-sided attachments."
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"The mark of a good marriage is partnership and continuing to feel inspired by your spouse. I had that with Tao. But the end is not necessarily the tragedy. Staying in a relationship that is no longer working is the tragedy. Living unhappily - that's the tragedy."
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"The Tao is unpredictable to those that live according to plans. Only those who have no agenda are in harmony with the Tao."
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"No disaster is worse than being discontented."
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"The Tao is infinite, eternal. Why is it eternal? It was never born; thus it can never die. Why is it infinite? It has no desires for itself; thus it is present for all beings. The Master stays behind; that is why she is ahead. She is detached from all things; that is why she is one with them. Because she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled."
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"You are still guided by your expectations."
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"Either in conflict with others or in harmony with them, we go through life like a runaway horse, unable to stop."
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"Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature. The way of nature is unchanging. Knowing constancy is insight."
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"Tao is the source of both fullness and emptiness. But it is itself neither fullness nor emptiness."
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"The one who is conscious (in Tao) can't speak. The one who can speak is not conscious (centered in Tao)"
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"The Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao."
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"The tao is made because we walk it,things become what they are called."
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"The Tao has no place for pettiness, and nor has Virtue. Pettiness is dangerous to Virtue; pettiness is dangerous to the Tao. It is said, rectify yourself and be done."
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"The scholar gains every day; the man of Tao loses every day."
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