Tao Quotes - Page 11

• The Tao which you know is not the eternal Tao

  Laozi

  Eternal, Knows

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• Attending fully and becoming supple, Can you be as a newborn babe?

  Laozi

  Becoming, Newborn, Babe

  Laozi (1997). “道德经”, Vintage

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• Giving birth and nourishing, Bearing yet not possessing, Working yet not taking credit, Leading yet not dominating, This is the Primal Virtue.

  Laozi

  Giving, Credit, Birth

  Laozi (1997). “道德经”, Vintage

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• There is danger for the eye in seeing too clearly, danger for the ear in hearing too sharply and danger to the heart from caring too greatly.

  Zhuangzi

  Heart, Eye, Caring

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• Although things seem to be sometimes going up and sometimes descending, sometimes slipping away, nevertheless there is a reality, the same today as in the past. It does not change, for nothing can affect it. Could we not say it is one great harmony? So why shouldn't we ask about it.

  Zhuangzi

  Past, Reality, Doe

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• Tao is the source of both fullness and emptiness. But it is itself neither fullness nor emptiness.

  Zhuangzi

  Emptiness, Source, Fullness

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• What is a good man? A teacher of a bad man. What is a bad man? A good man's charge?

  Laozi

  Teacher, Men, Good Man

  Laozi (1997). “道德经”, Vintage

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• Frequently we're asked to come in when the Tao is conflict and crisis. We encourage people to let that Tao happen and not repress it. Especially in new age circles, people just hate conflict and try to repress it.

  Arnold Mindell

  Hate, Circles, People

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• The tao is made because we walk it,things become what they are called.

  Zhuangzi

  Made, Walks

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• There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao. It flows through all things, inside and outside, and returns to the origin of all things. The Tao is great. The universe is great. Earth is great. Man is great. These are the four great powers. Man follows the earth. Earth follows the universe. The universe follows the Tao. The Tao follows only itself.

  Laozi

  Mother, Men, Names

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• The Tao doesn't take sides; it gives birth to both good and evil. The Master doesn't take sides; she welcomes both saints and sinners. The Tao is like a bellows: it is empty yet infinitely capable. The more you use it, the more it produces; the more you talk of it, the less you understand. Hold on to the center.

  Laozi

  Evil, Giving, Saint

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• Our western mind lacking all culture in this respect, has never yet devised a concept, not even a name for "the union of opposites through the middle path", that most fundamental item of inward experience which could respectably be set against the Chinese concept of Tao.

  Carl Jung

  Opposites, Names, Chinese

  Carl Gustav Jung, Richard Francis Carrington Hull (1992). “Two Essays on Analytical Psychology”, p.205, Psychology Press

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• My idea of enlightenment is when ego and Tao are fused, and Tao is perceived as ego. Then everything happens with complete appropriateness.

  Terence McKenna

  Ideas, Ego, Enlightenment

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• What is God-given is called nature; to follow nature is called Tao (the Way); to cultivate the way is called culture. Before joy, anger, sadness and happiness are expressed, they are called the inner self; when they are expressed to the proper degree, they are called harmony. The inner self is the correct foundation of the world, and the harmony is the illustrious Way. When a man has achieved the inner self and harmony, the heaven and earth are orderly and the myriad of things are nourished and grow thereby.

  Confucius

  Sadness, Men, Self

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• Tao in the world is like a river flowing home to the sea.

  Laozi

  Home, Sea, Rivers

  Laozi (1997). “道德经”, Vintage

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• The ancient Masters didn't try to educate the people, but kindly taught them to not-know. When they think that they know the answers, people are difficult to guide. When they know that they don't know, people can find their own way. If you want to learn how to govern, avoid being clever or rich. The simplest pattern is the clearest. Content with an ordinary life, you can show all people the way back to their own true nature.

  Laozi

  Clever, Thinking, People

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• There is something obscure which is complete before heaven and earth arose; tranquil, quiet, standing alone without change, moving without peril. It could be the mother of everything. Not knowing its name, I call it Tao.

  Laozi

  Mother, Moving, Names

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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.

  Laozi

  Mistake, Men, Leader

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• Act without doing; work without effort. Think of the small as large and the few as many. Confront the difficult while it is still easy; accomplish the great task by a series of small acts. The Master never reaches for the great; thus she achieves greatness. When she runs into a difficulty, she stops and gives herself to it. She doesn't cling to her own comfort; thus problems are no problem for her.

  Laozi

  Running, Greatness, Thinking

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• The great Way is easy, yet people prefer the side paths. Be aware when things are out of balance. Stay centered within the Tao. When rich speculators prosper While farmers lose their land; when government officials spend money on weapons instead of cures; when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible while the poor have nowhere to turn- all this is robbery and chaos. It is not in keeping with the Tao.

  Laozi

  Government, Land, Class

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• Without opening your door, you can open your heart to the world. Without looking out your window, you can see the essence of the Tao. The more you know, the less you understand. The Master arrives without leaving, sees the light without looking, achieves without doing a thing.

  Laozi

  Heart, Light, Doors

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• In harmony with the Tao, the sky is clear and spacious, the earth is solid and full, all creature flourish together, content with the way they are, endlessly repeating themselves, endlessly renewed. When man interferes with the Tao, the sky becomes filthy, the earth becomes depleted, the equilibrium crumbles, creatures become extinct. The Master views the parts with compassion, because he understands the whole. His constant practice is humility. He doesn't glitter like a jewel but lets himself be shaped by the Tao, as rugged and common as stone.

  Laozi

  Humility, Compassion, Men

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• The gentlest thing in the world overcomes the hardest thing in the world. That which has no substance enters where there is no space. This shows the value of non-action. Teaching without words, performing without actions: that is the Master's way.

  Laozi

  Teaching, Space, Overcoming

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• Do It With Style It's not enough that we want to change the world. It's not enough that our product is incredibly complex and our vision is vast and shifting. We're not just going to win, we're going to do it with style. That means a lot of different things, and a lot of what it means can't be captured in a handbook.

  Philip Rosedale

  Mean, Winning, Style

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• Who can enjoy enlightenment and remain indifferent to suffering in the world? This is not in keeping with the Way. Only those who increase their service along with their understanding can be called men and women of Tao.

  Laozi

  Men, Understanding, Suffering

  Laozi, Brian Browne Walker (1992). “Hua Hu Ching: Teachings of Lao Tzu”

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