Tao Quotes - Page 9

• From now back to antiquity, its (Tao's) name has not been lost. Thereby, see the origin of all.

  Laozi

  Names, Taoism, Lost

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• A man's excellence is like that of water; It benefits all things without striving; It takes to the low places shunned by men. Water is akin to Tao. . . . In all the earth nothing weaker than water, Yet in attacking the hard, nothing superior, Nothing so certain in wearing down strength: There is no way to resist it. Note then: The weak conquer the strong, The yielding outlast the aggressors.

  Laozi

  Strength, Strong, Men

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• When affirmation and negation came into being, Tao faded. After Tao faded, then came one-sided attachments.

  Zhuangzi

  Attachment, Affirmation, Negation

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• Deal with difficult tasks while they are easy. Act on large issues while they are small.

  Laozi

  Life, Issues, Tasks

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• The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings. He knows that he is going to die, and her has nothing left to hold on to: no illusions in his mind, no resistances in his body. He doesn't think about his actions; they flow from the core of his being. He holds nothing back from life; therefore he is ready for death, as a man is ready for sleep after a good day's work.

  Laozi

  Life, Sleep, Good Day

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• Look, and it can't be seen.
  Listen, and it can't be heard.
  Reach, and it can't be grasped.
  
  Above, it isn't bright.
  Below, it isn't dark.
  Seamless, unnamable,
  it returns to the realm of nothing.
  Form that includes all forms,
  image without an image,
  subtle, beyond all conception.
  
  Approach it and there is no beginning;
  follow it and there is no end.
  You can't know it, but you can be it,
  at ease in your own life.
  Just realize where you come from:
  this is the essence of wisdom.

  Laozi

  Life, Dark, Essence

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• In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.

  Laozi

  Learning, Taoism, Pursuit

  Laozi (1997). “道德经”, Vintage

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• The hidden so-called scholars of old did not hide themselves and refuse to be seen. They did not close the door on their words and refuse to let them out. They did not shut away their wisdom and refuse to share it. But those times were all haywire. If it had been possible for them to act, they could have done great things, bringing all to Oneness without any sign of doing so. However, the times were not favorable and it was not possible, so they put down deep roots, remained still and waited. this was the Tao by which they survived.

  Zhuangzi

  Wisdom, Oneness, Roots

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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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• The very highest is barely known.
  Then comes that which people know and love,
  Then that which is feared,
  Then that which is despised.
  Who does not trust enough will not be trusted.

  Laozi

  Wisdom, People, And Love

  Laozi (1997). “道德经”, Vintage

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• Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao. It springs into existence, unconscious, perfect, free, takes on a physical body, lets circumstances complete it. That is why every being spontaneously honors the Tao. The Tao gives birth to all beings, nourishes them, maintains them, cares for them, comforts them, protects them, takes them back to itself, creating without possessing, acting without expecting, guiding without interfering. That is why love of the Tao is in the very nature of things.

  Laozi

  Love, Spring, Expression

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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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• 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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• True zazen is surrendering every moment. But surrendering to what? It really does not matter what we call it: God or the Tao or the Dharma or the Buddha or our true nature. . . . It is the act of letting go, of surrendering, that matters. The very act of letting go opens us up completely.

  Dennis Merzel

  Letting Go, Nature, Taoism

  Dennis Genpo Merzel (1991). “The Eye Never Sleeps”, p.49, Shambhala Publications

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• If you persist in trying to attain what is never attained (It is Tao's gift), if you persist in making effort to obtain what effort cannot get, if you persist in reasoning about what cannot be understood, you will be destroyed by the very thing you seek. To know when to stop, to know when you can get no further by your own action, this is the right beginning!

  Zhuangzi

  Effort, Understanding, Taoism

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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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• 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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• Having reached a high level of realization (or having accomplished anything in life), don't get excited or puffed up with pride but remain calm, humble, and in "perfect equanimity" if you want to continue in this deep state of consciousness.

  Laozi

  Humble, Pride, Perfect

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• 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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• 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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