Lao Tzu

“The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.”

“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.”

“The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities. It is hidden but always present. I don't know who gave birth to it. It is older than God.”

“The universe is deathless; Is deathless because, having no finite self, it stays infinite. A sound man by not advancing himself stays the further ahead of himself, By not confining himself to himself sustains himself outside himself: By never being an end in himself he endlessly becomes himself.”

“Thirty spokes unite at the single hub;It is the empty space which makes the wheel useful.Mold clay to form a bowl;It is the empty space which makes the bowl useful.Cut out windows and doors;It is the empty space which makes the room useful.”

“A leader is best when people barely know that he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worst when they despise him. Fail to honor people, They fail to honor you. But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aims fulfilled, they will all say, "We did this ourselves."”

“Since before time and space were, the Tao is. It is beyond is and is not. How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.”

“A violent wind does not outlast the morning; a squall of rain does not outlast the day. Such is the course of Nature. And if Nature herself cannot sustain her efforts long, how much less can man!”

“There is a thing inherent and natural, Which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted. It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am forced to give it a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.”

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”

“Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, take it and practice it earnestly. Scholars of the middle class, when they hear of it, take it half earnestly. Scholars of the lowest class, when they hear of it, laugh at it. Without the laughter, there would be no Tao.”

“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.”

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning.”

“To attain knowledge, add things every day.To attain wisdom, remove things every day.”

“Block the passages, shut the doors, And till the end your strength shall not fail. Open up the passages, increase your doings, And till your last day no help shall come to you.”

“He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.”

“The more prohibitions that are imposed on people, The poorer the people become. The more laws and regulations that exist, The more thieves and brigands appear. The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.”

“Governing a large country is like frying a small fish.”

“A journey of a thousand [miles] starts with a single step.”

“A journey of a thousand miles started with a first step.”

“A thousand-mile journey starts from your feet down there.”

“Every journey begins with a single step.”

“When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.”

“People starved because the ruler taxed too heavily.”

“People are difficult to be ruled, Because the ruler governs with personal desire and establishes too many laws to confuse the people.”

“let people return to the use of knots and be satisfied with their food and pleased with their clothing and content with their homes and happy with their customs let there be another state so near people hear its dogs and chickens but live out their lives without making a visit”

“Wise men don't need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point aren't wise. The Master has no possessions. The more he does for others, the happier he is. The more he gives to others, the wealthier he is. The Tao nourishes by not forcing. By not dominating, the Master leads.”