Taoism Quotes - Page 9

Valuing unusual conduct is not as good as being careful about ordinary actions.

An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts the whole forest.

Let people return to making knots on ropes, instead of writing.

The Tao of the sage is work without effort.

The Way that can be walked is not the eternal Way.

The longer you travel, the less you know.

Those who stand on their toes are not steady.

Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window One can see the way of heaven. The further one goes The less one knows.

The first practice is the practice of undiscriminating virtue: take care of those who are deserving; also, and equally, take care of those who are not. When you extend your virtue in all directions without discriminating, you feet are firmly planted on the path that returns to the Tao.

Mold clay into a bowl. The empty space makes it useful.

When the Way is lost there is virtue. When virtue is lost there is benevolence. When benevolence is lost there is righteousness. When righteousness is lost there are rituals.

The most complete seems lacking. Yet in use it is not exhausted.

Heavy is the root of light.

The sage is one with the world, and lives in harmony with it.

Because he (the Sage) demands no honor, he will never be dishonored.

We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it liveable.

If Heaven were not clear it might rend. If Earth were not firm it might crumble.

Those who are one with deprivation are deprived of deprivation.

The best way to carve is not to split.

Harmony is called the eternal. Knowing the eternal is called clarity.

Heaven's Way does not contend, yet it certainly triumphs. It does not speak, yet it certainly answers. It does not summon, yet things come by themselves. It seems to be at rest, yet it certainly has a plan.

The most eloquent seems to stutter.

The Great Vessel takes long to complete.

Those who know when to halt are unharmed.

The high must make the low its base.