LAO TZU

"Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner."

"Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are."

"Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle of softness overcoming hardness."

"Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear."

"Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the patience to wait! Be still and allow the mud to settle."

"When pure sincerity forms within, it is outwardly realized in other people's hearts."

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you."

"If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve."

"When nothing is done, nothing is left undone."

"Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires."

"Loss is not as bad as wanting more."

"What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly."

"A great nation is like a great man: When he makes a mistake, he realizes it."

"Silence is a source of Great Strength."

"New Beginnings are often disguised as painful endings."

"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."

"As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it."

"A man who knows how little he knows is well, a man who knows how much he knows is sick."

"The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long."

"Perfection is the willingness to be imperfect.”"

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

"Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being."

"If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it."

"A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live."

"He is free from self- display, and therefore he shines."

"The past has no power to stop you from being present now."

"Time is a created thing. To say I don't have time, is like saying, I don't want to."

"The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms."

"Men are born soft and supple; dead they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry."

"The best fighter is never angry."

"There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent."

"Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world."

"If you are untrustworthy, people will not trust you."

"One who is too insistent on his own views finds few to agree with him."

"To see things in the seed, that is genius."

"Music in the soul can be heard by the universe."

"Avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men."

"Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."

"Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing."

"Great acts are made up of small deeds."

"Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity."

"Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear."

"When the student is ready the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready. The teacher will Disappear."

"When there is no desire, all things are at peace."

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

"Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing."