The leader shows that style is no substitute for substance, that creating an impression is more potent than acting from one’s center.

Those who make their living by collecting taxes cause the people to starve; when the people starve, the tax collectors, having no one to tax starve also

Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who...

If you understand others you are smart.If you understand yourself you are illuminated.If you overcome others you are powerful.If you overcome yourself you have strength.If you know how to be satisfied you are rich.If you...

Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Startwith what they know. Build with what they have. But with the bestleaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people...

As to the roaming of sages,They move in utter emptiness,Let their minds meander in the great nothingness;They run beyond conventionAnd go through where there is no gateway.They listen to the soundlessAnd look at the formless,They...

The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

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.

Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.

We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness insidethat holds whatever we want.We hammer wood...

A good traveler leaves no tracks. Good speech lacks fault-finding.

free from desire, you realize the mysterycaught in the desire, you see only the manifestations.

The person of superior integrity does not insist upon his integrity.For this reason, he has integrity.The person of inferior integritynever loses sight of his integrity;For this reason, he lacks integrity.

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.

Activity conquers cold, but stillness conquers heat

From wonder into wonder existence opens.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

We did this ourselves.

When there is silence one finds the anchor of the universe within oneself

The Tao [Way] that can be told of is not the eternal Tao;The name that can be named is not the eternal name.The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth;The Named is the mother...

The farther you go, the less you know

People in their handling of affairs often fail when they are about to succeed. If one remains as careful at the end as he was at the beginning, there will be no failure.

Nature is not human hearted.

The ruler attains wholeness in the correct governance of the people.

A great nation is like a great man:When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.Having realized it, he admits it.Having admitted it, he corrects it.He considers those who point out his faultsas his most benevolent...

Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it

To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.

He who has no faith in others shall find no faith in them

Naturally forward in whatever way they like.

LoveEmbracing Tao, you become embraced.Supple, breathing gently, you become reborn.Clearing your vision, you become clear.Nurturing your beloved, you become impartial.Opening your heart, you become accepted.Accepting the World, you embrace Tao.Bearing and nurturing,Creating but not owning,Giving...

If lightning is the anger of the gods, then the gods are concerned mostly about trees.

If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness.

The difficult problems in life always start off being simple. Great affairs always start off being small.

Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible...

When armies are mobilized and issues joined, the man who is sorry over the fact will win

When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.

Tao invariably takes no action, and yet there is nothing left undone.

There isa time to liveand a time to diebut never to reject the moment.

I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you...

Stop thinking, and end your problems.

A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.

Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline; simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength.

Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish – too much handling will spoil it.

From of old the things that have acquired unity are these: Heaven by unity has become clear; Earth by unity has become steady; The Spirit by unity has become spiritual; The Valley by unity has...

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

The best of all leaders is the one who helps people so that eventually they don’t need him.

If you wish to be out front, then act as if you were behind.

Marriage is three parts love and seven parts forgiveness of sins.

Clay is molded to form a cup, But it is on its non-being that the utility of the cup depends. Doors and windows are cut out to make a room, But it is on its...

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.