100 Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching Quotes on Love, Life, Leadership

These Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching Quotes on Love, Life, Leadership will teach you the importance of living a simple life.

Lao Tzu is also known as Laozi was born around the fourth or fifth century B.C was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. He was the author of the Tao Te Ching (which is a collection of sayings explaining the principles of Taoist teachings) and the father of Chinese Taoism (a philosophy that teaches the importance of living a simple life.) 

Lao Tzu Quotes about Knowing Yourself

Even though very little information is provided by Lao Tzu himself but his teachings and thoughts have been passed down through the centuries and have influenced and inspired many different people, regardless of their culture and beliefs.

Lao Tzu’s work has been translated into many different languages over the past 25 centuries and despite the disagreement of which version is more accurate but I believe his work is still very impactful no matter which version you read.

Here we are sharing a collection of Lao Tzu Quotes which can teach you a lot about life and inspire you to find peace in the way of simple living.

Lao Tzu Quotes

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
― Lao Tzu

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”
― Lao Tzu

“Your own positive future begins in this moment. All you have is right now. Every goal is possible from here.”
― Lao Tzu

“Stop thinking, and end your problems.”
― Lao Tzu

“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”
― Lao Tzu

“Silence is a source of Great Strength.”
― Lao Tzu

“Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it.”
― Lao Tzu

“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.”
― Lao Tzu

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”
― Lao-Tzu

“There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.”
― Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu Quotes On Leadership

“He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.”
― Lao Tzu

“To a mind that is still the whole universe surrenders.”
― Lao Tzu

“Loss is not as bad as wanting more.”
― Lao Tzu

“The Way to do is to be.”
― Lao Tzu

“What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.”
― Lao Tzu

“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.”
― Lao Tzu

“She does not show herself, and therefore is apparent. She does not affirm herself, and therefore is acknowledged. She does not boast and therefore has merit. She does not strive and therefore is successful. It is exactly because she does not contend, that nobody can contend with her.”
― Lao Tzu

“Stop leaving and you will arrive. Stop searching and you will see. Stop running away and you will be found.”
― Lao Tzu

“So the unwanting soul
sees what’s hidden,
and the ever-wanting soul
sees only what it wants.”
― Lao Tzu

“Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.”
― Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu Quotes Watch Your Thoughts

“Act without expectation.”
― Lao Tzu

“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment”
― Lao Tzu

“Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle of
softness overcoming hardness.”
― Lao Zi

“By letting go it all gets done.”
― Lao-Tzu

“As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it.”
― Lao Tzu

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”
― Lao Tzu

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

“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 can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.”
― Lao Tzu

“There is
a time to live
and a time to die
but never to reject the moment.”
― Lao Tzu

“To know that you do not know is the best.
To think you know when you do not is a disease.
Recognizing this disease as a disease is to be free of it.”
― Lao Tzu

Lao Zi Quotes

“Men are born soft and supple; dead they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.”
― Lao Tzu

“Great acts are made up of small deeds.”
― Lao-Tzu

“Respond to anger with virtue. Deal with difficulties while they are still easy. Handle the great while it is still small.”
― Lao Tzu

“To realize that you do not understand is a virtue; not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.”
― Lao Tzu

“Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start
with what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best
leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will
say ‘We have done this ourselves.”
― Lao Tzu

“Take care with the end as you do with the beginning.”
― Lao-Tzu

“When pure sincerity forms within, it is outwardly realized in other people’s hearts.”
― Lao Tzu

“New Beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.”
― Lao Tzu

“Be still
Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity”
― Lao Tzu

“Become totally empty
Quiet the restlessness of the mind
Only then will you witness everything unfolding from emptiness”
― Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu Love Quotes

“if you want to know me, look inside your heart.”
― Lao Tzu

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

“Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.”
― Lao Tzu

“Perfection is the willingness to be imperfect.”
― Lao Tzu

“One who is too insistent on his own views finds few to agree with him.”
― Lao Tzu

“In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.”
― Lao Tzu

“Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing.”
― Lao Tzu

“Mastering others is strength. Mastering oneself makes you fearless.”
― Lao Tzu

“Would you like to save the world from the degradation and destruction it seems destined for? Then step away from shallow mass movements and quietly go to work on your own self-awareness. If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.”
― Lao Tzu

“To lead people, walk beside them …
As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence.
The next best, the people honor and praise.
The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate …
When the best leader’s work is done the people say,
We did it ourselves!”
― Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu Quotes Knowing Yourself

“The past has no power to stop you
from being present now.
Only your grievance about
the past can do that.
What is grievance?
The baggage of old
thought and emotion.”
― Lao Tzu

“Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend.”
― Lao Tzu

“If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place.”
― Lao Tzu

“Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.”
― Lao Tzu

“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.”
― Lao-Tzu

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
― Lao Tzu

“Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.”
― Lao Tzu

“Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.”
― Lao Tzu

“Love is of all the passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses.”
― Lao Tzu

“Do you have the patience to wait
Till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
Till the right action arises by itself?”
― Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu Quotes and Sayings On Life

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
― Lao Tzu

“The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms.”
― Lao Tzu

“Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“There is no illusion greater than fear.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“To hold, you must first open your hand. Let go”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“When the student is ready the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready… The teacher will Disappear.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The world belongs to those who let go.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Not-knowing is true knowledge.
Presuming to know is a disease.
First, realize that you are sick;
then you can move toward health.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“To bear and not to own; to act and not lay claim; to do the work and let it go: for just letting it go is what makes it stay.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Tao Te Ching Quotes

“Love is a decision – not an emotion!”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“To understand the limitation of things, desire them.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Give evil nothing to oppose
and it will disappear by itself.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the patience to wait! Be still and allow the mud to settle.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The wise man is one who knows, what he does not know.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“When there is no desire,
all things are at peace.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching Quotes

“The further one goes, the less one knows.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“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.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“A leader is best
When people barely know he exists
Of a good leader, who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will say, “We did this ourselves.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“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 can act with vigor, you have a will.
If you don’t lose your objectives you can be long-lasting.
If you die without loss, you are eternal.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don’t see the self as self, what do we have to fear?”
― Lao-Tzu, The Way of Life

“Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.”
― Lao Tzu

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
― Lao Tzu

“Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“At the center of your being
you have the answer;
you know who you are
and you know what you want.”
― Lao Tzu

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
― Lao Tzu

Best Lao Tzu Famous Quotes

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”
― Lao Tzu

“Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.”
― Lao Tzu

“The best fighter is never angry.”
― Lao Tzu

“Because one believes in oneself, one doesn’t try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn’t need others’ approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.”
― Lao Tzu

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
― Lao Tzu

“A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Did these Lao Tzu Quotes inspire you?

It is believed that Lao Tzu did not get disappeared after writing the Tao Te Ching but instead he has traveled to spread his teachings and wisdom halfway around the world. We don’t know much about his time but we need his wisdom in today’s world. His words are both simple and deep which makes someone understand it easily. We hope these Lao Tzu Quotes will being an impact on your life.

Do share your thoughts with us in the comment section and tell us which one was your favorite Lao Tzu Quotes or if you want to ask any questions or have any query send them via Contact Us

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