Taoism Quotes - Page 25

• Bears, dragons, tempestuous on mountain and river, Startle the forest and make the heights tremble. Clouds darken beneath the darkness of rain, streams pale with a pallor of mist. The gods of Thunder and Lightning Shatter the whole range.

  Li Bai

  Spring, Rain, Winter

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• Is not the action of nature like the stretching of a bow? The high, it pulls down; the low, it lifts up; It takes from what is in excess In order to make good of what is deficient. Who can take what they have in excess and offer it to others?

  Laozi

  Order, Excess, Bows

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• Man may rest in the eternal fitness; he may abide in the everlasting; and roam from the beginning to the end of all creation. He may bring his nature to a condition of ONE, he may nourish his strength; he may harmonise his virtue, and so put himself into partnership with God.

  Zhuangzi

  Men, May, Partnership

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• Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, find no place in that man's breast; for to him all creation is ONE. And all things being thus united in ONE, his body and limbs are but as dust of the earth, and life and death, beginning, and end, are but as night and day, and cannot destroy his peace. How much less such trifles as gain or loss, misfortune or good fortune?

  Zhuangzi

  Loss, Night, Men

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• Heaven cannot but be high. Earth cannot but be broad. The sun and moon cannot but revolve. All creation cannot but flourish. To do so is their TAO. But it is not from extensive study that this may be known, nor by dialectical skill that his may be made clear. The true sage will have none of these.

  Zhuangzi

  Moon, Skills, Heaven

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• Sorrow and happiness are the heresies of virtue; joy and anger lead astray from TAO; love and hate cause loss of virtue. The heart unconscious of sorrow and happiness - that is perfect virtue. One, without change - that is perfect repose. Without any obstruction - that is the perfection of the unconditioned. Holding no relations with the external world, - that is perfection of the negative state. Without blemish of any kind, - that is the perfection of purity.

  Zhuangzi

  Hate, Heart, Loss

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• Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many.

  Zhuangzi

  Knowledge, Breaking Down, Break

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• Therefore, the truly great man, although he does not injure others, does not credit himself with charity and mercy (these are natural to him). He does not seek gain, but does not despise his followers who do. He struggles not for wealth, but does not take credit for leaving it alone... The ranks and emoluments of the world are to him no cause for joy, it's punishments and shame no cause for disgrace.

  Zhuangzi

  Struggle, Men, Joy

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• The love of a Sage for his fellows likewise finds expression amongst mankind. Were he not told sop, he would not know that he loved his fellows. But whether he knows it or whether he does not know it, whether he hears it or whether he does not hear it, his love for his is without end, and mankind cease not to repose therein.

  Zhuangzi

  Expression, Doe, Sage

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• A tree that can fill the span of a man's arms grows from a downy tip; A terrace nine stories high rises from level earth; A journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath one's feet.

  Laozi

  Journey, Men, Feet

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

  Laozi

  Space, House, Hammers

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• When you meet dishonest people, move them with sincerity. When you meet violent people, affect them with gentility. When you meet warped people, inspire them with justice. Then the whole world enters your forge.

  Zicheng Hong

  Moving, People, Justice

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• Lao Tsu always points a finger directly to us. He says we must begin with ourselves. It's impossible to bring order into the world unless we bring order into ourselves.

  Frederick Lenz

  Order, Laos, World

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• Just as when water is frozen in to a form as ice and then melts - so at the time of death, there is no death. The spirit simply changes form.

  Frederick Lenz

  Ice, Water, Frozen

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• Taoism shows us how to deal with life and death by realizing everything here is transitory but its substance is eternal.

  Frederick Lenz

  Life And Death, Substance, Realizing

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• We should not weep or cry or be upset when we see the generations pass, because all are forms of the infinite creation. They are not real, they are not eternal.

  Frederick Lenz

  Real, Upset, Generations

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• Those who advice the ruler on the Way, do not want the world subdued with weapons.

  Laozi

  Advice, World, Want

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• Some people think Taoism means not doing anything, just going on with your life. That has little or nothing to do with Taoism.

  Frederick Lenz

  Mean, Thinking, People

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• Do you think that you can clear your mind by sitting constantly in silent meditation? This makes your mind narrow, not clear. Integral awareness is fluid and adaptable, present in all places and at all times. That is true meditation. ... The Tao is clear and simple, and it doesn't avoid the world.

  Laozi

  Simple, Thinking, Meditation

  Laozi, Brian Browne Walker (1992). “Hua Hu Ching: Teachings of Lao Tzu”

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• The Tao gives birth to One. One gives birth to yin and yang. Yin and yang give birth to all things... The complete whole is the complete whole. So also is any part the complete whole... But forget about understanding and harmonizing and making all things one. The universe is already a harmonious oneness; just realize it.

  Laozi

  Oneness, Giving, Understanding

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• Generosity should begin lightly and deepen later, fro when it is first rich and then lessens, people forget the kindness. Authority should begin strictly and loosen up later, for if it is loose first and then strict, people will resent the severity.

  Zicheng Hong

  Kindness, People, Generosity

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• A moment of kindness can produce a mood of harmony between heaven and earth. Purity of heart can leave a fine example for a hundred generations.

  Zicheng Hong

  Kindness, Heart, Heaven

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• The truly great ones rely on substance, and not on surface, hold on to the fruit, and not to the flower.

  Laozi

  Flower, Substance, Fruit

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• At dusk the sunset is beautifully bright; at year's end the tangerines are even more fragrant. Therefore, at the end of their road, in their later years, enlightened people should be a hundred times more vital in spirit.

  Zicheng Hong

  Sunset, Years, People

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• Knowing the future is the flower of the Way, and the beginning of folly.

  Laozi

  Flower, Knowing, Way

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