Daoist Quotes

The kindest person is like water. - Laozi: Dao De Jing: Verse 8

Water is good at nourishing everything and not competing with anything. It stays where no one likes to go, so it is closest to the Dao. - Laozi: Dao De Jing: Verse 8

The seas can become the destination of all streams and rivers, because they are in the downstream to gather all waters. - Laozi: Dao De Jing: Verse 66

Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet to defeat the hard and solid, nothing can surpass water, and nothing else can replace it. - Laozi: Dao De Jing: Verse 78

If the accumulated water is not deep, it will not have the strength to carry a large ship. - Zhuangzi: Chapter 1: Inner Chapter: Free and Easy Travelling

Running water does not rot.

Think about the source when drinking the water (have gratitude).

Push the boat according to the flow of the water (go with the flow).

Like a fish in water (find a fitting environment).

The nine-storey platform is built from a pile of soil; the journey of a thousand miles starts with the feet. - Laozi: Dao De Jing: Verse 64

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.
- Laozi

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. - Laozi

Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. - Laozi

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Laozi

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. - Laozi

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

The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness. - Laozi

Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides. - Laozi

Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment. - Laozi

Love is the strongest of all passions, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses. - Laozi

Treat those who are good with goodness, and those who are not good with goodness. Thus, goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and to those who are dishonest. Thus, honesty is attained. - Laozi

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, and compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. - Laozi

In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, do not try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. - Laozi

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

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

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. - Laozi

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. - Laozi

Those who are contented are rich. - Laozi

When a nation is filled with strife, then do patriots flourish. - Laozi

The wise do not lay up their treasures. The more they give to others, the wealthier they become. - Laozi

Those who know, do not speak. Those who speak, do not know. - Laozi

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. - Laozi

Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power. - Laozi

When you are content to be yourself and do not compare or compete, everyone will respect you. - Laozi

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. - Laozi

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. - Laozi

Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy. - Laozi

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. - Laozi

Heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long because they do not live of, or for, themselves. - Laozi

I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man? - Zhuangzi

Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness. - Zhuangzi

We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away. - Zhuangzi

Those who realize their folly are not true fools. - Zhuangzi

Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education. - Zhuangzi

Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech is cantankerous. - Zhuangzi

Humans honor what lies within the sphere of their knowledge, but do not realize how dependent they are on what lies beyond it. - Zhuangzi

For the wise who look into the space, they know there are no limited dimensions. - Zhuangzi

I know the joy of fishes in the river through my own joy, as I go walking along the same river. - Zhuangzi

References

Laozi (c.571-471 BCE). Dao De Jing (Translated by Donia Zhang, 2021-2022). https://www.academia.edu/70276993/Dao_De_Jing. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.30991.25764

Laozi (c.571-471 BCE). Tao Te Ching: An Illustrated Journey (Translated by Stephen Mitchell, 1999). New York: HarperCollins.

Lao Tzu Quotes (2001). BrainyQuote. Accessed 2023-11-23 from https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/lao-tzu-quotes

Zhuangzi (c.369-286 BCE). The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (Translated by Burton Watson, 1968). New York: Columbia University Press.

Zhuangzi Quotes (2001). BrainyQuote. Accessed 2023-11-25 from https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/zhuangzi-quotes