FridaySep 18, 2026
Quotes: 53419 Authors: 9969
A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage.
The man of superior virtue is not conscious of his virtue, And in this way he really possesses virtue. The man of inferior virtue never loses sight of his virtue, And in this way he loses his virtue.
The easier a matter is reckoned the more difficult it proves at the last; for this reason the Sage sees difficulties in everything, And therefore he encounters no difficulties.
Humble station is the basis of honor. The low is the foundation of the high.
If one has love in battle one is victorious. If one has it in defense one is invincible. Whom Heaven wants to save him he protects through love.
It reverts to nothingness. This is called shape without shape, Form without object. It is The Vague and Elusive.
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.
Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires.
Merged and undifferentiated, like muddy water.
Heaven and Earth have no pity; they regard all things as straw dogs.
People in their handlings 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.
Great form has no shape. The Eternal is hidden and nameless. Yet it is The Eternal alone that skillfully provides for all And brings them to perfection.
The great rulers - the people do not notice their existence; The lesser ones - they love and praise them; The still lesser ones - they fear them; The still lesser ones - they despise them.
The heavy is the root of the light. The tranquil is the ruler of the hasty.
With good and harm, with honor and disgrace. This therefore is the highest state of man.
Wherever armies are stationed, briars and thorns grow. Great wars are always followed by famines.
When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty, There arises the recognition of ugliness. When they all know the good as good, There arises the recognition of evil.
There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontentment. And there is no greater disaster than greed. He who is contented with contentment is always content
The highest goodness is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete. It stays in the lowly places which others despise. Therefore it is near The Eternal.
The more taboos and restrictions there are in the world The poorer the people will be.... The more laws and regulations are made prominent, The more thieves and robbers there will be.
Therefore the sage is as pointed as a square but does not pierce. He is as acute as a knife but does not cut. He is as straight as an unbent line but does not extend. He is as bright as light but does not dazzle.
By steadily disciplining the animal nature, until it becomes one pointed, it is possible to establish conscious awareness of The Eternal.
Muddy water, let stand becomes clear.
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
He who knows how to be aggressive, and yet remains patient, becomes a receptacle for all of Nature's lessons.
Clay is moulded to make a vessel, but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing.... Thus, taking advantage of what is, we recognize the utility of what is not.
... the integral being is attached to nothing and can relate to everyone with an unstructured attitude. Because of this, her very existence benefits all things.
The mystical techniques for achieving immortality are revealed only to those who have dissolved all ties to the gross worldly realm of duality, conflict, and dogma. As long as your shallow worldly ambitions exist, the door will not open.
{There are two paths leading to oneness with the Tao.} The first in the path of acceptance. Affirm everyone and everything. Freely extend you goodwill and virtue in every direction, regardless of circumstances. Embrace all things as part of the Harmonious Oneness, and then you will begin to perceive it. The second path is that of denial. Recognize that everything you see and think is a falsehood, an illusion, a veil over the truth. Peel all the veils away, and you will arrive at the Oneness. Though these paths are entirely different, they will deliver you to the same place: spontaneous awareness of the Great Oneness.
If I have even just a little sense, I will walk on the main road and my only fear will be of straying from it. Keeping to the main road is easy, But people love to be sidetracked.
...The sage seeks freedom from desire. He does not collect precious things. He learns not to hold on to ideas. He brings men back to what they have lost.
...The sage, traveling all day, Does not lose sight of his baggage. Though there are beautiful things to be seen, He remains unattached and calm.
Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.
If you can let go of (the Tao) with your mind and surround it with your heart, it will live inside you forever.
Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed.
How can one liberate the many? By first liberating his own being. He does this not by elevating himself, but by lowering himself. He lowers himself to that which is simple, modest, true; integrating it into himself, he becomes a master of simplicity, modesty, truth.
Accept disgrace willingly... Accept being unimportant... Surrender yourself humbly; then you can be trusted to care for all things. Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.
Achieve results, But never glory in them. Achieve results, But never boast. Achieve results, But never be proud. Achieve results, Because this is the natural way.
Creating without claiming, Doing without taking credit, Guiding without interfering, This is Primal Virtue.
Know honor, Yet keep humility. Be the valley of the universe! Being the valley of the universe, Ever true and resourceful, Return to the state of the uncarved block.
Mask your brightness. Be at one with the dust of the earth. This is primal union.
...The sage works without recognition. He achieves what has to be done without dwelling on it. He does not try to show his knowledge.
Why is the sea king of a hundred streams? Because it lies below them... If the sage would guide the people, he must serve with humility. If he would lead them, he must follow behind. In this way when the sage rules, the people will not feel oppressed...
Distortion upon distortion: ... the more one uses the mind, the more confused one becomes.
Don't imagine that you'll discover {the truth} by accumulating more knowledge. Knowledge creates doubt, and doubt makes you ravenous for more knowledge. You can't get full eating this way.
Dualistic thinking is a sickness.
I confess that there is nothing to teach: no religion, no science, no body of information which will lead your mind back to the Tao. Today I speak in this fashion, tomorrow in another, but always the Integral Way is beyond words and beyond mind.
In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.
Intellectual knowledge exists in and of the brain. Because the brain is part of the body, which must one day expire, this collection of facts, however large and impressive, will expire as well. {But spiritual insight transcends death.}
... Intelligence is not the same thing as wisdom.
The sense organs, which are limited in scope and ability, randomly gather information. This partial information is arranged into judgments, which are based on previous judgments, which are usually based on someone else's foolish ideas. These false concepts and ideas are then stored in a highly selective memory system.
... These are notions of the mind, which is like a knife, always chipping away at the Tao, trying to render it graspable and manageable. But that which is beyond form is ungraspable, and that which is beyond knowing is unmanageable. There is, however, this consolation: She who lets go of the knife will find the Tao at her fingertips.
This path is clearly defined and quite simple to follow, yet most lose themselves in ideological fogs of their own making.
By the accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time, but by virtue of love he may rule the world forever.
Because clarity and enlightenment are within your own nature, they are regained without moving an inch.
Pain and happiness are simply conditions of the ego. Forget the ego.
Remember: if you can cease all restless activity, your integral nature will appear.
The ego is entranced by ... names and ideas... (However) names and concepts only block your perception of this Great Oneness. Therefore it is wise to ignore them. Those who live inside their egos are continually bewildered.
Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short and long, life and death? Can you let go of all these dualities and embrace the Tao without skepticism or panic? If so, you can reach the heart of the Integral Oneness.
To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.
When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.
A mans excellence is like that of water; It benefits all things without striving; It takes to the low places shunned by men. Water is akin to Tao.... In all the earth nothing weaker than water, Yet in attacking the hard, nothing superior, Nothing so certain in wearing down strength: There is no way to resist it. Note then: The weak conquer the strong, The yielding outlast the aggressors.
We put thirty spokes to make a wheel: But it is on the hole in the center that the use of the cart hinges. We make a vessel from a lump of clay; But it is the empty space within the vessel that makes it useful. We make doors and windows for a room; But it is the empty spaces that make the room livable. Thus, while existence has advantages, It is the emptiness that makes it useful.
When virtue is lost, benevolence appears; when benevolence is lost, right conduct appears; when right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder.
He who has achieved this state Is unconcerned with friends and enemies, With good and harm, with honor and disgrace. This therefore is the highest state of man.
Because he is a living divinity, when he acts, the universe acts.
By following this simple path, you become extraordinary, unfathomable, a being of profound cosmic subtlety. You outlive time and space by realizing the subtle truth of the universe.
Who can enjoy enlightenment and remain indifferent to suffering in the world? This is not in keeping with the Way. Only those who increase their service along with their understanding can be called men and women of Tao.
Once you arrive {at a spontaneous awareness of the Great Oneness}, remember: it isn't necessary to struggle to maintain unity with it. All you have to do is participate in it.
The new life created by the final integration is self-aware yet without ego, capable of inhabiting a body yet not attached to it, and guided by wisdom rather than emotion. Whole and virtuous, it can never die.
There are three layers to the universe. In the lower, Tai Ching, and the middle, Shan Ching, the hindrance of a physical bodily existence is required. Those who fail to live consistently in accord with the Tao reside here. In the upper, Yu Ching, there is only Tao: the bondage of form is broken, and the only thing existing is the exquisite energy dance of the immortal divine beings.
Failure is the foundation of success, and the means by which it is achieved.
Does one scent appeal more than another? Do you prefer this flavor, or that feeling? Is your practice sacred and your work profane? Then your mind is separated: from itself, from oneness, from the Tao.
If you attach yourself to gross energies -- loving this person, hating that clan, rejecting one experience or habitually indulging in another -- then you will lead a series of heavy, attached lives. This can go on for a very long and tedious time.
The first practice is the practice of undiscriminating virtue: take care of those who are deserving; also, and equally, take care of those who are not. When you extend your virtue in all directions without discriminating, you feet are firmly planted on the path that returns to the Tao.
Know the white, But keep the black, Be an example to the world! Being an example to the world, Ever true and unwavering, Return to the infinite.
You should rule a great country As you would fry a small fish With the least turning.
Understand this if nothing else: spiritual freedom and oneness with the Tao are not randomly bestowed gifts, but the rewards of conscious self-transformation and self-evolution.
To see things in the seed, that is genius.
Chanting is no more holy than listening to the murmur of a stream, counting prayer beads no more sacred than simply breathing.... If you wish to attain oneness with the Tao, don't get caught up in spiritual superficialities.
The journey of a thousand leagues begins from beneath your feet.
To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is disease.
To know you have enough is to be rich.
Knowing other is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.
In the Golden Age, Rulers were unknown. In the following age Rulers were loved and praised. Next came the age When rulers were feared. Finally the age When rulers are hated.
Rule a kingdom as though you were cooking a small fish don't overdo it.
A leader is best When people barely know he exists. Not so good When people obey and acclaim him. Worse when they despise him. But of a good leader Who talks little When his work is done, His aim fulfilled, They will say 'We did it ourselves.'
Can you let go of words and ideas, attitudes and expectations? If so, then the Tao will loom into view.
The one who can dissolve her mind will suddenly discover the Tao at her feet....
Those who are highly evolved maintain an undiscriminating perception. Seeing everything, labeling nothing, they maintain their awareness of the Great Oneness. Thus they are supported by it.
To manage your mind, know that there is nothing, and then relinquish all attachment to nothingness.
The feminine values are the fountain of bliss. Know the masculine, Keep to the feminine.
A good calculator does not need artificial aids.
Acting without design, occupying oneself without making a business of it, finding the great in what is small and the many in the few, repaying injury with kindness, effecting difficult things while they are easy, and managing great things in their beginnings; this is the method of Tao.
Nature is not human-hearted.
Abandon fancy theologies and imaginary ideas and do some ordinary daily work... {Engage in this work with} unswerving kindness and unending patience.
Giving to others selflessly and anonymously, radiating light throughout the world and illuminating your own darkness, your virtue becomes a sanctuary for yourself and all beings. That is what is meant by embodying the Tao.
Practice non-action. Work without doing.
Simply see that you are at the center of the universe, and accept all things and beings as parts of your infinite body. When you perceive that an act done to another is done to yourself, you have understood the great truth.
Some help others in order to receive blessings and admiration. This is simply meaningless. Some cultivate themselves in part to serve others, in part to serve their own pride. They will understand, at best, half of the truth. But those who improve themselves for the sake of the world -- to these, the whole truth of the universe will be revealed.
{The cleansing of spiritual contamination} is accomplished by offering one's talent, resources, and life to the world.
The fourth (of the four cardinal virtues) is supportiveness: this manifests as service to others without expectation of reward. (Paraphrased: Such service is not a mere conforming to some external rule of behavior, but instead a manifestation of your original nature).
{The mature person} pours himself out in service to others.
The Tao of the sage is work without effort.
To practice virtue is to selflessly offer assistance to others, giving without limitation one's time, abilities, and possessions in service, whenever and wherever needed, without prejudice concerning the identity of those in need.
Why not simply honor your parents, love your children, help your brothers and sisters, be faithful to your friends, care for your mate with devotion, complete your work cooperatively and joyfully, assume responsibility for problems, practice virtue without first demanding it of others, understand the highest truths yet retain an ordinary manner? That would be true clarity, true simplicity, true mastery.
(The Tao) is always present and always available.... If you are willing to be lived by it, you will see it everywhere, even in the most ordinary things.
Worlds and particles, bodies and beings, time and space: All are transient expressions of the Tao.
He who knows others is learned. He who knows himself is wise.
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.
... integral wisdom involves a direct participation in every moment: the observer and the observed are dissolved in the light of pure awareness, and no mental concepts or attitudes are present to dim that light.
... learn to value what is important today in the subtle realm rather than what appears desirable tomorrow in the worldly realm.
... the mind is desperate to fix the river {of events} in place: Possessed by ideas of the past, preoccupied with images of the future, it overlooks the plain truth of the moment.
When you accurately perceive the fluidity of things, you can also begin to perceive the constancy behind them: the creative, transformative, boundless, immutable Tao.
He who knows that enough is enough; will always have enough.
Gently eliminating all obstacles to his own understanding, he constantly maintains his unconditional sincerity. His humility, perseverance, and adaptability evoke the response of the universe and fill him with divine light.
He is strong who conquers others; He who conquers himself is mighty.
He who knows others is clever; He who knows himself has discernment.
To realize that you do not understand is a virtue; Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.
He who knows others is wise; He who knows himself is enlightened.
Through return to simple living Comes control of desires. In control of desires Stillness is attained. In stillness the world is restored.
For one gains by losing And loses by gaining.
Going forward seems like retreat ...
The truth often sounds paradoxical.
Yield and overcome; Bend and be straight; Empty and be full; Wear out and be new; Have little and gain; Have much and be confused. ...The ancients say, 'Yield and overcome.' Is that an empty saying? Be really whole, And all things will come to you.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.
The Tao's principle is spontaneity.
The people are hungry: It is because those in authority eat up too much in taxes.
The good man is the teacher of the bad, And the bad is the material from which the good may learn. He who does not value the teacher, Or greatly care for the material, Is greatly deluded although he may be learned. Such is the essential mystery.
Do not imagine that an integral being has the ambition of enlightening the unaware or raising worldly people to the divine realm. To her, there is no self and other, and hence no one to be raised; no heaven and hell, and hence no destination.
Find a teacher who is an integral being, a beacon who extends his light and virtue with equal ease to those who appreciate him and those who don't. Shape yourself in his mold, bathe in his nourishing radiance, and reflect it out to the rest of the world.
If you wish to become a divine immortal angel, then restore the angelic qualities of your being through virtue and service. This is the only way to gain the attention of the immortals... These angelic teachers cannot be sought out; it is they who seek out the student. When you succeed in connecting your energy with the divine realm through high awareness and the practice of undiscriminating virtue, the transmission of the ultimate subtle truths will follow.
If your virtue is especially radiant, it can be possible to open a pathway to the subtle realm and receive these celestial teachings directly from the immortals.
My own words are not the medicine, but a prescription; not the destination, but a map to help you reach it. When you get there, quiet your mind and close your mouth. Don't analyze the Tao. Strive instead to live it: silently, undividedly, with your whole harmonious being.
The highest truth cannot be put into words. Therefore the greatest teacher has nothing to say. He simply gives himself in service, and never worries.
When one gives whatever one can without restraint, the barriers of individuality break down. It no longer becomes possible to tell whether it is the student offering himself to the teacher, or the teacher offering herself to the student. One sees only two immaculate beings, reflecting one another like a pair of brilliant mirrors.
The world is full of half-enlightened masters. Overly clever, too 'sensitive' to live in the real world, they surround themselves with selfish pleasures and bestow their grandiose teachings upon the unwary. Prematurely publicizing themselves, intent upon
Look, it cannot be seen -- it is beyond form. Listen, it cannot be heard -- it is beyond sound. Grasp, it cannot be held -- it is intangible. These three are indefinable; Therefore they are joined in one. From above it is not bright; From below it is not dark; An unbroken thread beyond description. It returns to nothingness. The form of the formless, The image of the imageless, It is called indefinable and beyond imagination. Stand before it and there is no beginning. Follow it and there is no end. Stay with the ancient Tao, Move with the present. Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.
If you go searching for the Great Creator, you will come back empty-handed. The source of the universe is ultimately unknowable, a great invisible river flowing forever through a vast and fertile valley. Silent and uncreated, it creates all things.
The named was born from the unnamed ... all being flows from non-being ... the describable world emanates from an indescribable source.
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.
Though (the Tao) is uncreated itself, it creates all things. Because it has no substance, it can enter into where there is no space. Exercising by returning to itself, winning victories by remaining gentle and yielding, it is softer than anything, and therefore overcomes everything hard.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery.
He who is attached to things will suffer much.
There is no greater sin than desire, No greater curse than discontent, No greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself. Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
Although most people spend their entire lives following this biological impulse (i.e. the sex drive), it is only a tiny portion of our beings.... If we remain obsessed with seeds and eggs, we are married to the fertile reproductive valley of the Mysterious Mother but not to her immeasurable heart and all-knowing mind.
Because every portion of the body, mind, and spirit yearns for the integration of yin and yang, angelic intercourse is led by the spirit rather than the sexual organs.... Where ordinary intercourse unites sex organs with sex organs, angelic cultivation unites spirit with spirit, mind with mind, and every cell of one body with every cell of the other body.
Greed for enlightenment and immortality is no different than greed for material wealth. It is self-centered and dualistic, and thus an obstacle to true attainment. Therefore these states are never achieved by those who covet them; rather, they are the reward of the virtuous.
Loving, hating, having expectations: all these are attachments. Attachment prevents the growth of one's true being.
Most of the world's religions serve only to strengthen attachments to false concepts such as self and other, life and death, heaven and earth, and so on. Those who become entangled in these false ideas are prevented from perceiving the Integral Oneness.
The cords of passion and desire weave a binding net around you. Worldly confrontation makes you stiff and inflexible. The trap of duality is tenacious. Bound, rigid, and trapped, you cannot experience liberation.
When great armies go to war, Sorrow is the sole winner.
The Way of Tao is this: It strives not, but conquers; It speaks not, but all is made clear; It summons not, but its house is crowded; It contrives not, but the design is perfect.
From What-is all the world of things was born But What-is sprang in turn from What-is-not.
Understanding others is knowledge, Understanding oneself is enlightenment; Conquering others is power, Conquering oneself is strength.
The words of truth are always paradoxical.
A vessel is formed from a lump of clay with care, however, it is the empty space within the vessel that makes it useful.
No thought, no action, no movement, total stillness: only thus can one manifest the true nature and law of things from within and unconsciously, and at last become one with heaven and earth.
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