“When one by force subdues men, they do not submit to him in heart. They submit because their strength is not adequate to resist.”

The Tao is near and people seek it far away.

Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.

The feeling of compassion is the beginning of humanity.

Secure property in hand leads to peace in mind.

The sole concern of learning is to seek one’s original heart.

Never has a man who has bent himself been able to make others straight.

The way of truth is like a great highway. It is not hard to find.

Never has there been one possessed of complete sincerity who did not move others. Never has there been one who had not sincerity who was able to move others.

If you know that a thing is unrighteous, then use all dispatch in putting an end to it–why wait till next year?

The great man does not think beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor of his actions that they may be resolute- he simply speaks and does what is right.

A small country cannot contend with a great; the few cannot contend with the many; the weak cannot contend with the strong.

To feed men and not to love them is to treat them as if they were barnyard cattle. To love them and not respect them is to treat them as if they were household pets.

Kindly words do not enter so deeply into men as a reputation for kindness.

Men must be decided on what they will not do, and then they are able to act with vigor in what they ought to do.

The gap between enthusiasm and indifference is filled with failures. The great man is he that does not lose his child’s heart.

When Heaven is about to confer a great office upon you, it first exercises your mind with suffering and your sinews and bones with toil.

Forcing things only creates more tension in the mind. Let go.

Forcing something can delay its progress. 

Is it your own destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?

The practice of love offers no place of safety. We risk loss, hurt, pain. We risk being acted upon by forces outside our control.

May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.

Nothing forces us to know What we do not want to know except pain.

Mindset is a skill that you force yourself to learn.

We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.