“Right is not right; so is not so. If right were really right it would differ so clearly from not right that there would be no need for argument. If so were really so, it would differ so clearly from not so that there would be no need for argument.”

To regard the fundamental as the essence, to regard things as coarse, to regard accumulation as deficiency, and to dwell quietly alone with the spiritual and the intelligent – herein lie the techniques of Tao of the ancients.

The ten thousand things belong to one storehouse and life and death share the same body.

The wise man knows that it is better to sit on the banks of a remote mountain stream than to be emperor of the whole world.

If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation.

Either in conflict with others or in harmony with them, we go through life like a runaway horse, unable to stop.

To be truly ignorant, be content with your own knowledge.

Those who follow the Tao are of clear mind. They do not load their mind with anxieties and are flexible in their adjustment to external conditions.

The sound of water says what I think.

He who pursues fame at the risk of losing his self is not a scholar.

Your preciousness lies in your essence; it cannot be lost by anything that happens.

He who knows the activities of Nature lives according to Nature.

Everything has what is innate,everything has what is necessary.

A battering ram can knock down a city wall, but it cannot stop a hole. Different things have different uses.

Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.

The ultimate happiness is doing nothing.

I am going to try speaking some reckless words, and I want you to try to listen recklessly.