“The men of old breathed clear down to their heels.”

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

Silence, and non action are the root of all things.

True depth of understanding is wide and steady, Shallow understanding is lazy and wandering, Words of wisdom are precise and clear.

Luck implies an absolute absence of any principle.

Never admire a man by his strength; judge him in how he uses it- A way is made by walking it.

A petty thief is put in jail. A great brigand becomes a ruler of a Nation.

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.