25 Sage Lao Tzu quotes that give simple answers to complex questions

25 Sage Lao Tzu Quotes That Give Simple Answers to Complex Questions

On happiness, life and inner harmony.

Lao Tzu was an ancient Chinese philosopher, thinker, and spiritual teacher. The date and place of his birth have been disputed by scholars for several hundred years. There is even a version that he was a contemporary of Confucius, was his teacher, mentor and influenced his worldview. There is an opinion that it is not two different people, but one person. So far it has not been possible to find reliable evidence and facts of the true existence of Lao-tzu.

Adherents of Taoist philosophy and even believe that Lao-tzu is a deity who descended to enlighten people. The sage is considered one of the three main preachers of the vital doctrines of the Chinese philosophy of Taoism.

Lao-tzu’s name is of great importance to Chinese culture, mythology and philosophy. One of the most popular interpretations of the sage’s life is considered to be the work of the Chinese historian Sima Qian.

Lao-tzu’s biography

Sim Qian in the treatise “Historical Narrative” wrote that the sage was born in 600 BC in a small province of China. Most of his life he worked as a keeper of the emperor’s archives and a librarian. Therefore, the historian claims that Lao-tzu was a highly educated man and possessed sacred knowledge.

Statue of Lao-tzu

Already at an advanced age, the thinker left the place of his work and traveled to the West. Thus began the educational path of Lao-tzu and the concept of the Tao De Jing was born. About the further fate of the sage is unknown.

There is a very mystical version of the birth of the sage. According to legends, Lao-tzu’s mother carried him for several decades. And the thinker was born with gray hair and aged face. It was thanks to this legend that the sage began to be called Lao-tzu, which means “old child”, “old sage”.

The main theses of the philosophy of Taoism consist in accepting life with all its sorrows and joys. Lao-tzu believed that no natural phenomena, animals, people are not controlled from above, but simply exist in a changing reality. Everything is interconnected and moves along a certain path – this is how the concept of Tao is interpreted.

A selection of important sayings of the Chinese sage from his main treatise “Tao De Jing” may not change your life immediately right now, but it will definitely give you confidence and allow you to become a little calmer.

Life Quotes

He who equally accepts both the beginning and the end is freed from the collapse of unreasonable expectations in affairs.

If a man has been climbing someone else’s ladder for a long time, he has to go down before he can find his own.

And a loss can turn into a gain, and a gain can turn into a loss.

To be strong, you have to be like water. There are no obstacles, it flows. In a quadrangular vessel it is quadrangular; in a round vessel it is round. Because it is so pliable, it is more necessary and more important than anything else.

We can never change the direction of the wind, but it is in our power to set the right sails.

He who thinks he knows everything knows nothing.

A journey of hundreds of miles begins with a single step.

A fool blames others for his mistakes, a wise man blames himself, and a wise man blames no one.

When you go up a mountain, don’t kick those you pass on the way up. You’ll meet them on the way down.

If you want people to follow you, follow them.

About happiness

There are no roads that lead to happiness. Happiness is the road.

O unhappiness! It is the pillar of happiness. Oh happiness! It contains unhappiness. Who knows their limits? They have no permanence.

He who is content with his life is rich inwardly.

If you are content to just be yourself and not to compare or compete, everyone will respect you.

The law of the worthy is to do good, never quarrel, and be happy.

About inner harmony

A person only achieves personal harmony when he accepts nature and inevitability.

If you are in despondency, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are thinking about the future. If you are in a state of peace, then you are existing in the present.

Free your mind from thoughts. Allow your heart to be calm. Calmly watch the turmoil of the world. Watch things fall into place.

A man grows as his goals grow.

Be attentive to your thoughts, they are the beginning of actions.

When I let go of who I am, I become who I can be.

Don’t let those who once hurt you close to you anymore.

People of superior morality do not consider themselves moral, so they have superior morality.

A wise man does not expose himself, therefore he is brilliant; he does not talk about himself, therefore he is glorious; he does not glorify himself, therefore he is meritorious; he does not exalt himself, therefore he is superior to others.

Never condemn a man until you have walked the path in his shoes.