Nothing is softer or more flexible than water

Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.
Lao Tzu

He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.
Lao Tzu

Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.
Lao Tzu

If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.
Lao Tzu

I do not concern myself with gods and spirits either good or evil nor do I serve any.
Lao Tzu

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.
Lao Tzu

One can not reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.
Lao Tzu

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.
Lao Tzu

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
Lao Tzu

Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window One can see the way of heaven. The further one goes The less one knows.
Lao Tzu

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; the Named is the mother of all things.
Lao Tzu

Heaven is long-enduring, and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves.
Lao Tzu

If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.
Lao Tzu

Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.
Lao Tzu

Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from Heaven; Heaven takes its law from the Tao. The law of the Tao is its being what it is.
Lao Tzu

There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, which existed before Heaven and Earth. Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and does not change. It operates everywhere and is free from danger. It may be considered the mother of the universe. I do not know its name; I call it Tao.
Lao Tzu

All things in the world come from being. And being comes from non-being.
Lao Tzu