Profound virtue is indeed deep and wide. It leads all things back to the great order.

The leader is a teacher who succeeds without taking credit. And, because credit is not taken, credit is received.

The wise person dines on something more subtle: He eats the understanding that the named was born from the unnamed, that all being flows from non-being, that the describable world emanates from an indescribable source.

When the worst student hears about the Way, he laughs out loud. If he did not laugh, it would be unworthy of being the Way.

The more laws and orders are multiplied, the more theft and violence increase.

The usefulness of a pot comes from its emptiness.

Man is ruled by Earth. Earth is ruled by Heaven. Heaven is ruled by the Way. The Way is ruled by itself.