The Tao can't be perceived. Smaller than an electron, it contains uncountable galaxies. If powerful men and women could remain centered in the Tao, all things would be in harmony. The world would become a paradise. All people would be at peace, and the law would be written in their hearts. When you have names and forms, know that they are provisional. When you have institutions, know where their functions should end. Knowing when to stop, you can avoid any danger. All things end in the Tao as rivers flow into the sea.

Abandon learning and there will be no sorrow.

When people do not dread authorities, then a greater dread descends.

Use the light that is in you to recover your natural clearness of sight

True words are not pleasing. Pleasing words are not true.

The tree which needs two arms to span its girth sprang from the tiniest shoot. Yon tower, nine stories high, rose from a little mound of earth. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

The world is a sacred vessel that cannot be changed. He who changes it will destroy it. He who seizes it will lose it.