Good leaders reach solutions, and then stop. They do not dare to rely on force.

He who controls the past controls the future.

He who knows how to be aggressive, and yet remains patient, becomes a receptacle for all of Nature's lessons.

Do nondoing, strive for non-stiving, savor the flavourless, make much of little, repay enmity with virture; plan for difficulty when it is still easy, do the great while it is still small.

A tree trunk the size of a man grows from a blade as thin as a hair. A tower nine stories high is built from a small heap of earth.

The subtlest of subtleties, this is the gateway to all mysteries.

Better stop short than fill to the brim. Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt. Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it.